Monaco, glitz and glamour!

We did the mandatory visit to Monaco. From our home base in Villefranche-Sur-Mer we took bus 100, each ride €1. Buses are the only bargain in the French Riviera. You even have the option to transfer to another bus within 70 minutes with the same ticket. It rides along the Mediterranean and it takes about 30 minutes zooming thru one beautiful town after another, witnessing dreamy villages, marinas and many of the loved beaches by European alike. Cap d'Ail is the town that borders France with Monaco which is little bit of paradise.  We got off at Place de Arms and found our way to the Monte Carlo Palace by climbing the long stone stairway. We knew we were in when we walked under a huge arch.  Monte Carlo means "Charles Hill". The palace guards protects the prince 24/7 and we made it up just a few minutes before the changing of the guard. As in London, it's always a delight to watch the ceremony. 

We wandered around the grounds, visited the beautiful gardens and strolled through the small town by the palace narrowed and picturesque streets featuring nice villages, boutiques, and restaurants. 

                                          

                 

     

We strolled down the hill back to Place d'Arms and checked several displayed menus looking for a soup. Our choice was excellent! We had a beautiful lunch in a very pleasant setting with a superb calamari soup. At the beginning we didn't know what to expect. Well, we were pleasantly surprised, beautiful presentation, delicious and different soup. At the end the waiter offered us a desert. He mentioned several choices one of them "chocolate bony."   We asked what a "bony" was. He expressed his amazement... "don't you know what a bony is?". When he served it, we realized why he was surprised; he meant a "brownie". We laughed our heads off and enjoyed our chocolate bony.

There was still much more to see. We headed down to the harbor to see the gigantic yatchs. You've seen one multimillion dollar yatch - you've seen them all. That harbor is magnificent. I was able to take some great pictures from the castle that sits on the hill overlooking the harbor. Plus we walked alongside the big yatchs and some were being cleaned by their crew in uniform,

                               

Today Monaco has the world's highest per-capita income. It's a no income tax state, but it's not a tax heaven, as we heard taxes are very high.

From the harbor we took the uphill walk to the casino, about 1 mile long, on a heavy traffic road. We made up to the casino. This is a very majestic place. We couldn't get in as after 2pm, it's open for  gamblers only and there is a dress code. This place was not like in Las Vegas where people can wear tennis shoes, blue jeans, T-shirts, etc. At this casino, and Monaco in general, you can detect the quality of the clothes and shoes of the inhabitants. There is money in the air!!!

 

Diagonally from the casino there is another majestic building. It's Hotel Paris. We couldn't count, but they were many Roll Royces and other fancy cars parked in front.

Monaco is a very special place; we have never seen so much luxury in one place. I guess Beverly Hills may come close, but it lacks all the ornamental buildings with the wrought iron balconies or Mediterranean columns that embellish this town. New York is eclectic. I venture to say Monaco makes sure every building meets high standards to please the eye to the health and famous.

We wandered around the expensive shops and did our mandatory window shopping. Delightful to say the least. We would like to go back and stay in one of these "modest hotels" and experience a couple of days relaxing under the sun. However, not this trip!

We took a bus to Menton, which is 15 minutes west of Monaco. Menton feels like a poor man’s Nice. It’s unrefined and unpretentious, with lower prices, and we heard lots of Italians love to come here for a day tríp as its just over the border (five miles away). We stepped out of the bus 3 or 4 stops before the destination and headed down one block to the inviting promenade that lines the beach and seaside cafés serving light meals and salads (much cheaper than in Nice). From the promenade, a pedestrian street leads through town. We ended up at the harbor which is huge. Then we headed down to old town and strolled the narrow streets and had a gelato. 

We found our way to the bus stop, wanted to get to the first stop to get a seat as we walked about 5-6 miles today and we were a little tired. It took about 30 minutes to get back to Villefranche-Sur-Mer, what a fantastic day!