Monte Carlo, Monaco

This may be a small country but it is a busy one. The Formula One race was the weekend before we arrived, and we intentionally missed it due to all the crowds. We love F1 racing, but the viewing points are so small in Monaco as they race right on the streets of the city. It just wasn't worth the cost, but we're thinking of going next year when it's in Italy.

Someone just loved drooling over all the cars - now I know where CJ gets it. These were either in front of the Monte Carlo casino, or in the casino. But these were just on display… there were tons of these beautiful, very expensive cars all over the streets. There were so many, they became common. Then it was fun watching for the unusual, like a vintage Rolls Royce - so cool.

This was the car we had - a mere Mercedes Benz Hybrid. It wasn't fancy, but was very comfortable!

And then there was my side of town… boats, big ones, little ones, expensive ones, fancy ones, plain ones. It would take multiple pictures to show you all the boats. But if you look to the far right in this picture, you'll see some small ones… someone has to have a small one, but I can't imagine how much they pay in moorage. And there were a lot of boats just anchored out - presumably they were too big for the marina, or got here too late for a spot.

Someone said, “You can't be in Monte Carlo and not gamble" and so that someone did. The cost was 20 Euros to get in and Keith was committed to only spend his limit. He lost most of it playing blackjack until they upped the minimum bid. Then he lost the rest at the roulette table, keeping one chip as a momento. For those of you non-gamblers, this building was exquisite, and much smaller than I thought. It was worth visiting.

Girls, here is Louis Vitton… and no, we didn't go inside. Just looking at the outside hurt my wallet, but it was eye catching and colorful. Every high end store you can think of was in this small city.

Check this out, an escalator that goes to the top of the hill… actually eight escalators. Then you turn, take a picture, and hike back down the 264 steps to the bottom.

Our last morning, we found a quaint outdoor garden terrace restaurant - it was yummy.

We had to check out of our hotel in the morning, and had several hours to kill before we returned the car and caught the train to Ventimiglia, Italy. So we did a quick visit out to Menton to have some beach time. The water was very comfortable on the feet, but the rocks were not - Ouch!

Here is one last look at the Monte Carlo Bay from the top of the hill. Don't let the picture fool you, those little boats are pleasure yachts the size of a ship!

Time to drop off the car. But first, we needed to fill it with fuel - guess what, there were no gas stations in the city, so back out of town we went to find one. I wouldn't be surprised if people have their fuel delivered to their homes and pumped right into their cars.

Arriveridechi Monte Carlo - time to move on.