Blogs from Monaco, Europe - page 3

Yesterday we went to Monaco, bought round trip tickets on the train for $10.60E each, and wanted to stop in Eze along the way. We discovered not ALL the trains stop so we went flying by Eze, saw it looked like a wonderful coastline and ended up in this fancy train station in Monaco. Got out and wandered along; noticed how clean it was, how hot it was and yes, how rich it was. Very obviously full of money; we saw what we thought was a 6* hotel and it turned out to be a Cardio Thoracic Clinic – good lord, people have money! You know it and you see it on TV but until you experience it, completely different. We wandered along a little lost, a little in awe and then found the Tourism Board ... read more

Our final chapter of France! Tell my parents I love them dearly because we are dying.... of heat. It has been around 3 weeks since we saw a drop of rain, we have unintentionally converted our Wiz into a sauna and created separate sleeping quarters, not because we are unhappy in any way, just sweaty! In saying this you can't hate the heat completely, we have developed a nice shade of tan, not quite a St Tropez tan but we will see in a few more weeks. We are also pretty conscious that we would like to return home with some elasticity left our skin. In the heat, the last 3 weeks have been a lot of fun, the French scene has changed frequently ... read more

The Nice Garden Hotel has a separate charge for le petit dejeuner (breakfast) of €8.00 per person. That seemed reasonable so we decided that we would have breakfast at the hotel rather than go out looking for something for breakfast. There was plenty of food to choose from - orange juice, coffee, cereal, yoghurt, salami, cheese, butter, jam and a basketful of bread and croissants - but, there was no fruit. We have been struggling to keep our vegetable intake up to scratch, but at least we have been consistently having two to three pieces of fruit at the start of each day!! We might buy some fruit to supplement tomorrow's breakfast? Today's sightseeing involved a day trip to Monaco on the bus. Bernie had done all the research and checked it again last night and ... read more

Want to see the rich and the famous? Do you dream about a 80ft yacht and a flash Ferrari? Well then Monaco is the place for you. For one thing, it's incredibly expensive, for another it's very high class. We drove into Monaco after our dinner, and took in the beautiful views of the Coast side. Our first stop was the palace of Monaco. There is an incredible view from the courtyard and you are able to take photos in front of the palace. According to our tour manager, Toni, movie stars frequent Monaco. Elton John has his own place right on the border of Monaco and France. After we took our typical tourist photos with our go-pros, we then made our way to the Monte Carlo Casino. My first thought was damn that's beautiful. And ... read more

“Anyone been to Monaco? I'll be on a train passing through on Saturday, therefore; off the train, wander around for about 2 hours, back on the train and continue onwards? Does it deserve more than 2 hours if you won't be gambling, drinking champagne on an oligarch's yacht, watching a grand-prix (that's later in the year), or inaugurating yourself in a tax-avoidance scheme?” Those are the questions I posed on Facebook. The responses were generally positive-ish: It is worth a bit of time just to see views of the harbour from the palace and gardens, to see such an abundance of supercars and superyachts, go there during some kind of race and the atmosphere is great but it’s impossible to get around, actually, have a quick look then move back into France or carry on to ... read more