At least he didn´t grab his crotch!

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Geo: 43.7325, 7.41891

Off to Monaco today! Grabbed the receipt from the machine at the train station thinking it was the ticket. Some guy chased me down with the ticket, luckily. Sat next to a lady from Boston on a Euro cruise.

Monaco is hot, but breezier than Nice. Cathedral - had a temporary exhibit of photos of people smiling (from all over the world). Jardin St. Martin - beautiful, cool, breezy, shady. Had a picnic at Place St. Devote. For all you Formula 1 fans, it´s the St. Devote corner.

Camembert, salami, baguette. Possibly the best baguette I´ve ever had ... loved it so much I proposed to it. Perhaps it was heat-induced dementia, but I swear it giggled and replied "I will have to ask my boyfriend first." (in a Spanish accent, no less!)

Weather became quite pleasant as clouds rolled in and the temperature dropped significantly. Monaco is over-rated but still worth a visit, if only to say that you´ve been there. Back to Nice; relaxed at the hostel. Robert (German guy working there) is one of the most interesting people I´ve ever met. I suspect that he does not have much education but he´s one of the most articulate, intelligent people I´ve ever met.

He offered some great insight into Germany - it´s supposedly one country now but there is a lot of hatred between east/west still. You can tell that Robert is quite bitter about it. Being from the east, he has suffered the discrimination first hand.

Chatted with a couple of Spanish girls that were using the hotel for the day (Maria, Pealar). They come from Burgos (near Madrid) and have the ultra suave/sexy Spanish accent. I am melting as I write this ....

No sign of Jessica, the Julie Delpy look alike from Vancouver (dead ringer for Julie Delpy 15 years ago). Tam, you would be in love if you saw her! Went walking with Warren (Aussie studying in Sweden), Janis (South African hoping to sail the world as a boat hand), and Marco. Had a nutella crepe. Heavenly, but pricey.

Warren and Janis didn´t have as much luck with theirs. They were pretty disappointed. Waitress had scariest eyebrows I´ve ever seen. Even worse than the unibrow baby from the Simpsons. But I saw something scarier later - a Michael Jackson impersonator dancing on the promenade. He was "bad" ... it was just plain wrong. And the worst part? He couldn´t even get the easiest part right - though he was a white guy, he still wasn´t as white as Michael is. Would´ve taken a picture but was too scared and ran away screaming and crying when he offered me "Jesus Juice". At least he didn´t grab his crotch like Michael does.

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Photos

A.
See all the big, beautiful yachts kids? Let this be a lesson to you - if you work hard all your life and save your money, you still will NEVER have anything like that! This has been your daily lesson in reality.

B
Cathedral in Monaco. Looks more like a castle from the exterior.

C
One of the photos from the exhibition at the Cathedral. I know that look on the baby´s face ... he´s taking a crap! Guaranteed!

D
Small amusement park. I think this is where the F1 pitlane is.

E
13€ for a tiny box of sushi!

F
Place St. Devote. I´m positive that these cars don´t corner here as fast as F1 cars do!

G
I call this photo "Black and white, a study in contrast." The white bread crumbs sitting on my dark skin symbolize racial harmony, and show that it is in fact possible to achieve this. The bread crumbs also are a metaphor for the waste and excessive consumption of western societies.
I am hoping to score a Pullitzer prize for this one! Hey, if modern artists can pretend to be intelligent and be pretentious while acting as if their crap art has some important political message, why can´t I?

H
The hairpin curve from the Formula 1 track!

I
The famous Monte Carlo casino. Though I didn´t gamble, by just setting foot inside I managed to lose a small fortune. On a separate yet completely related note, I will be cutting short my trip and returning to Canada tomorrow.

J
Night shot of the Chateau. Like Isabel, it´s much more amazing in person.