Blogs from Monte Carlo, Monaco, Europe - page 4

So a lot of the questions that we're getting from you all back home have to do with: a) what the van is like b) what we do for sleeping and eating arrangements, and c) how the hell we're surviving in the middle of a European winter that is not by any means the mildest they've had in recent years. So this blog has less to do with where we've been and what we've seen and more to do with the day to day workings of two Aussies and a Toyota. The van stuff kind of has to be separated into two distinct parts - the old van and the new one. If you haven't been following, while we still had the old van after a couple of days in Barcelona, we were broken into and ... read more

F1 Monaco 2008 The Monaco Grand Prix (French: Grand Prix de Monaco) is a Formula One race held each year on the Circuit de Monaco. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the world, alongside the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans (informally known as the Triple Crown of Motorsport). The circuit has been called "an exceptional location of glamour and prestige." The race is held on a narrow course laid out in the streets of Monaco, with many elevation changes and tight corners as well as a tunnel, making it one of the most demanding tracks in Formula One. In spite of the relatively low average speeds, it is a dangerous place to race. The first race in 1929, was ... read more

Having allocated a decent amount of time to Nice itself, we decided on the third day to head to the tiny Principality of Monaco or "Principatu de Múnegu" in its native dialect of Ligurian, a western Romance language. At 33,000 people Monaco is the world's most densely populated sovereign country and the second smallest country after the Vatican. It would take maybe an hour to traverse the entire 2 km². It has been ruled by the House of Grimaldi since 1297 - the most famous member of the royal family was undoubtedly Grace Kelly who married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco in 1956. The bus ride from Nice was a mere 1€ and hugged the incredible Mediterranean coastline for the entirely of the maybe 45 minute trip. Border control was non-existent, and suddenly we were in ... read more

MONACO BABY! Words can't really do it justice so I wont even try!... read more

Day 446 Step 15478 Up at at 'em early bound for Monaco! The streets were under preparation for the start of the Tour de France, we were happy to have a look around before the start of the tour. Our first stop was the Royal Palace complete with cannons, guards and magnificent views. Further along the cobblestone streets we checked out the Cathedral and the Place of Justice (very impressive old buildings) making it back to the Palace in time for the daily changing of the guard but were equally amuzed by dodging the umbrella's and elbows of the asian's beside us desperate for 100 'perfect' shots. Next stop was the much anticipated Monaco Casino and it didn't disappoint. We waited outside for the 2pm opening watching the Bentleys, Ferraris, Mercades line the entrance of the ... read more