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Published: April 28th 2022
The next leg of this trip required an early morning transit on Corsica Ferries to Nice as we were asked to arrive an hour before departure. From Bastia it is a five or more-hour ferry crossing. We selected a day cabin so we could stretch out if we wanted but at the very least would have a secure place to leave our luggage if we hung out on deck watching the world go by. The ferry pulled out shortly after the 7:30am scheduled departure time which would deposit us in Nice around 1:00pm. It was great being on deck to bid a farewell to Bastia and take a few last snapshots.
We do enjoy planning trips ourselves as it allows us to pick when and where we travel and at what speed. We've enjoyed moving slowly this time out. Certain challenges were encountered as some of the transportation we were looking at only traveled on certain days of the week or were already booked.... none of which was difficult to overcome. Once our luggage was tucked away we headed to grab some breakfast and a look around the ferry. From there we headed to our very nice cabin to read
and nest. Yes, a bit of a nap was taken but we are certain it only happened because of the rocking motion of the ship and had nothing to do with getting up early.
Our first glimpse of Nice was positive. The waterfront has lovely turquoise blue water which for some reason surprised us as we expected this water to be darker. City life was evidenced by restaurants, apartments and a promenade. We've been in small town Corsica for nearly two weeks so we were ready for a real city again. Once we were off loaded we quickly grabbed an Uber and proceeded to our hotel on Victor Hugo Boulevard. The hotel was quite nice and in a great location just a few blocks from the sea and also the train station. We deposited our luggage and headed towards the water for an adult beverage. We found a nice little coffee shop on a corner which provided excellent people watching for a couple of hours. Gosh, it was nice being back in a real city. Although it was pleasantly odd hearing English again. We realized how hungry we'd gotten and headed out for some food, seizing on a place
Car from Goldfinger! 007.
1964 Austin Martin... a beautiful car. that served mussels, one of MJ’s favorites. Bellies full and somewhat fatigued from the journey, it was back to the hotel for a long rest as tomorrow would bring a full day of fun.
A side note about the weather. We have no “real” complaints, as there has been very little rain, but a persistent pattern continues. Each day, Dave is on the internet for the day’s forecast and we attempt to dress accordingly. And each day, the weather is warmer than advertised, so we get a little warm as we are layering here during the spring months. We'd rather dress too warm, and not be cold.
The next day, it was on the train to Monaco. The train station was only a few blocks away and for three euros each way, a twenty-minute train ride deposited us right in the middle of the 2.1 square kilometer country. It’s the second smallest in the world. Only Vatican City is smaller. One huge difference is that there is a boatload of money in this tiny nation. The average person makes about $190,000 per year. Of course, housing is outrageously expensive. We passed a real estate office and they showed
Scenic Corsica
We bid farewell a small two bedroom apartment without a view for 4.5 million. Yikes!
Many of you know our love of James Bond so ....... Our goals were to see the Monte Carlo Casino, famed for its wealthy patrons and of course, James Bond movies, the “old town” of Monaco and Prince Rainier's Antique Car Collection. We covered a fair amount of this country on foot visiting each of these venues and had a wonderfully sunny day to do so. It was fun seeing the famous Casino but they wanted 17 euros per person to go into the casino. We contented ourselves with enjoying the lobby and taking photos outside. Prince Rainier's private car collection was simply amazing. We admire cars and evidently so did he as the museum had more than 100 cars. He seemed to love red cars but had a few in other colors also.
Monaco has several marinas along the waterfront. We took a few photos for all our boat friends who may want to select a new vessel for themselves. We also realized the formula one race is in a few days as they were setting up the stands for viewers. When we were in
Saudi Arabia in February they were doing the same thing. I guess we keep going to all of the race cities unconsciously.
A quick trip back on the train and a nice meal in Nice prepared us for a very early flight from Nice to Madrid (really?) and then on to Athens to meet up with Dave's sister Susan and her husband Jeff for more fun.
Where we stayed:La Villa Victor Hugo Hotel
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
Me, too!
Mussels in Brussels.