After a morning dive, D and I took the bus to Monaco. It cost 1 Euro for a 45 minute ride. To get to Geneva it costs ~2 E and it takes 16 minutes. The bus ride was a beautiful ride up the coast to Monaco, we got to see the Cap Ferrat and the bay from land instead of the water, and saw where Grace Kelly filmed the car chase scene in 'To Catch a Thief.' We passed by a place called Petite Afrique near Beaulieu-sur-Mer where because the of microclimate they can grow bananas in the Riviera!
We arrived in Monaco and found out it is .76 square miles! We basically walked the whole country in an afternoon. However, it is quite hilly. Monaco has the highest GDP per capita and is the most densely populated country in the world.
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| Welcome to Monaco! |
The Monaco Grand Prix starts basically near the pinkish building in the left corner, up to the casino, and then back down the ramp and by the pool. D and I walked this area and it is tiny! They build up the roads and such but its still amazing to think they race through the tunnel, and down the ramp near the pool. Check out the yachts - these yachts made the ones in the harbor at Nice, Cassis, Split, and even Vis (last two in Croatia) look like bathtub toys.*
We walked up to the old town on Monaco to see the palace. The Grimaldis have the longest unbroken chain of monarchy in Europe and have been presiding over Monaco for something like 800 years. The palace was a bit utilitarian (I'm sure its beautiful on the inside) but there were some great cars parked outside.
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Bentley with a Monegasque license plate. D and I and the castle are reflected in the shinyness.
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We stopped by the post office and picked up some Monaco stamps for postcards which we actually sent from where we were visiting, instead of the post office at CERN (shocking). We then went to Monaco's Cathedral....
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| Outside of the Cathedral |
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| Beautiful and stark |
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| There was an interesting (i.e. really weird) juxtaposition of modern art and really really old tapestries. |
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| Princess Grace's tomb. |
One of my favorite parts of Monaco: they have the MOST GORGEOUS COURTHOUSE EVER. Check this out...
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| Monaco's Palais de Justice - I totally geeked out over seeing this courthouse. It also gave me flashbacks to Civil Procedure class. |
Monaco has an amazing aquarium perched on the edge of the sea. It was curated by Jacques Cousteau. It is the beautiful tall building on the left. The small squat building in its shadow? That is the jail. According to our friend Steve who lives in Nice, says that some of the rooms have a sea view. Wow.
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| Monaco's aquarium and jail. I wonder how much seafront property in the rest of Monaco costs... |
We had to visit the Monte Carlo. There are two parts to the Casino - the 'American Games' section and the real casino. We went into the American Games section: full of slot machines and a few blackjack tables, where the lowest bid we saw was 50 Euros. We were unimpressed (it felt like we were in an old school casino...like the place we always go on Fremont street to get chocolate covered bananas - Mermaids). Then we went into the real Monte Carlo...
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| The Real Monte Carlo Casino. |
This casino is the epitome of luxury. First, we couldn't bring any cameras into the building, and had to check them in the foyer. Second, one must pay to enter the casino and after 18:00 no jeans are allowed, men have to be in tie and jacket to go into the private rooms. D and I just stood slack jawed in the receiving hall. Las Vegas is opulent but it is just a shade of Monte Carlo. Everything was real marble, real gold and real paintings. Gorgeous. I can't imagine what the minimum bets were inside. Considering in the year I lived in LV I only gambled $23, D and I didn't really want to gamble. That plus we were most likely the poorest people in the country.
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| The gaming area of the Monte Carlo... from the outside. |
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| Shopping in Monaco |
We also walked around the shopping area...check out the inside of this 'shopping centre.' This and the 'Golden Square' where Cartier, Channel, Prada, etc. made for a very fun window shopping experience. Parked all along the roads near the Golden Square - Bentleys, Maseratis, Aston Martins, a few Rolls and the most prolific luxury car in Monaco: the Ferrari.
A fun experience - if I ever pay back my law school loans maybe we'll come back and gamble 23 Euros and sip martinis...
* D and I saw an advertisement for 3 tier yacht for rent - only 25,000 Euros/week and it can hold 7 people. This does not include fuel, or crew, or food. We thought it might be a fun party - who's in? We probably can't afford fuel + crew + food, but there are supermarkets where we can grab chips and beer.
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