Monte Carlo, Monaco

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The country of Monaco is smaller than NY’s Central Park, 2nd smallest in the world, but you wouldn’t know it by how much the Monegasques have packed in it!

First stop: the Casino! Ironically, the citizens and residents of Monaco are not allowed to gamble, or even enter the Casino. No photography allowed inside, but I would take the Bellagio over Monte Carlo’s casino any day. Joe begs to differ. I guess you’ll have to visit them both yourself.

Outside of John Cleese and his wife, we didn’t spot any celebrities in the Casino or square.

I love European license plates because you can tell exactly what country and city each car comes from. Cars within the Union have a Union flag on the left side, and “D” stands for Deutschland. In Germany, every plate starts with one or two letters, indicating the city where the car is registered. “FR” is the code for Freiburg.

Apparently, my Rolls Royce got misdirected at customs and sent to Monaco instead of Freiburg. Whoops!

Who drives their Rolls from Freiburg to Monte Carlo anyways?

The license plate codes have actually led to several interesting experiences on our road trips. A car pulled in front of us in Vence, France (click here) and the woman came to the window asking for directions in German because she saw the letters on our plates. We started a conversation because the city-code on her plate was “FR”. She admitted that she was neugierig (nosey) and asked a lot of questions about why we lived in Freiburg. Eventually, she informed us that she used to have several American pilot friends who also studied in Freiburg and offered her husband’s business card. We are pretty positive that her “American pilot friends” were Olmstead Scholars, but the investigation is still in progress. You just don’t find American pilots randomly walking around the streets of Freiburg. Small world. Very small world.

Ok, tangent aside. One last look at Monaco…

The Hill Towns

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Vence – We came to Vence to see the Chapelle du Rosaire (Chapel of the Rosary), which contains artwork by Matisse and was gifted to the nuns who nursed him to health between 1947-1951. He believed it to be his masterpiece, despite creating it in his eighties and being nearly blind.

Sadly, when we arrived to take a look, it was closed. If there is one thing I have learned whilst traveling Europe, it is not to believe anything that is published anywhere about opening/closing times.

Locked Out

Vence

St. Paul de Vence – Visiting these small towns within the hills made me wish I knew more about old French painters. St. Paul de Vence is a quaint little town, filled with alley ways of artwork and wine shops.

Streets of St. Paul de Vence

Chagall is buried in the local cemetery. Not a shabby view for eternity!

Ultimately, St. Paul de Vence is best viewed from afar.

 

Eze – Eze definitely had the most beautiful views of the Riviera. Especially from the cactus garden, Jardin Exotique.

There are sculptures scattered throughout the garden, by Jean-Philippe Richard. They are called “Earth Goddesses”.

Gorgeous!

The French Riviera

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Nice – Nice was the home-base of our French Riviera adventures. It is actually the fifth-largest city in France, which is hard to imagine unless you climb up onto the Chȃteau Hill and get a good look at the city, beaches, and promenade from above.

Ironically, here is where we spent our beach-time. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side of the Atlantic.

Hmmm….I thought I came to France?

Nice is famous for its stone beaches. I’m not going to lie- they look ok from afar, but they are super painful and HOT! We brought chairs, thank goodness, but even walking into the water was excruciating. Laughing at other peoples’ attempts to gracefully enter and exit the water became our favorite beach pastime. When you are in the same room with us, ask to see the “Nice Walk”. Joe does it best!

Cannes – Cannes is actually where Europe’s “upper crust” used to come to sunbathe. They believed that lying on Cannes’ sand beaches (instead of Nice’s rocky shore) would cure their ailments.

Then, of course, is the Palais des Festivals – home of the Cannes Film Festival! Here is the auditorium and the stairs of the stars!

Antibes – Nice and Cannes have the notoriety, but Antibes is where the rich really come to play, and also where Picasso once lived.

Cap d’Antibes

Vauban’s Fort Carré used to guard the important medieval port, but now stands watch over hundreds of sailboats and yachts.

The port has an impressive line-up of some of the world’s largest/most expensive yachts, called Mega Yachts. We did a little Google-ing whilst ogling and “Anastasia” on the far left is priced at a cool 75 Million Euro.