Monaco

August 28th, 2012

MONACO - the country!

Today we took the train about 20 minutes from Nice, France to Monaco...a very small country! The train ride was gorgeous and was along the Mediterranean Sea the whole time!  Not knowing what to expect of Monaco, we found the country to be very rich!  It is very expensive with its one major attraction which is the Monte Carlo Casino.

The country of Monaco is basically set on the Mediterranean Sea with a couple of layers of houses and buildings up the coast.  We spent the day and walked around.  How many people can say that they pretty much walked a whole country in one day!?

Some great aloe vegetation we came across

Steven starring into the big reflecting ball outside of the Casino

Amazing trees...although a lot more ants than I would have liked!

Outside of the Monte Carlo Casino there were just a couple of modest vehicles...

Monte Carlo Casino...yes, we went inside and checked it out.  We do not normally gamble in casinos very often, but we decided that since we were in Monaco, why not give it a try!!  So we carefully selected a slot machine (one that still allowed you to pull down the handle traditionally!) that was playing 5 cent slots and decided that we would spend only 10 euros.  Whatever happens, happens!  Well we started off really good...made it up to 12.50 euros!  We were quite excited about our winning, but continued and lost and gained and lost some more, and then we lost everything!!  It was quite a fun experience though.

After the casino we continued our walking tour up into the higher parts of Monaco  

PHOTO OPT!!! A giant picture frame, framing the views of Monaco

Enjoying the port country

Steven piles, Jenna fires!

Gorgeous views!!

After a day in Monaco, we headed back to Nice on the train and got ready to head out for Annecy, France the next day.  We were extremely sad to leave the French Riviera!  If we had planned differently we would have stayed in Nice, France for at least one more day to enjoy the Kool-Aid blue waters once more!  But our hotels were already booked and our journey was to continue, so off to the French and Swiss Alps!

Architectural Highlight

A brand new apartment in Monaco.  The exterior material was a white tile, typically a small white tile that would be used in the bathroom in Canada.  It actually looked very nice and would probably stay fairly clean since the dirt would wash off.  I would not want to be the person to place those tiny tiles!