Monaco

I have been away for three weeks today! Seven more to go….. ; )

I hauled my self out of bed after lovely, early morning phone call from Mo….whom I love dearly!!!!! She has such a great way of putting things in perspective for me. After a shower, I shoved a slice of cold pizza in my mouth and set off to find “a strong cup of coffee, as advised by a good friend…I found my morning café crème, something I can’t seem to live without lately… (think European Starbucks addiction, but BETTER… and it cost the same as your morning grande latte…the buzz lasts longer tho) at a lovely bakery that specializes in (I’m going to spell this wrong, so forgive) vinoisserie (layered breads… think croissants and Danish type dough) and set off to find the bus to Monaco. I asked for directions at a hotel and found my way to the bus station just in time to board the x-press bus to Monaco. 1 euro.

I was NOT ready for what I found when I got off the bus. Monaco, for lack of a better term, is CRAZY BEAUTIFUL. You can almost smell money in the air. For the first two, three.. hours… I wandered around like a slack-jawed yokel. Every corner provided some new vantage point of WOW and wealth. Once I settled down a bit I started to take it all in… the architecture, the roads winding up and down the mountainous sea-coast, the history, the castles, the new developments, the water in its ever-changing form and color. Monaco is a whole OTHER level of WOW. In my head, I could not properly articulate just how amazing it is there… so i found my brain full of profanity… mostly the F-word…all the while my shutter sounding furiously. I took close to 500 pictures today.

Unwittingly, I walked the course that the Formulae 1 drivers race and in retrospect I can almost hear the engines roaring. I wandered the gardens of the Prince’s Palace. I ducked up and down tiny streets. I visited churches and cathedrals (lit candles for my loved ones). I sat on the beach and watched children play. I marveled at the fish that could be seen through the crystal water. I made my way to the famed Hotel de Paris (Alain Ducasse has a restaurant there Louis XIV…remember Le Jules Verne from Paris… same Chef) Sadly, not open until 8pm, but I had a chance to go to the American Bar in the hotel lobby where I graciously treated myself to a glass of champagne…(yes, I was celebrating a bit…but I’ll keep the details of what I was celebrating to myself). I walked in the lobby, escorted by the doorman… who asked me gently to put my camera away and I quickly understood why. That is by far the most opulent and …. well-appointed hotel lobby I have ever set foot in. Keeping an eye out for the random celebrity…I saw none (at least none known to me. My champagne was served with a few well thought out bar snacks … bread sticks with avocado purée, marinated straw mushrooms (which I tried, and still don’t like) wasabi peas and a small martini glass of kettle chips. I sipped my champagne and decided to have dinner across the street (kitty corner from the famed Casino, Monaco) at the Cafe De Paris…. I had a Lamb Shoulder, braised with peppers, aubergine, potato, olives, a hint of curry and raisin cous cous…. YUM… I, sadly, had to hurry a bit because I was very close to missing the last bus back to Nice and while I was very ready mentally to book a room at a hotel for when I missed it… I preferred to take that option another night … when maybe it is a bit more planned.

The ride back to Nice was WAYYYY more scenic than the ride to Monaco..especially since it was later in the twilight hours and all the coast had a beautiful rosy glow and twinkled like stars. I wished I was not on a bus and could have taken pictures of it… utterly amazing.

BTW… the bus station is so much closer to my apt than I thought before… and now that I know where it is and where I can go for the LOW, LOW price of 1 or 2 euro…. I’m ON IT.

I can’t say it enough… But I am very happy and grateful to have you all along for the ride.

3/8/09