I have now visited another very small country. Having already been to Luxembourg, Lichtenstein and Vatican City, I have hit four of the smallest countries in Europe. Thinking about it now, Luxembourg is actually quite large compared to the others. Monaco is a mere .78 sq miles, Luxembourg is 998.6 sq. mile nearly 1000x’s bigger. For my old friends in Oak Park, IL it is 1/6th the size of my home town.
We started on a cloudy windy day to head to the micro city state. A wonderful 1/2 hour drive along twisty road just over the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. Literally an accident was waiting to happen at every turn, one side would be a brick wall and the other would be a 300 foot drop into the sea.
Admittedly, Monaco is impressive. It is the epitome of expressed wealth. Even though I know that I grew up in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, I felt rather poor here. I suppose it is all relative.
I do have to say this, the cheapest cup of coffee I have ever had in a café in Europe I had today in Monaco – a mere 1.50 euro (~$2.00). Trust me that is cheap.
We started our day just outside the Monte Carlo Casino – too rich for our tastes… NO James Bond or bejeweled ladies in fancy gowns (we were there a few hours before they even opened).
We then walked around the harbor area and took a look at a few dinghy’s they had docked there.
Lisy picked one for me to buy for her 25th wedding anniversary. I better start saving.
We did get a chance to walk near the Monaco Palace at the top of a windswept peak just south of the harbors. There we took this post card wanna-be picture…
Unfortunately, we decided to have a street lunch today and can not claim any great meals or exotic dishes tested. A simple Panini in a corner bakery hit the spot.
After lunch we happened upon the Monaco Cathedral where Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier III in 1956.
In the gardens right in front of a the church my wife and I had a chance to pose for a statue. Here is our pose and the final product. I think the sculptor might have been a bit myopic.
Tomorrow we have no real plans beyond the last night of Carnival in Nice. We know there is music, dancing and fireworks.
In honor of our guest poster this week, we captured this picture…
Post updated to honor one of our guest posters of this week.