30 October ’05, Sunday.
Well we have started day-light savings time, and I found it hard to get out of bed this morning. For me, it is like a mild case of “jet lag”. We went to catch the train to Monaco about 11:30, not thinking that it was a Sunday schedule, so we had about an hours wait. The station is right across the street from one of the many beaches, so we decided to go across, get our feet wet and sit in the sun for the remaining time. We knew that we wanted to go to Monaco, but the beach sure felt good to us. Hopefully we will have lots of beach time left as we head into Spain and Portugal. After 45 minutes on the train, we pulled into a very nice station in Monaco. As we walked down the walkway towards the marina, we found a carnival in full action. What fun walking through the carnival, people watching, smelling the great carnival foods, enjoying the kids laughing and screaming on the different rides, and hearing the “barkers” of the different game contests calling out. It was also amazing at how many winners that were carrying around the huge stuffed teddy bears. Changing course a little, we went across the street and walked the slip area of the big yachts of Monaco. They are amazing…some so big you would think they were a commercial cruise ship. Enough day dreaming of yachts…we found the walkway to the Palais du Prince, so up the hill we went. The Monaco Palace is nice, but more like a chateau to me. We walked around and looked at the usual tourist areas on the exterior, and then headed over to see the Cathedrale de Monaco.
The grave of Princess Grace, Prince Rainier, and other members of the royal family since 1885 are here in the cathedrals crypt. Further down the street we found the Musee Oceanographique. This is a large museum of oceanographic items and a wonderful aquarium. We spent about 2 ½ hours in the aquarium watching all the amazing fish. There were many in the tanks that we have never seen before. Oh yes, we did find time in there somewhere to have lunch along the boardwalk. I had a real good plate of veal in a gravy sauce and wild rice, while Louise had a gorgonzola cheese pizza (yes Ann, she could eat another pizza..). With the daylight fading, we headed up the hill to the place du Casino. Between the yachts, the very expensive high-rise condos, the high powered cars, the “beautiful” people, and now the finest of the finest casinos…it’s almost too much, but it is something to see. We were able to walk into the first entry of “The” Casino, but that was as far as they would let us go. Angled across the street, is another smaller casino that was open for us to enter. Of course Louise had to try out a couple of games there, but it was very short lived. Speaking of short lived, the day flew by and we had a train to catch. As it was, we had a long walk back in the dark once we got off the train…like Halloween…”Spooky”…
Well we have started day-light savings time, and I found it hard to get out of bed this morning. For me, it is like a mild case of “jet lag”. We went to catch the train to Monaco about 11:30, not thinking that it was a Sunday schedule, so we had about an hours wait. The station is right across the street from one of the many beaches, so we decided to go across, get our feet wet and sit in the sun for the remaining time. We knew that we wanted to go to Monaco, but the beach sure felt good to us. Hopefully we will have lots of beach time left as we head into Spain and Portugal. After 45 minutes on the train, we pulled into a very nice station in Monaco. As we walked down the walkway towards the marina, we found a carnival in full action. What fun walking through the carnival, people watching, smelling the great carnival foods, enjoying the kids laughing and screaming on the different rides, and hearing the “barkers” of the different game contests calling out. It was also amazing at how many winners that were carrying around the huge stuffed teddy bears. Changing course a little, we went across the street and walked the slip area of the big yachts of Monaco. They are amazing…some so big you would think they were a commercial cruise ship. Enough day dreaming of yachts…we found the walkway to the Palais du Prince, so up the hill we went. The Monaco Palace is nice, but more like a chateau to me. We walked around and looked at the usual tourist areas on the exterior, and then headed over to see the Cathedrale de Monaco.
The grave of Princess Grace, Prince Rainier, and other members of the royal family since 1885 are here in the cathedrals crypt. Further down the street we found the Musee Oceanographique. This is a large museum of oceanographic items and a wonderful aquarium. We spent about 2 ½ hours in the aquarium watching all the amazing fish. There were many in the tanks that we have never seen before. Oh yes, we did find time in there somewhere to have lunch along the boardwalk. I had a real good plate of veal in a gravy sauce and wild rice, while Louise had a gorgonzola cheese pizza (yes Ann, she could eat another pizza..). With the daylight fading, we headed up the hill to the place du Casino. Between the yachts, the very expensive high-rise condos, the high powered cars, the “beautiful” people, and now the finest of the finest casinos…it’s almost too much, but it is something to see. We were able to walk into the first entry of “The” Casino, but that was as far as they would let us go. Angled across the street, is another smaller casino that was open for us to enter. Of course Louise had to try out a couple of games there, but it was very short lived. Speaking of short lived, the day flew by and we had a train to catch. As it was, we had a long walk back in the dark once we got off the train…like Halloween…”Spooky”…