Monaco

You would think that if Monaco was to be one of our ports of call, we would get to visit Monaco. However, given that May 1 is a holiday in Monaco and given, furthermore, that the Monaco Grand Prix began on May 1, we were advised to stay away from at least the Monte Carlo area of Monaco. Fortunately, we had already scheduled an excursion to Nice and Eze along the Riviera, and though we had thought we might conclude the day with an hour or two walk into Monaco, it ended up being OK with us only to view the principality from a distance.

There are three road that follow the coast from Monaco to the west toward Nice. They are collectively referred to as the three Cornishes. One is the lower Cornishe, which is relatively close to the sea, the second is about halfway up the cliffs, and the third follows the crest of the cliffs. Our tour bus took us along the lower Cornish to Nice. Along the way, there were continuous impressive views of the bays, coastlines, yachts, villages, and many expensive homes in the area. Of course, the Riviera is a major tourism and resort area and draws lots of the rich and famous, and it truly is a beautiful geographic region. In Nice, we were given time to visit the flower and produce market that operates there all days except Sunday. The market was probably three football fields long, with the first third devoted to flowers and plants of all kinds, the middle third devoted mostly to fruits, and the final third devoted to vegetables. Sprinkled throughout were miscellaneous fresh seafood stands, fresh spice markets, mushroom markets, and some finished goods, like personal products (crèmes, soaps, etc.), embroidered linens, and other such things. We came away with a carton of the sweetest fresh strawberries and an assortment of excellent dried fruits (figs, dates, peaches, and apricots)—snacks for onboard the ship.

Eze sits well above the sea, and we reached it on our return trip via the second or middle Cornishe. In Eze, there are two extraordinary hotels with amazing views. Indeed, for one of them, they use donkeys to carry the luggage to the rooms, which are distinct buildings from the lobby and restaurant area. Eze is also home to at least two perfumeries, since the city is close to the sources for various French fragrances.

As we traveled along these two roads to and from Nice, our guide pointed out homes that were owned or were at one time owned by persons such as Elton John, King Farouk of Egypt, Sophia Loren, and others. Paul Allen (Microsoft) has a home there, which is not easily seen since it can only be reached by helicopter or boat—this is where Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt hid out when they were waiting for the birth of their twins. We also saw a yacht belonging to the finance minister of Saudi Arabia, and numerous other magnificent yachts and homes. Though not owned by anyone particularly famous, we did see the home that is said to be the most expensive home in the world. It sits on a very high promontory well above the sea and requires 50 full-time gardeners to maintain the grounds. It has been available for sale at an asking price of 500 million euros (about 700 million dollars). A wealthy Russian made an offer some years ago and put down nearly 200 million as a deposit. Then the world economy turned sour and he had to withdraw, thus losing his deposit, which the owner donated to charity. The place was gorgeous, but 500 million euros???

Shortly before we arrived back in Monaco, we saw a sports arena that belongs to the principality. It comprises a full soccer arena with seating that must rival many of our college stadiums. Below it is a swimming facility, a wrestling arena, and a 2000 car parking facility. The guide said that the people in Monaco (only 32,000 residents) really know how to dig down, since they have so little land (one and one-half square miles total). Though we had been discouraged from walking into Monte Carlo or other parts of Monaco, our guide and driver did find a convenient place for us to stop at a high point so that we could look down at the whole of the area. We could see the royal palace, where Grace Kelley once lived as Princess with Prince Ranier, the cathedral where she is entombed, and several government buildings. To the east from there was Monte Carlo, the name given to the resort within the principality that houses the famous casino, luxury hotels, and other venues. To our surprise, we could see one of the Grand Prix races in progress—we were told it was an early race involving vintage cars. There was a huge large screen TV in the midst of the race area that showed the cars at strategic points along the course, which is just as set of blocked off streets within Monte Carlo. The roar of the engines, even where we were, was amazing.

Another sign of the rich and famous was the number of beautiful, expensive cars we saw. As our bus made its way to Nice, we thought at a reasonable speed, a bright yellow Ferrari roared past us as we neared a curve. This was not a pass I would have thought safe, but risky, high performance driving is a big deal here.