Our house

Our house
Blue Heron Hill with Mount Baker in the background

Thursday, October 4, 2012

A Grand Finale in the Grand Prix city

Today was Tim and Linda's last day in Nice, and we decided to go to Monaco.  We caught the train about 10, and arrived at the very large and sleek train station in Monaco about 10:30.  It is said that Monaco is so safe that you could walk to the train with your casino winnings in your pocket in the wee hours of the morning without risk of being robbed.  I wish we could have tested this theory with some casino winnings in our pockets!

We walked up to Monaco-Ville, which is the hill where the palace and the old part of town are located.  Looking over the walls we could see Monte Carlo, which is the area around the casinos.

It's hard to see the city for the yachts

Looking over the wall in Monaco-Ville down to the port and Monte Carlo beyond

On the other side of the old town hill is Fontvieille.  Yacht parking available with your apartment!


We walked around the hill, past the palace where Prince Albert resides.  The old town is a warren of little narrow streets. 

A street in Monaco-Ville

In the square in front of the palace are cannons and stacks of cannonballs. 

It looks like they're ready for anything!

We went into the cathedral where Prince Rainier and Princess Grace are buried.


Inside the Cathédrale de Monaco


A little farther down the road is the Musée Océanographique -  the Cousteau Aquarium.  The museum was built in 1910 by Prince Albert I, the father of Prince Rainier.  This was really a highlight for us.  The aquarium is impressive.  We were there before noon, and the place was almost empty.  As we were leaving there were big tour groups getting ready to enter.  For once we weren't part of the mob!


The big tank holding sharks, sea turtles, and other fearless fish



Eels.  Eek!



This guy just hovers along the bottom and blends in with his surroundings.

A whale skeleton in the museum.  The fire below it is part of a rotating exhibit.


We had lunch at the café on the top floor of the aquarium.  The view from the terrace was gorgeous.

We didn't go down to the casinos.  We didn't have any money to lose!

Back at the apartment we had another great boulliabaisse for our last dinner in Nice. 

We went down to the nearest square and had ice cream for dessert.  We strolled around the neighborhood one last time. 

Those 81 stairs got easier as the week went on, and we justified lots of eating and drinking because of them!

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