We’re going to a new country today! YES! I know, I know, we just got to Nice, and already we’re leaving?? But no, not really. Monaco is a 25 minute train ride away, so we’re really just heading to a neighbouring village for sightseeing and lunch. Except for the neighbouring village is one of the richest countries in the world…
In any case, I’m up early, and today, I manage to sneak out without waking anyone else up! I head over to the bakery and start ordering breakfast. The kind lady is already warming up my cheese and ham ciabatta, when I ask “but where are the almond croissants?”. Turns out, they’re so almost done, if I can wait five minutes, I’ll get a fresh one out of the oven. Of course I’ll wait for a fresh one! I buy myself a cup of tea, and sit down at one of the many tables outside and wait. When the croissant is ready, the baker himself brings it outside for me, and I head back home.
Once breakfast was eaten and cleaned away, we walked to the train station. It’s a good 25 minute walk to the train station, I know there are trams and buses that go there as well, but then we have to wait for schedules, figure out tickets, and they still take about the same time! So we walk, every time.
The train ride is fast, along the beautiful French Riviera. Each stop on the train is a new little village, and they all look quaint, peaceful and beautiful. This is definitely an area well worth visiting, if you get the chance!
We get off the train in Monaco, and follow the signs for the waterfront. We are soon in a very strange mirror maze of hallways, but figure it out and make our way back above ground. We find ourselves behind the bleacher seats, and it’s all very confusing. All the roads are wrapped in heavy fencing, and apparently it’s all for three short weekends right around these days, when the famous Formula 1 races are in Monaco. All the barriers look very permanent to me, but I also did not realize at the time that we were here on a weekday, and there was probably a race lined up for either the previous or the following weekend.
Our first destination in Monaco has to be lunch. We’ve travelled and walked a bunch already, and we’re hot. We look for a restaurant, and follow Joe’s lead to a place called Mada One. Fun fact: When my Norwegian phone provider boasts that with their roaming system, I can use my phone in the rest of Europe as I can in Norway, they don’t mean Monaco! We spend the day with patchy wifi access here and there, and rely on asking people and checking maps only when online. What a change! In France, we had no issues with my data package and Joe connecting to my hotspot. Only issue of course is when he takes one daughter in one direction, and I the other somewhere else…
We sit down amongst very fancy looking people, buildings, tables, even glassware. We are given menus, and start looking at our options. It has just passed 11.30am, when a waiter asks us if we will be ordering from the breakfast or lunch menus, as the breakfast service is almost over. Ok fine, we will pick from the lunch menu, no problem. When another waiter comes to take our order, we are asked if it is ok to wait half an hour to order, because the lunch menu doesn’t start until 12pm. Argh… Ok, we order from the breakfast menu.
And then we wait. Joe, Maylin and I all have our breakfasts already, but Téa’s is nowhere to be seen. I flag down a third waiter, and ask her to check on our avocado toast. When it arrives, all of our jaws drop.
After breakfast, we headed out to explore this new country we were in. Monaco is very Monegasque, just as the language, the country is a mix of French and Italian. The Italian border is not far away, even though the country lies fully within France. I hear all sorts of languages around me, lots of English, and all the waiters switch between all three languages seamlessly.
Down the street, to the left and across a heavily guarded bit of road, we find… Casino de Monte-Carlo! The facade is currently being renovated, but they have the exact replica printed onto the security net that covers all the scaffolding, so it kind of looks like it is still there?
There are luxury cars parked all along the front of the casino, even though this seems like a pedestrian area. In fact, the road through the area looks indistinguishable from the rest of the plaza, the only thing that makes it a road is that it is roped off, guarded and cars drive on it. I don’t speak cars, at all, but I can tell a luxury car from a regular car because it’s very small. At least short. The ones that look like you have to lay down to get into them? Yes those, lots of those. And bright colours, and they look like they would need a helicopter to help them get across a speed bump.
Joe leads us towards The Hairpin Turn. Apparently cars go fast here? And maybe even smaller/shorter/lower cars than the ones outside the casino?
After watching the hairpin turn for a bit, watching buses struggle driving uphill, needing both lanes to do so, we go off to find the Old Town of Monaco. We walk along this elevated walkway into nothingness, the only thing at the end of this “pier” above traffic is an elevator. Apparently there are lots of elevators in this country, as it is about as steep as the Norwegian Lofoten Island, only with lots more buildings and people and cars and also yes elevators.
We walk and we walk and we walk and we walk, and we have to walk past the entire harbour again, wave hello at my fellow yachters, and through a maze of blocked off roads with pit stops and bleachers. On the other side, still not having internet, and having read that there’s supposed to be an elevator here, we ask for directions from a security guard. No, sorry, there’s no elevator. We find the stairs instead.
We head back down allllllll the steps, not envying the people just starting their climb. We pass by all the bleachers and the road blocks and the security teams, the many restaurants with views to empty racing surroundings. Then, we find ourselves back in that odd mirror maze, and this time I remember to take a picture!
We got back to Nice nice and early, and started our 25 minute walk back towards our very own Old Town. I always enjoy looking at this building, and so thought I would share it with you:
We find a chocolatier on our way home, and of course we stop in! He has buckets of tiny chocolates all shaped into perfect miniatures of cherries, apples, oranges and more. I buy a couple of each, and bring them home. I did not buy his more artistic creations, like his Lily of the Valley in a pot, all chocolate, or what looked like ravioli, but was chocolate covered in marzipan. I could easily spent more time and more money in his shop!
We stopped by our morning bakery for a couple of salads and sandwiches for dinner, and ate at home. I have wanted a Nicoise salad since the day I got a Caesar by mistake, so today I get my tuna and egg salad. Then, we have a plate of fruit:
Would you believe me if I said we’re going abroad again tomorrow? There’s a Friday market we have to visit! Tomorrow’s departure is bright and early, so tonight, we herd the kids to bed and hope for a good night’s sleep.