Monte Carlo, Monaco

Monte Carlo (literally "Mount Charles") is situated on a prominent coastline at the base of the Maritime Alps along the French Riviera. Near the western end of the quarter is the world-famous Place du Casino, the gambling center which has made Monte Carlo an international by-word for the extravagant display and reckless dispersal of wealth. It drips with wealth I (the average person) have never & will never see unless we should hit the lottery! And I'll tell ya, the folks here were absolutely wonderful, they truly were.  It's also the location of the Hotel de Paris, the Cafe de Paris, and the Salle Garnier (the casino theater which is the home of the Opera de Monte-Carlo. Our eyes were like saucers, and I knew my $20 wasn't going to get us far in this place. We're definitely not in Arizona anymore!

Monte Carlo is host to most of the Circuit de Monaco, on which the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix takes place. It also hosts world championship boxing bouts, the European Poker Tour Grand Final and the World Backgammon Championship as well as the Monaco International Auto Show. Although the Monte Carlo Masters tennis tournament is billed as taking place in the community, its actual location is in the adjacent French commune of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin. Monte Carlo has been visited by royalty as well as movie stars for decades. Monte Carlo has been featured in numerous films and television series, most recently in the 2011 movie of the same name. The casino featured in the James Bond films Never Say Never Again (1983), and GoldenEye (1995). To Catch a Thief (1954) was an Alfred Hitchcock film with Monte Carlo and its famous casino as the setting and featured Cary Grant and Grace Kelly, the future Princess Grace of Monaco, as the stars. There is a scene in the movie where the-then Grace Kelly drives a car very quickly—and dangerously—along the steep winding roads of Monaco that surround the heights of Monte Carlo; an interesting coincidence to her actual fate in 1982. We actually visited her grave yesterday in the Cathedral adjacent to the palace. What a beautiful church! The Monte Carlo Rally is one of the longest running and most respected car rallies; from 1973 to 2008 and again from 2012, it marks the start of World Rally Championship season, having also served as the curtain-raiser for the Intercontinental Rally Challenge between 2009 and 2011. The rally, however, takes place outside the Monte Carlo quarter and is run mostly on French roads.

This place is one of Europe's leading tourist resorts, although many of the key tourist destinations are located in other parts of Monaco, including such attractions as Monaco Cathedral, the Napoleon Museum, the Oceanographic Museum and aquarium, and the Prince's Palace, all of which are located in Monaco-Ville.

The list of notable residents is equally impressive. There are dozens & dozens of the rich & famous here - Ringo Starr (of the Beatles) is quite honestly the most recognizable to me!

Finally, I was able to get some shots of our sail-in. The sun started rising about 90 minutes before docking and although some are a little dark, I elected to share them here nonetheless. Our scheduled tour was canceled due to lack of participation, so we had a leisurely breakfast and left the ship about 8:45. Right outside the terminal, we found an empty Hop-On/Hop-Off bus, bought our day pass, and by 9:00 we were on our way exploring the city. WOW!! What a beautiful, absolutely magnificient city! With that said, I'd still give Barcelona a slight edge. Monte Carlo is very hilly, and not as easy to navigate, though again, extraordinarily pretty, dripping with class. Incredibly clean & well-kept.

We learned today, among other interesting tidbits, that Monaco is second smallest 'state' - that the parking lot at Disneyland (in California) is actually larger. The smallest being the Vatican. I had no idea.

We arrived at the palace at 11:55 - we weren't aware that the changing of the guard took place at Noon, and you'll be able to tell from the photos that we were some of the last to arrive! Following that ceremony, we went to an adjacent sidewalk cafe and had beer & wine. The Bourdeaux was amazing, and just over $12/glass. I had two, while I hand-fed a hungry bird - she really enjoyed the crackers!

I was enthrawled with the high-end auto dealerships - one right after the other. The Ferrari dealer was one of the nicest, as he allowed me to take pictures in the showroom. The Rolls dealer was a bit stubborn...I couldn't even enter with a camera. The streets were full of these beautiful machines - my little Boxster-S would look rediculous here! Numerous electric vehicles as well - and we also saw a lot of  battery-powered lawn equipment, everything from weedwhackers to blowers. They seem very conscience of the environment & pollution...though a high percentage of the population smoke, much the same as what we saw in Spain.

What an awesome day! The weather was beautiful until around 3pm - a storm system started moving in and in fact, we may get a little wet as we attempt to check off another bucket list item tomorrow... the Leaning Tower of Pisa.