This morning Walter, our guide, is Johnny-on-the-spot to pick us up for our tour of Èze, Monaco & Monte Carlo. Already on board is a pair of Australian ladies & we make a stop to pick up another couple, also Aussis. Our first stop is the medieval village if Èze. It is perched high on a crag just a few clicks northeast from Nice. It has a Disneyesque feel & according to Wikipedia old Walt spent a lot of time here. The streets are impossibly narrow & windy, more like mountain trails. Walter points out the hotel where the Edge was married & says Bono has a home nearby. It seems like a romantic fun place to stay if you are sure-footed. We catch glimpses inside the luxury hotel; Chateau de la Chevre d’Or as we clamber around. Something is off though. Maybe it’s that they’ve wedged a touristy vender into every possible nook & cranny detracting from what would otherwise be totally charming & one-of-a-kind. We only have a few minutes then it's back in the van for Monaco.
The closer we get the more congested the traffic gets and Walter tries an alternate route. Still it’s crowded. At .78 square miles, & 36,371 residents Monaco is the second smallest (only the Vatican is smaller) and most densely populated country in the world. It enjoys French protection & we do not need the passports we brought. Dang, because I’d love a Monaco stamp! We make our way to the subterranean parking under Monaco-Ville, the mostly pedestrian area where we will view the changing of the guards in front of the palace. Walter drops us at the Maritime museum in front of Saint Nicholas Cathedral. We have just enough time before the changing of the guards to enter the cathedral where the remains of Princess Grace & her husband Prince Rainier III are interred. It is cool & quiet inside, lovely. Photos are allowed & we indulge. Over at the palace the guards are queueing up for their routine. I’m going to sound like an “ugly American’ here when I say the ceremony is better at Arlington National Cemetery in DC. Maybe because of what’s being guarded. No one lives in the palace, it is mostly used for welcoming dignitaries & houses royal offices. Also, as the guards move into position they are super casual and only snap to as the ceremony begins. Plus it is sweltering! Immediately after we hustle into a an air-conditioned shop for some post cards & souvenirs then settle into a cafe to have a cold drink & write our cards. We are hurrying to meet our deadline to rendezvous with the group but as we have discovered, in this part of the world, getting a waiter to bring the check is an art form we have not mastered. When we get back to the designated meeting point we are informed that Walter & the group have LEFT!!! Another guide from his company is there to look for us & helps us reunite in front of the Monte Carlo Casino.
So, Monte Carlo is a neighborhood within Monaco. I wasn't clear on that before. Talk about high rolling!! Monaco is a tax haven for anyone wealthy enough to afford some of the priciest real-estate on the planet. Ferraris & Lamborghinis are sardined in streets lined with every luxury brand imaginable. Painted in the traffic lanes are the starting blocks for the world famous Grand Prix that runs in the streets here. We hurriedly take a few photos be fore hopping back in the van for a turn around the course. Each May 200,000 people pack in to this tiny country to see the race. It sounds like a glamorous nightmare! There are tight turns, elevation changes, a tunnel and a swing by the yacht filled harbor.
Once back in the van Walter and the couple are giving us a hard time about being late. We notice a definite chill from the formerly friendly ladies. Actually I think they are absolutely pissed. We have apologized so I’m sot sure what else we can do to make it right. Our final stop is to the Fragonard perfume factory before returning to Nice. I’m sure this is the whole point of the tour. Fragonard ads are everywhere & I think they printed the brochures for this tour in exchange for a steady stream of captive clients. Every tour includes a stop here. That being said it is a fascinating process & I thoroughly enjoy it. We even purchase some fragrances & body oil before our return to Nice.
In summary, I’m glad we went but if I had it to do over I would either go on my own or try to arrange a private tour at our own pace. We no sooner would arrive somewhere then it was time to hop back in the van.
This is our last night in Nice and for dinner we opt for a steak house we’ve seen on the pedestrian boulevard. Ernesto has the surf & turf & I have spaghetti with salmon. We are going to grow gills at this rate!! Nathalie had recommended lots of restaurants but I don’t know if we’ve hit any of them preferring instead to walk in the first place that looks appealing and we haven’t been disappointed. We ate every meal outside which has been heavenly, marred only by the incredible amount of smoking that is still being done by a huge amount of the population here.
We make our way home in time to do a little laundry & pack our bags for the next leg of this adventure; Paris!
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