France day 8

 

Monaco

          The second smallest and most densely populated country in the world contains less than one square mile of area and has a population of more than 35,000. It’s Monaco (can you name the smallest?), a narrow little principality with 4 miles of French Riviera coastline, and it would be even smaller but for having filled in some of Mediterranean to grow by 20% or so.   After a 3-hour drive, we arrived here, whereupon Brian immediately drove the Monaco Grand Prix route.  It took him nearly 10 minutes with the traffic, although I understand others do it much more quickly during the race each year.

Guarding the home of the prince

 

            The Grimaldi family of Prince Albert II has ruled this place almost continuously since 1297, and we can only speculate why France or some other country didn’t swallow it up permanently many years ago.  Maybe they were put off by tiny size of the place.  Perhaps it was the price of land, which as recently as 2011 was $69,700 per square meter, or around $7,000 per square foot if you prefer a smaller lot.  Or maybe the rich, famous, and influential wanted to preserve this tourist and recreation center, where you can plunk down a few 100,000-euro chips at the tables in the Monte Carlo Casino to impress your fellow billionaires.  After all, it stays out of international disputes and is one of the safest places on earth—and besides, how would they run the Monaco Grand Prix each year if there were no Monaco? In any case, it’s loaded with high rollers, big yachts, pricey cars, and the world’s glitterati.   We saw the Bentleys, the Rolls Royces with their capped drivers, and all Ferraris you’d ever want to own—we noticed one of the newer ones had a Russian license plate.  Maybe the same person who owns the biggest yacht in the harbor here.

            After seeing Prince Rainer’s digs and the great casino, we just happened to notice the ice cream shop and, noting how close we are to Italy, it seemed appropriate to take one more chance on the ice cream.  Now, the Italians know ice cream, or gelato, and perhaps some of it had made its way across the border.  We chose an unusual flavor—sesame—and found it to be rich and creamy, with just the right amount of cream and butterfat.  The sesame flavor did not overwhelm, but two members who were able to sneak a very small taste agreed that it was the best of the trip.

 Eze from below

            Then it was on to Eze, a medieval stone village perched atop a 1,500-foot high promontory overlooking the beautiful Mediterranean Sea.  It was a long climb, but this former Phoenician dwelling place provided magnificent views and interesting little cobblestone streets and stone buildings.  Nearly 3,000 people live here today, most of whom seem to own or work in the 2,500 shops lining the streets.  OK, maybe there weren’t 2,500, but there were plenty to take up the rest of the afternoon before we headed for the B&B in Nice.

            After a nice dinner in a nearby restaurant, we sadly began saying our goodbyes to Brian and Natalie, who will leave us here tomorrow morning after pushing us through all of France, from Normandy to the Mediterranean, in 8 days. 
Don’t tell them, but we are totally exhausted, and it’s time to head for the beach.

 Charlie and Tricia

©2014