A weekend in Monte Carlo

June 10, 2005 After almost 3 hours, we arrive at our destination. The hotel is located in Roquebrune Cap Martin, a small village just a few km from the Principality of Monaco. The sea has beautiful colors, the water is very clear... too bad that the air, still very cool in June, doesn't allow us to take a swim.. In the afternoon we reach Monte Carlo, one word only: SPLENDID. It truly is splendid, it looks like a painting by a very skilled painter, everything is perfect.. the casino, the gardens, the skyscrapers, an extremely tidy port full of boats or rather yachts. It seems, or rather it is, the perfect city, where everything seems to run smoothly without any hitch, quite unlike Milan...

Honestly, we imagined it as a city for the rich only, but instead we realized that yes, there is an enormous amount of wealth and splendor like no one has ever seen, but it is also a town that lives up to the "normal" man, the ordinary office worker, just to give you an idea. What honestly impressed me like nothing ever has was the massive presence of local police who at night patrolled the town even on foot.. there wasn't a corner of the city where you wouldn't find someone in uniform... fantastic, it gave you an incredible feeling of safety... you could walk around calmly and safely... just like Milan, practically JJJ.. joking of course.. the exact opposite...

In the evening we opt for a romantic dinner and to best enjoy (not the food because it seemed like an appetizer to us.. J) but the evening view, we choose a restaurant right on the port...It looked like a scene from a movie... and then off for Monte Carlo by night Even more beautiful at night, all lit up, a mandatory stop at the casino and the ritual photo!! We decided to enter the Casino "for everyone", I say for everyone because in fact there are 2 just 50 meters from each other and the difference is noticeable at the entrance..

in one we find super luxurious cars parked at its entrance with butlers who, after helping you out of the car, accompany you to the entrance and then go back to park the car; the entrance is obviously selective and in the space in front of the entrance dozens and dozens of tourists crowd with their mouths open at the sight of those ultra-luxurious cars and perhaps managing to spot some VIP... needless to say, we enter the other casino where yes, they pay attention to your clothing, but let's say it's a bit like a chic arcade where you try your luck... ours made us win 90 Euros!! Always with our lucky numbers! (We will visit Montecarlo better on the 3rd day) It's gotten late, it's already past midnight, we still have two days ahead of us up and down the most beautiful roads... So off to bed

Wake-up at 7:30 am, the sky is still overcast.. but we must not get discouraged, the coast is waiting for us... First stop, Cannes.. we arrive in the characteristic area of the Old Port, where characteristic venues are found that continue to the nearby Le Suquet district The Cannes seaside promenade is the main attraction of this seaside city... and a walk along the splendid Boulevard de la Croisette makes us feel better.. At the end of the avenue is the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, famous for hosting the renowned Film Festival in September. Due to lack of time we decide not to board the ferry heading to the Lérins Islands, (right in front of Cannes) a series of islands ideal for those who wish, perhaps just for a few days, to get away from the glitz and crowds of the city. Easily reachable also by ferry or private boats, St. Marguerite and St.

Honorat offer beaches and coves where you can enjoy some sun and sea in tranquility.

For lunch we choose a very good baguette prepared on the spot by a vendor in the little squares along the seafront and then on the beach.. because finally the sun peeks through! The beach is very crowded, the sea a bit rough.. it's very windy (cold), the only way to endure is to lie down on the towel.. and relax.. Another destination a few minutes from Cannes heading toward Nice, you come across Antibes – Juan les Pins, a summer resort town with many shops, characteristic restaurants, beautiful deserted beaches.. and a port where yachts and boats dock; the town is also interesting from a cultural point of view, in fact it hosts the Archaeological Museum and the Picasso Museum (but we didn't see them). Antibes and Juan les Pins are a paradise for sea lovers like us, they have fine sand beaches and sunny bays that stretch for about 24 kilometers.

Five ports are ready to welcome the largest and most luxurious boats in the world; the Port of Vauban and its quay are for this reason called "the billionaires'." The beaches, public or private, are long stretches of fine sand and offer ever-changing landscapes: the old town, Cap d'Antibes, the Alpine massifs in the background of the city. One of Antibes' attractions is its large marine park. Millions of tourists come every year to admire its majestic mammals. Antibes is also the world capital of the rose, thanks to the fabulous park that an eccentric Parisian created in the 19th century by planting the rarest and most fragrant species there; the city today is completely surrounded by this glowing and magnificent flower that perfumes the Mediterranean. Still heading toward Nice, we reach Villefranche sur Mer... the clouds have come back to keep us company: ( Back to the hotel..

after a long day on the French Riviera.. In the evening we decide to eat at a restaurant in Montecarlo... and since you don't often end up in Montecarlo, we decide to dine like VIPs one evening and choose the restaurant located at the famous swimming pool corner (obviously known to F1 fans)... basically where we were sitting a few weeks earlier, Formula One cars were speeding by, and in front of us a fantastic scene... do you want to know what was there?...yachts, yachts and only yachts that, seen in perspective, seem to be one on top of the other... We ate divinely and when we asked for the bill we realized that paying 86 euros... 1 seafood first course, 1 salmon first course, 1 mixed fried fish, 1 bottle of water and ½ liter of white wine is something you can do rarely in life...

what do you think? After dinner we got back in the car to make another stop at the casino, but first we wanted to enjoy a driving tour through Montecarlo full of lights... not by chance I enter a straight stretch where I immediately realize I'm on what is the finishing straight of the Monaco Grand Prix, and so we take a nice lap like the F1 cars... it may seem strange but it's beautiful... right after the tree-lined straight parallel to the port, you go up toward the casino, come down below into the fascinating Mirabeau chicane (named after the majestic hotel) and then off, admittedly easing off the accelerator a bit, into the city tunnel that practically emerges again at the port, off through the swimming pool section and then you're back at the finish line... a leisurely lap but one in which you admire all of "maritime" Montecarlo.

Having parked the car in a parking lot in front of the casino, we go inside this evening too, but unlike the previous evening, this time luck turns its back on us... never mind... the important thing is never to overdo it, but to have fun with little, which sometimes pays off quite well!!!

Last day.. as we already said, we dedicate it to Monte Carlo A place that immediately brings to mind words like Principality - Casino and F1 Grand Prix, but in reality there is more, such as the Oceanographic Museum, conceived by Jacques Cousteau with his adventurous overseas research. Another recommended stop is the Japanese gardens, created to fulfill a wish of Princess Grace, and also the Cathedral of Monaco, completely rebuilt, and the Clock Tower of the Prince's Palace in white stone from La Turbie, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. The official apartments of the sumptuous prince's palace are open to the public. And naturally the Casino. You can't say you've been to Monte Carlo if you haven't visited the "citadel" of gambling, one of the most famous in the world. The view from the Ranieri Palace is fantastic... What a beautiful place, it feels like living in a fairy tale..

the principality is like that....you love it... Later we decide to go to the Oceanographic Museum there are no words to describe the interior.. Having left the Museum, right in front of us an extremely interesting tour awaits on board the MONACO – TOUR little train; it passes through the most hidden and beautiful spots of Montecarlo... beautiful... if in Rome they had intentions of doing a ROME – TOUR I can imagine how many cars would start honking in the street at the little train, which obviously moves at very low speeds... here instead calm reigns even in this... cars line up behind the little train and when they have the chance they overtake without cursing, nor honking or maybe telling you to go to hell...

Our weekend is almost over... we set off toward Italy... but before entering the highway we decide to stop in Menton, a splendid seaside town with lots of little shops and handicrafts; here too the sea has beautiful colors... as for the rest I can only say that overall you feel the air of nearby Italy, in fact it seems like a town in the style of Diano Marina, in the style of Ventimiglia, just to give you an idea... Goodbye FRENCH RIVIERA... Selene and Luca