My heart broke on Day 10 of the trip when Jeremy told me he wanted to go home. I will never forget that walk we had in Florence. We spent the next 17 days going back and forth with him about it, but he withdrew more and more each day. He is 18, getting ready to go off to college, and needed to be with his friends for his "last summer". We let him buy his ticket home.
Saying goodbye at Nice airport - Jeremy didn't look back.
Since Nice is over 1 1/2 hours away and Jeremy had an early flight, our day started at 2:00am. In the French Riviera, it doesn't take much effort to make the best out of your day, even when it starts entirely too early! A huge perk was no traffic and crowds! We started with an empty Monaco at 6am.
Interesting facts about Monaco:
- It is the second smallest country in the world (after the Vatican).
- It takes 50 minutes to walk from one end to the other. (It is very small but each end has a large hill.)
- One of the requirements to be a resident is that you have a valid Monaco bank account.
- Monaco bank accounts require a minimum deposit of 1 million euros.
- It has 33,000 ultra-wealthy residents - who are not allowed to gamble or even enter the casino.
Stepping out of the parking structure right on to the Grand Prix race track!
First we walked up the hill to the legendary casino. It opens at 2pm, and if you are over 18 years old, you can get in for 10 euro. Of course it has a dress code - no shorts or flip flops - but even around the "country" we saw signs for tourists showing pictures that you must be properly dressed (no bathing suits).
Monte Carlo Casino
A few nice cars were parked in front of the casino
Then we walked across the country and up the hill to Monaco-Ville to see the palace.
Palais Princier de Monaco
View of Monaco from Monaco-Ville hilltop
Streets where the Grand Prix is held
Looking across to the opposite hillside in Monaco - the casino, with its green roof, is in the very center of the picture. A cruise ship has just pulled in.
After Monaco we headed inland to the "Cite Historique" of Vence. The walled old-town appears much like it did hundreds of years ago, and has charming sights around every turn. We stumbled onto its market in the square, which felt the least touristy of the markets we have visited so far.
Vence's Cite Historique is quite charming!
The old-town's daily market in the town square
We continued 10 minutes down the road to St. Paul de Vence - one of the oldest medieval towns on the French Riviera. We arrived with six tour buses...it is not a secret! It doesn't take long to walk its narrow maze of pedestrian-only streets, which are lined with art galleries and other expensive, touristy shops. The town felt spoiled to me, like its true ancientness had been gutted out and refurbished with perfect, modern, artsy -touristy- ancientness. I still managed to get some pretty pictures, though.
The hill-top walled village of St. Paul de Vence
The not-so-ancient artsy cobblestone
Their street signs were cool!
Logistics:
- There are 9 other St. Paul's in France so make sure you get the right one! Our GPS had a hard time finding it. Although it has a huge billboard on the highway, there are few signs leading you there. When you finally see it, follow the sign to "St. Paul".
- For a less touristy feel, try other nearby towns which are also beautiful, small and picturesque: Vence (Cite Historique) or Tourresttes-sur-Loup
