To get to Monte Carlo from Nice you can take a bus for 1.50€. This is much cheaper than the train and runs every fifteen minutes. The trip is about eighty minutes and the bus was filled to capacity. I had to stand up for the entire trip but Marg was lucky enough to find the last seat.
The trip traverses the Mediterranean coastline with magnificent views of the beaches and bays along the Cote d’Azur. Visually this ride will stay with me a long time.
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| View of eastern Monte Carlo from the casino |
We had lunch at a restaurant that overlooked the harbour and was adjacent to one of the roads used in the track for the Monaco Grand Prix. The road is a steep incline and ends with a sharp left-hand turn. It must take a lot of skill and nerve to race on this course. Our meal consisted of two large hamburgers and two beers. The total cost came out to about 60€.
The Grand Prix has been run since 1929 and it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the world. The race is held on a narrow course laid out in the streets of Monaco, with many elevation changes and tight corners as well as a tunnel, making it one of the most demanding tracks in Formula One.
The yachts in the harbour are beyond description. They are floating mansions. Even if you won the biggest jackpot in LottoMax, it still wouldn't come close to value of these behemoths.
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| Harbour in Monte Carlo |
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| Harbour in Monte Carlo |
Marg went to the casino but she couldn't gain admission to the main casino because she did not have proper identification. Just to get into the casino it costs 10€. We did find an auxiliary slot machine hall and Marg was successful there, doubling her money in about thirty minutes.
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| Casino in Monte Carlo |
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| Sports car arriving at the casino |
Nice is a hot spot for jazz and it annually hosts the world's oldest jazz festival. While walking back from the bus terminal to our apartment, we passed a musical instrument store. In the store several musicians were jamming with trumpets and clarinets. Outside there was a young boy who was mimicking these musicians. It is not a large stretch of the imagination to see this boy playing in a jazz band in the future.
We started the evening by going to the Le Bistrot des Viviers. We have never experienced such poor service in our lives. Pathetic and insulting are words that spring to mind. We arrived and the waitress asked if we had a reservation. When we said no that we didn't have a reservation she made a big dramatic production of finding us a table despite the fact that several tables were available.
After about ten minutes without any service we hailed her over and she ensured us that it would be just another minute before she got to us. After that she attended to two other tables, greeted several people at the door and talked to the chief. The final straw came when a couple were ushered into the restaurant and served immediately. We left right after that insult and the chief was at the door and I'm sure from my look of disgust and the under my breath curse that he understood that they had screwed up. So if you want to be treated with the respect you deserve avoid this arrogant, over rated piece of crap until they train their staff properly.
We went to another restaurant around the corner, Aux Deux Palmier, where we had a good meal at a reasonable price. The staff was friendly and to top it off, we got to watch the England/Uruguay world cup match.
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