Rain, rain and more rain. Felt like we were back in Seattle. By the time we figured out where to catch the bus for Monaco, we had been walking in the complete downpour for at least 15 minutes. Piled on the bus along with a huge German tour group.
We were anticipating a ride along the coast to Monaco which would have some nice scenery, but all bus windows were fogged up and we could see nothing. The bus driver was having a hard time clearing his window and we were on a narrow 2 lane road above the sea.
Got off the bus at the base of the granite rock that holds the castle. Climbed a steep grade for about 10 minutes to get there. Meantime it's still pouring. Kristin took some good pictures and then we got in line for a tour. The Grimaldi family has been in that castle since the 1200's. There were a lot of references to Grace Kelly who died in an auto accident above Monaco in 1982. Some of the family still lives there. The views of the harbor are stunning - many large luxury yachts. It's a compact crowded town and the traffic is very intense with narrow winding streets. The castle overlooks the sea and the town.
Kristin spotted the Monte Carlo Casino so we decided to walk there - by now the rain had let up a bit - we almost gave up because there's a lot of construction in the area (they're digging in to the granite rock below the casino) and we couldn't figure out how to get there. We finally find the front of the casino and they don't open for another 30 minutes. So Kristin took some pictures and we decided to catch the bus back to Nice (45 minute ride). We were so tired from walking around we both fell asleep on the bus. Walked back to our hotel and the sun finally peeked out a bit. We had planned to go down to the beach sometime while being here but the weather has not been good at all.
Tomorrow we catch a train to Vernazza, Cinque Terra, Italy where we will stay Thurs, Fri, Sat. On Sunday Sept 20 we head for Florernce, Italy - no internet service there. So the next time I post will hopefully be Sept. 22 or 23.
Au-revoir from France for the last time. Next time it will be 'ciao baby'....
1 comment:
Sorry you ran into rain but it sounds like you still saw some pretty amazing views. The bus ride on the narrow two lane road sounds like a real nail biter.
Its hard to believe that there are families that have lived in their homes (in Europe) for hundreds of years.
Ron talked to Ernie yesterday, sounds like he misses you already. If he is anything like Ron, he'll wait until the day before you come home to get all his "honey do's" done and tell you how hard he worked the whole time you were gone.
Have a safe trip to Italy, can't wait until you post again....Diane
Post a Comment