"I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.”
We drove 400 kilometers from Florence, Italy to Monaco. The drive along parts of the Italian and French Riviera was breathtaking (and through more tunnels than I have ever seen in my life!). We stopped along the way at a small seaside Italian town called Ponte Ligure, which is about 100 kilometers fro Monaco. There we had a nice lunch and our last Italian gelato before continuing our journey into Monaco. When we arrived in Monaco, two things were very and immediately apparent- the incredible natural beauty of this tiny country between the mountains and the sea and its incredible wealth. Even though Monaco is the second smallest country in the world (after the Vatican City) it is the wealthiest. After driving down the cliff side roads from Beausoleil, France, we could see and hear the speeding Bentleys, Ferraris and Maseratis, which then parked outside the luxury stores, hotels and restaurants of Monaco. We quickly checked into our hotel, the Fairmont Monte Carlo which has the best location of any of the hotels in Monaco, directly on the water. I could very easily get used to life in Monaco!
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| Yachts were parked right outside my balcony every day |
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| A view of the yachts from my balcony |
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| I am starting to think that Monaco and the French Riviera win the beautiful flower contest |
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| The Principality of Monaco has been ruled by the Grimaldi family\ for more than 700 years. Malizia (cleverness) was the nickname of the first Grimaldi, Francesco, who disguised as a monk, entered Monaco with a small force and took it from the Italians from Genoa who were ruling it at the time. |
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| The fort in the Palace City |
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| Walking down from the Palace (Monaco Ville) to the port) |
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| Many boats and yachts at Port Hercules |
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| Cannon and cannon balls outside the Palace |
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| The Palace Square |
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| A view of the port from the hilltop Palace |
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| The Palace on top of the rock |
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| The Prince's Guard |
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| A commemoration of 25 years of rule for Prince Albert |
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| A statue of Francesco Grimaldi who liberated Monaco |
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| A street in the hilltop Monaco Ville |
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| The Rock on which the Palace is built |
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| A view of Monte Carlo, Capital of Monaco |
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| Our rooftop pool-it doesn't get much better than this! |
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| A view of the beach from our hotel |
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| A yacht cruising by my balcony |
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| Our hotel-the Fairmont Monte Carlo with the best location in Monaco |
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| Sunset over the sea |
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| Our living room with a sofa bed |
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| The Larvotto beach area |
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| A view of the beach from the hotel |
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| The bedroom balcony |
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| The living room balcony |
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| Our bedroom had a king size bed |
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| For all you racing fans... |
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| Monaco is the home of the Grand Prix..... |
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| And the world's most famous turn! |
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| Princess Grace, the beautiful and elegant American actress who put Monaco on the map when she married Prince Ranier, suffered an untimely death in an automobile accident. |
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| Monte Carlo |
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| The Hotel de Paris |
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| Yachts in Port Hercules |
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| Ashley and Aracelis each had their own balcony |
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