Monaco

Sailing northwest through the Tyrrhenian and Ligurian Seas, we arrived in Monte Carlo, Monaco. With the Grand Prix just one month away, we had to walk through a maze of fencing and barricades to make our way from the ship to the train station. Apparently, it takes six weeks to set up for the event and three weeks to tear it all down. Instead of staying in Monaco for the day, we hopped on the train and headed a little further west along the French Riviera, six stops and 15 minutes away from Monaco, getting off in Nice, France. We made our way down to the beach to view the beautiful Bay of Angels; then walked along the Promenade des Anglais; and then I even dipped my toes in the cold water. At the far end of the Promenade stands the Hotel Negresco, Nice’s oldest hotel as well as a historic monument, built in 1913. Most poignant along the Promenade was the memorial to the 86 people who died in the 2016 Bastille Day terrorist attack. It included the names of all the victims, and we found the names of a

father and son from Austin who we remembered as having been victims of the attack. After our stroll, we did a little shopping and then found a place to sit outside and share a pizza and drink some very good local beer. But wait. There’s more. We hopped back on the train (they run about every half hour) and went two stops east to the small French town of Villefranche-sur-Mer. Again, we just wandered around – along the waterfront; up to the Citadel (built in the 1500s by the Duke of Savoy and refurbished in the 1980s) to marvel at the art, gardens, and views; up and down through the Old Town; and then

back to the train station where we just made it in time to catch the train pulling in. Ten minutes and four stops later we were back in Monaco. It was a 10-mile walking day and so we were too tired to explore any of Monaco, but maybe next time. The Maritime Alps are stunning, and we really would like to return to this part Europe. And, by the way, all of this region -- the French Riviera as well as Monaco, once belonged to Italy. So it's sort of like "Italy West". The Grimaldi (a bit Italian sounding) family rules Monaco; the residents of Nice voted to join France when things were going south in Italy. And so it goes....