a royal visit to the land of the monégasques

it was tuesday morning and we had a breakfast date by the pool (!). we got served very good coffee, bread, croissants and jam, and a lot of sun. we needed the sugar, because we were spending the day in monaco. there wasn’t to many guests staying at the mimosas, but a couple were having breakfast at the same time. as we were leaving, they approached us, telling us they were norwegians. they probably heard us playing stella mwangi’s «haba haba» from our ipad while eating. anywhay. unlike stella, we made it to the finals -ore monte carlo as we call it. the train ride was beautiful. we passed nice and villefranche sur mer amongst others.

when arrived in monaco it was h-o-t, but we still had to have a warm cup of coffee. the tiny principality is just a huge city, and what should you see in such? :the castle. we walked up to the castle/palace, which lay on a high hill. there were renovation work everywhere in anticipation of the big royal wedding between albert and charlene.

but a part of the castle was open to audience so we got our audioguides and went in. we got to see the room were the princes get ordained and wed, and the «backyard» were the bride and groom would say their vows. a really interesting tour, but much thanks to the audioguide.  we wandered a bit around on the hill, sat down and had some lunch, and looked at the people. then we found out there was a movie about monaco, so we rushed to the cinema. the film was quite informative and interesting, especially if you’re not tired and want to fall asleep as you listen to an english speaking voice. (australian voices are very lively). there wasn’t really much more to do but wander around again, take in all the luxury and tourism. we saw the track they would use in the upcoming rally, we had some ice cream -which is the best one in my life! (chocolate-brownie and cherry balls). it was time to take the beautiful train ride back again, and I just made it to the souvenir shop before we hopped on. my souvenir shot glass is very important! we’d had a very busy day and was ready for a good meal. we went to the city of antibes on foot, just a ca 20 minute walk. antibes is slightly bigger then juan les pins, and it took us not too long to find a restaurant that looked good. and it was! the italian’ish le chrono served one of the best «tagliatelle with salmon» I’ve tasted. I think my companions were satisfied as well. after this lovely meal, we found ourselves walking back to jlp by the sea. it was a nice walk, with not many people around. in fact it looked a bit closed and sleepy, and it was only 10.30. but when we arrived the city centre, there were still a couple of people out, and the bars were open. it was time to introduce the aussies to the game of «shithead» (with fiji rules).

they were fast learners and preeti became the winner! beaten, but happy –we went home to our tropical garden and made a breakfast-pool-date for the next morning.