“…I had a continual restless feeling that there was nothing at all real about Monte Carlo; that the sea was too blue to be wet, the casino too white to be anything but pasteboard, and that from their very greenness the palms must be cotton. … in atmosphere and spirit the entire kingdom of Monaco is an extension of the casino.” – Willa Cather
Had it not been for attending the Monaco Grand Prix with our visiting American friends, I don’t think that Olivier & I would have had much motivation to travel to Monaco. Everywhere I looked, I saw only boats & buildings.
Oh…excuse me – yachts.
We had actually driven all the way from our home near Paris to the in-laws’ house in l’Auvergne (central France) when we realized that we had forgotten the Grand Prix tickets.
Damn.
Luckily, it turned out to be no big deal – a phone call was made & duplicate tickets were issued. All we had to do was show up, fetch the copies & park ourselves under a tree.
Then, all we had to do once the race started was sit & stare. That part wasn’t much different than spending time at home.
When the race was over, we made our way through town, elbowing as many tourists as we could. We walked up steep hills & climbed several flights of stairs. Eventually, we passed Prince Ranier’s castle.
Not a great view, I admit, but we didn’t get any closer to it than that – we were too preoccupied with getting ourselves out of Monaco & into Italy at this point – prince or no prince.
I mean, come on…I’ll take pasta & wine over princes, casinos & yachts any day.
[tags]Monaco, Grand Prix, Willa Cather, France, Auvergne, Monte Carlo, race, travel, tickets, Italy, Prince Ranier, castle[/tags]
When I was a young child we holidayed on the Cote d’Azur and crossed into Monaco a few times. I remember a very secluded beach, where we were the only people. My parents went to the casino a few times and once sat next to a very old Winston Churchill at the chemin-de-fer table.
You know who else went to Monte Carlo? Herbie. They made a documentary about it. This was just before he went bananas. I cried when they changed his oil filter but he pulled through.
I agree. lol. But I’d take a trip anywhere these days.
Have a great day.