Monte Carlo, Monaco

Next up was Monte Carlo. Monaco is it's own principality bordered by France on three sides. It could fit inside Central Park, and it's 5,000 citizens would only fill a small fraction of the seats in Yankee stadium. 

Monaco is one of the only places in the world that does not have money problems! Over 90% of the residents of Monaco are millionaires. Every year, the Formula UNE race car race takes place on the winding roads that go right through the city! You can see the skid marks where they take (or miss) turns. Those are your fun facts for the day.

We woke up early to go on a tour, and the first stop was the Cathedral in the Old City. It was pretty, but we were not as impressed after seeing the churches of Barcelona! The Cathedral in Monaco is a little over 1000 years old, so it is fairly new as far as churches go.

Princess Grace is buried inside, and so are a bunch of royal Grimaldis.

flowers on Princess Grace's tomb

inside of the church

We walked past Princess Caroline's house (the oldest daughter of Grace) who was recently 'seperated' from the Prince of Hanover.

she wasn't home

checking out the views on our walk

We continued on to the Royal Palace where we got to go inside the Prince's quarters and take a tour of the inside. They still use the Palace regularly, and it is full of so many antique pieces of furniture and artwork.

one armed guard..

the royal palace of Monaco

changing of the guards

view from outside of the palace

playing with their cannonballs

I was full of facts for the day since I studied up the night before. Legend has it that the Grimaldi's entered the castle of Monaco in the 1200s dressed as monks seeking refuge. When they were let in the castle, they threw off their cloaks and drew their swords to take control. Sneaky little people. Our guide from Grimaud in Provence also told us that the Grimaldis were originally thieves before they became a great family. Not a trustworthy bunch.

monk with sword statue - which is also featured on the Grimaldi coat of arms

ooooooh

view of the palace

We walked by the beautiful building which holds the Musee Oceanographique, an important research institute once headed by Jaques Cousteau. There is an aquarium in the basement!

via

this was the art exhibit outside the museum, biggest baby ever

Next, it was on to Monte Carlo! Ready to gamble our life away in the casino!

the Grand Casino! jacket and tie required 

Hotel de Paris

Joe was obsessed with the cars. Ferrari's were like Hondas. Here are a few for your viewing pleasure:

We sat down at the Cafe de Paris on the square beside the Casino and had black american coffee. eek. I freaked out and copied Joe's order. Probably best to always order cappuccino.

7 euro coffee

posing in the park in front of the casino

There was a yacht parked in the port that belonged to a saudi arabian prince called the Lady Moura. It was the biggest one there (and there were LOTs of big ones), and it probably cost more than 1000 houses. When it was launched in 1990 it was the ninth largest private luxury yacht in the world.

insert me for scale

We went back to the Windsurf and laid out on the deck overlooking Monaco. There was a little sailing school that went by us:

We had some more wine and watched the sunset as we sailed away!

Goodbye Monaco!