out and about: Day 7: Monaco

"It's a race, it's a race!"

I can't believe it has already been a week since we left London. Today we saw our first cloud in the sky (literally) in Monaco. We actually began our day in Nice by relaxing on the beach for a bit. The water was too cold for swimming but it was warm enough outside to lay out in the sun! We took the train out to Monaco in the afternoon to see the Prince's Palace, his car collection, Monte Carlo Casino, and the port area! The boats/yachts are both larger and worth more than my home in DC and each car parked in front of the Monte Carlo Casino could pay for an undergraduate degree in the US. The buildings and narrow streets were quite similar to that of Nice except Monaco seems to be quite a bit more hilly. The Prince's Car Collection was very cool too. Cars from as far back as 1911 are parked by new formula 1 race cars. Brendan was far more interested in it since he actually knows about cars but I thought they were interesting nevertheless. We also saw the construction of the Grand Prix stands along the finish line road (I think). I think it's the same place where they filmed Iron Man 2.

We took a train back to Nice which was probably my favorite part. The train tracks ran against the coast overlooking small towns between Nice and Monaco with a vast view of the Mediterranean. Each time you look out you're bound to see a sailboat out there. Anyways, we went back to Nice (since it's quite a bit cheaper to stay there than in Monaco) and had some dinner. Now we're just doing some homework and planning our Italian adventures. That's all for today! Thanks for reading :)