Côte d'Azur: Monaco (4/2/1983)

Saturday, April 2, 1983

During the night it was very windy: the Mistral, the wind that creates the climate of Provence and hopefully brings fresh, clear weather! I got up at 4:00 to get my umbrella that was being blown around outside, and I saw stars in the sky.

Went to breakfast at 7:30, getting the usual. I decided to also have an egg. I then realized I had to put the egg in boiling water myself, so fortunately I did not end up with a raw egg!

We wore our ski jackets, but upon seeing the others, we decided to also be optimistic and wear lighter jackets. We boarded the bus and sat on the right side as we left at 8:00 to follow the coast east. It began to get rocky after Saint-Raphaël. Islands were named for us, and calanques/steep narrow inlets from the sea were pointed out. We were told the history of Saint-Raphaël and its Byzantine-style Notre Dame de la Victoire de Lepante Basilica.

We saw an island (off Anthéor) where Laurel and Hardy filmed a movie, and the house they stayed in while filming.

We saw Île Sainte-Marguerite, the island of the Man in the Iron Mask and drove through Cannes to see the famous hotels like the Carleton and the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès/Festival Hall where the famous film festival is held.

We passed and a huge apartment complex of curving pyramidal buildings still under construction (Marina Baie des Anges) and the Hippodrome de Cagnes-sur-Mer.

We continued towards Nice, seeing the old town of Cagnes-sur-Mer on the hilltop with Grimaldi Castle behind the city.

The Hotel Negresco was pointed out on the Nice waterfront, with its famous door. We passed the fancy Fontaine de Soleil/Sun Fountain and a plain old building where a wedding party exited. After seeing four more brides come out, we figured it was the City Hall. We reached the Marche aux Fleurs/flower market, which was huge with lots of beautiful flowers: roses, mums, carnations, several types of lilies, potted green plants, etc.

Nice Flower Market

There were also vegetables, herbs, live rabbits and chickens, cheese, etc. We went the block over to the waterfront and followed the quai past the pebble beaches.

Nice waterfront

We turned back into town at the Opera, passed the Palais de Justice, and ended up back at the market. We returned to the fountain by 11:30 and boarded the bus which circled the flower-filled Place Massena, site of the Carnival and Flower Festival.

We continued east through Villefranche-sur-Mer and its bay. The villas of famous people were pointed out. Then drove up the Moyenne Corniche and stopped to take photos down onto Cap-Ferrat and Beaulieu.

View of Villefranche-sur-Mer

View of Cap Ferrat

We passed the neat little town of Èze, the eagle’s nest of the Riviera perched up on a rocky hilltop. Soon we were in sight of Monaco.

View of the Rock of Monaco

We stopped at the Restaurant la Chaumière for lunch. We sat on old pillows on wicker chairs. We started with a plate of salads: selerie, carrot, peas and carrots, salami slices, and a sort of paté. Wine was included, but I had water. The entrée was a slice of pork roast with pommes frites/French fries, and sausage with zucchini. Dessert was an apricot tart. Marsha was treated to a coffee by an older Swiss man at our table.

At 13:30, some of the group went up to the Exotic Gardens and the rest of us took the bus down to be dropped off at the Monte Carlo Casino for an hour. The gardens in front of the casino were gorgeous.

Gardens at Casino Monte Carlo

We followed the crowd into the lobby and Marsha went breezing past the guards. I was caught and told to check my bag. Another person was even told to check her raincoat! I had to wait a long time for the check lady and finally got rid of my bag. I went in and found Marsha to wonder at the large rooms of marble and mirrors with chandeliers. Some rooms were carpeted. Elegant opulence. We entered the room of jeux Americains/slot machines! Marsha played 50 FRF/$7 and I played three 5 FRF/$2 pieces, then 50 FRF/$7. I then played my winnings and took home 10 FRF/$1.40. I wandered to seeing a sitting room in front, and the gaming room with roulette, blackjack, and chemin de fer. There had been blackjack and crap tables covered up in the slot machine room. Suddenly it was 14:45 and I had to run to retrieve my bag and join the others at the bus. We drove to the Rock of Monaco, location of the old town, and parked on the seaside where we had a better view of the two U.S. destroyers and aircraft carrier. We saw lots of sailors, both in and out of uniform.

We took a couple escalators, an elevator, and another escalator to reach the top of the rock and found ourselves at the Oceanographic Museum run by Jacques Cousteau and founded by Prince Albert I of Monaco, who was an oceanographer. The bus driver, Vincent, sold us to 30 FRF/$4 tickets, and we were with him as we entered the museum. At first they said the tickets were not valid, but then they let us in.

Aquarium brochure front

Aquarium brochure back

We went first to the aquarium, not very big and not much variety. Lots of colorful and interesting, and mostly local, fish and turtles. On the second floor were exhibits of Prince Albert’s explorations with sea sponges, corals, pearl shells, shells of all sorts down to the tiny spirals you could barely see with the naked eye. Models of his ships, his cabin, his instruments, etc. Taxidermied polar bears and seals. A modern area showed waves, currents of the ocean, North and South Pole explorations, etc. We walked down the magnificent staircase to the lobby with tiled floors of sea creatures. We passed Cousteau’s underwater vehicles and a theater to see the room of skeletons of almost every sea creature known to man.

We left the museum and it was sunny and warm outside. We went to the white Lombardy-style Cathédrale Notre-Dame-Immaculée or St Nicholas Cathedral and entered to view the altarpieces by Louis Bréa.

Cathédrale Notre-Dame-Immaculée or St Nicholas Cathedral

To the two sides were chapels with ornate altars. We joined a crowd going into the area behind the altar with memorial tombstones of the Princes of Monaco. The first tombstone was clean and white and covered with flowers and a rosary. It was a bit of a shock to realize this was for Princess Grace (who died just over 6 months ago). We passed through the crowd as the curator shouted “Silence!”

We headed to the Palais de Monaco/Palace of the Prince of Monaco, which was guarded by men in uniforms who blew a whistle if you trespassed.

Palais de Monaco/Palace of the Prince of Monaco

The palace was mostly peach-colored added on to an older white stone castle. We looked down on the harbor and Monte Carlo, then started roaming the brick streets.

View of the harbor

Rue des Remparts

Brick street

Photographing flowers

It was unbelievably clean and unbelievably full of souvenir shops! We passed a wax museum, then suddenly found ourselves back at the Oceanographic Museum. Marsha bought a Coke and we munched on peanuts. We walked through Les Jardins de Saint Martin with its winding pink asphalt pathways on one side of the Museum. Next on the other side we walked down to the parking lot, seeing the blue-green sea below.

Mediterranean Sea

We were on the bus at 17:30 as requested. Two Swiss ladies arrived at 17:35 according to the bus clock, but on time according to their watches. The old lady happened to sit in one of their seats, and they got upset because they would be on the wrong side to see the sea. The old lady finally gave them their seats back. We followed the coast for only a short distance, and turned inland to take the highway. The road where Princess Grace had the accident was pointed out. We had to stop several times for tolls on the highway, which we entered near La Turbie. The driver made sure we saw the spot where three Italian trucks plunged off the bridge because they didn’t wait for the convoy escort to keep them at the proper speed on the very long stretch of 6% downhill grade.

At Saint-Raphaël we followed the coast again and the tour guide made a big thank-you speech to the bus driver, and a Swiss lady passed a hat for tips. Then the driver made a big thank-you speech.

We arrived at the hotel at 19:40 and dinner was at 20:00. We wanted to get cleaned up and arrived at 20:15. There were no more seats at our usual table. We sat at a table for eight with the “Czech” couple. The old lady also arrived late, and she wanted to save seats for the French-speaking mother and daughter. We had to wait for them to arrive before being served, and we were hungry! The kids at the table next to us were presented with a birthday cake covered with candles, and the cake was shared among some of the other tables. We started with verdura/vegetable soup (the old lady served everyone), followed by a beef steak of sorts with French fries. Since the French-speaking lady did not eat her steak, the old lady told the waitress to give her extra cheese. The lady took two kinds, and everyone else followed suit! Marsha had gorgonzola and Camembert, but I just took the one fontina-like cheese. Dessert was a Norwegian Omelet (Baked Alaska): ice cream (mostly coffee, some vanilla and a thin layer of chocolate) on “a cognac-soaked layer of cake with cream and cognac, then burnt.” I ate the ice cream. It was 21:30 when we left to check out the evening’s entertainment. It was in French and had something to do with picking numbers. The “Czech” couple went to sit with the old lady and the three spoke in their own language.