SATURDAY 4 JUNE – ST TROPEZ, FRANCE – MONTE CARLO, MONACO
Our 4 weeks are up, it is time to leave Provence for the sunny blue haven of Monte Carlo. It is also time to indulge ourselves a little so we have booked into Le Meridian Beach Plaza in Monaco.
At 9am just as we were getting up, Joelle and Clement dropped over to say goodbye. She had dropped by twice the afternoon before but we weren’t home and now she was worried she would miss us before we left, but all was OK, we managed to say goodbye to each other which was nice. She gave us some nice photos of their house and the kids and a letter and keyrings for the kids. She is a wonderful woman and we are glad we met her in this little part of the world.
By 10.30am we were finally ready to go and the cleaning lady was waiting to come in to clean the house. I felt a little sad leaving because we had spent a whole month here and had become use to the area and some of the people and the quiet rural life however we were excited to be moving on.
We went to St Tropez for lunch and to do some more shopping before heading down to Monte Carlo. Once we arrived, we were hungry so we found a café looking out to the boats and port. After we had eaten we had a wander up through the streets and around the shops, we found some lovely clothes and shoes. The trip to Monte Carlo took 1.5 hours and we arrived at 8pm. We just headed down the A8 motorway all the way along the coast and then the turn off to Monaco took us through a tunnel and when we came out the other side there was the beautiful coast as we wound down to Monte Carlo.
We pulled our van up next to the Ferrari’s and Lamborghini’s outside Le Meridian Beach Plaza and when the concierge opened the door, I am sure he wouldn’t have seen a sight like the mess in our car before. Not the glamorous impression you would hope for.
Once we had got to our rooms (we needed 2 adjoining rooms) we headed downstairs for dinner on the balcony overlooking the sea. We had a beautiful dinner, with my lamb and Corky’s steak carved before us. There was a wedding on at the hotel and at 9.30pm a boat just off the Meridian Beach let off an impressive show of fireworks.
After dinner, we went down to the beach which was lit up and had potbelly fires. The kids played in the sand while Corky and I enjoyed a cocktail on a lounge on the beach. It was a lovely evening.
SUNDAY 5 JUNE – MONTE CARLO, MONACO
We woke to an overcast day today which we were disappointed to see. At lunchtime we caught a taxi over to the Port and had lunch at the ‘Stars and Bars’ restaurant. Corky and I had come here on our honeymoon just over 12 years ago. By the time we came out late afternoon, the rain had stopped and we had a walk around the Port area before catching the bus back to our hotel. We went down to the indoor pool for a swim because it was still quite overcast and cold outside and the indoor pool was heated.
Dinnertime we wandered along the boardwalk next to the beach up from our hotel. As we were walking down the roadway, there was a restaurant ahead of us. We saw a Ferrari pull up and out hopped Sebastian Vettel (winner of the Monaco Grand Prix a couple of weeks ago). Jack and Corky were very excited and it was a shame Vettel disappeared into the restaurant so fast otherwise Jack would have loved to have met him.
We found a great little restaurant overlooking the beach and sea and had a late dinner there. The food was beautiful and for entrée I had fois gras pate with truffle oil. Interesting combination but quite nice. We lingered here for quite a while then headed home to bed.
MONDAY 6 JUNE – MONTE CARLO, MONACO
We woke to a glorious day today so we first headed back down to the restaurant we went to last night to get some breakfast which we took back to our beach at the hotel. We found some lounge chairs in the front row on the beach and watched the kids play in the sand and water and also watching the incredible boats on the harbour.
Later in the afternoon we caught the bus up to the Casino and wandered around the area looking at all the swish hotels and shops. The incredible Hermitage Hotel and Hotel De Paris certainly drew a crowd of admirers, including us. We found Zara and had a shop then walked down to the Port again looking for somewhere to have dinner.
Tonight for dinner we again walked down from our hotel and found a great restaurant down on the sand. We sat outside at a table in the sand with the beautiful lights of Monaco hillside around us. There was a playground next to the restaurant so the kids enjoyed that while Corky and I enjoyed a drink after dinner. We stayed here till 11pm enjoying the ambience and then headed back to our hotel for bed.
TUESDAY 7 JUNE – MONTE CARLO, MONACO
It seems to be one day on and one day off with the weather. Today was raining and overcast again when we woke so we took the opportunity to go to the Aquarium. Once we got to the top of the hill where the Palace was located, we wandered around the laneways shops a little (in the rain) and then visited the Cathedral where Prince Rainier and Princess Grace were married and are also buried. We saw the graves of both of them which gave us quite a somber feeling and we could also see that the cathedral was getting prepared for Prince Albert and Charlene’s wedding in about 3 weeks time. From the cathedral we headed quickly down the road past Princess Caroline’s house and Princess Stephanie’s house as well until we got to the Aquarium. We had to queue in the rain and then we finally entered the Aquarium. I love the view from here because it is built on the cliff-face overlooking the ocean however being such an overcast and rainy day the view wasn’t quite as magical as it could be.
I had a facial booked for 4pm in the room so we hurried back to the hotel and while I was being pampered, Corky took the kids to the pool because the sun had finally come out. I joined them once I had finished and again the rainclouds returned so we went to the indoor pool for the afternoon. From this pool there was still the beautiful view out to the ocean.
For dinner tonight we caught the bus back up the hill to the laneways in front of the Palace however when we got there it was very quiet with pretty much nobody around. We thought we had made a mistake coming here when we were walking down one deserted laneway noticing that the shops and restaurants had closed however we finally came across another lane that had their shops and restaurants open. We found a cute little restaurant with fabulous food and enjoyed our dinner here, despite the rain starting to fall.
WEDNESDAY 8 JUNE – MONTE CARLO, MONACO
Today is an ON day – lovely sunshine when we woke so we headed straight to the beach however it was quite windy but still pleasant all the same. There was a large cruise ship several hundred metres off shore that was lovely to admire while we sat on our deck chairs on the beach. Around lunchtime the clouds started to appear from over the mountains behind us and it started to get cold and overcast so we headed inside. We changed then headed out catching a bus into the centre of Monte Carlo for a final look around the shops and in particular to get a teddy bear that Sophie had had her heart set on. It had started to rain but we managed to dodge between shops and under our umbrellas. Once we had the teddy bear (now a twin sister to Madi’s Monaco teddy bear), we headed on another bus up the hill to the shops in the laneways. We were quite expert with the bus system now which only consisted of a few bus lines anyway since Monte Carlo wasn’t a big city and we found that all the bus drivers, and even people in general, were extremely kind and welcoming, always ready with a ‘bonjour’ and a smile. You couldn’t help but love this Principality even more.
We wandered around dodging raindrops in the laneways up near the Palace and finally it started to clear up – seemed a Monte Carlo special really – the day being half sunny and half rainy, always alternating on which half.
Finally we went back down to the Port and had a drink at a bar on the Formula One racing circuit and then wandered around and had dinner at ‘Bars and Stars’ for the last time. We lingered here for quite a while tonight because the atmosphere was great and the food just as good. Finally it was time to get the night bus back to our hotel but unfortunately it took 40 minutes because we had to do the whole circuit around the city. Corky and I carried sleeping Sophie and Harry back to the room and bed.
Till next time .... x
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