Monaco

We spent the very last day of our month-long European adventure in one last country: Monaco! The rain clouds, which gathered during breakfast, kindly held on to their droplets until the sun set as we boarded a bus back to France. The daylight hours were spent exploring the beautiful port city of Monte Carlo.

Monaco is known as one of the richest countries in the world. Everything about this city is dripping with luxury. After getting off the bus (a rather humble way to arrive in such a city), we walked the palm tree lined path up to the famous casino. The casino lobby is so fancy, the roof painted with absolutely stunning Renaissance scenes. I was far too intimidated by the grandeur and abundance of money to attempt any photographs!

From the casino we walked to the port full of cruise ships and multi-million dollar yachts. Designer shops lined the other side of the street. The hillside in front of us was dotted with beautiful Mediterranean-style homes and modern high rises. A fair lined the water’s edge and we bought crepes made by a late-middle aged man in a sparkly muscle shirt who danced aggressively to 80’s pop. The arcade games were full of ridiculous prizes: blackberries, car keys, legs of ham. We climbed the steps up the edge of the cliff to the Prince’s Palace which offered magnificent views of Monte Carlo. The flag of Monaco flew from every possible surface: red and white, just like Canada.

Old men in fancy long coats teetered around the city on canes and offered us directions to the bus stop just in time to avoid the onset of the rain. By the time we made it back to our hostel a full-blown thunderstorm was underway that continued straight through the night and was still raging as we caught our train back to Germany.