Road Trip!! Living the Good Life in Monaco & Nice

Day 2: Genova, Italy to Nice, France
Driving Time: 2 hours, 2 minutes
Distance: 193 km

We headed out of Genova right after breakfast the next morning. It's not a bad town, it's just that there's so much good stuff on either side of it that is so much more appealing. If you head east along the coast from Genova, you hit the famous stretch of coastline known as the Cinque Terre, where five scenic Italian villages nestle into a rocky coastline (that's another trip). Instead, we headed west, towards the even more famous French Riviera. For lack of time, we blew by San Remo at about 110 km/h, and made our first stop at a lookout point over the tiny country of Monaco.

We then drove into the main town, Monte Carlo, and found a parking spot. We walked down to the water front and across to the royal residence or Place du Palais, stopping along the way to check out the set up for the Monaco Grand Prix, which is taking place in two weeks, in late May.

Once we climbed the stone steps to the Palace, we joined the crowds waiting for the changing of the guard ceremony at 11:55 and looked up to see a darkening sky. A few moments later, we heard several claps of thunder...

However, no storm came. Apparently, rain, like taxes, has been abolished in the Principality of Monaco. How convenient. The changing of the guard ceremony was full of pomp, complete with drums and fancy uniforms, which reminded me that the Monegasques are in fact basically French.

We opted not to go into the Palace, so we missed out on the royal portrait of Pricess Grace. We did walk around "the rock", for awhile, the stone promontory atop which the royal buildings are sited. In addition to the residence itself, there are gardens, a church, an aquarium, and some upscale gift shops.

Finally a little light mist--not real rain--did come, and anyway, it was time for lunch. We bypassed the overcrowded touristy cafes in front of the casino and found a cute Italian bistro with covered seating in an open air shopping mall. After lunch, the precipitation was gone, and the casino was open...it opens at 2:00 on weekdays. There is a ten euro entrance fee to get into the main floor, which I suspect they assume will deter people who aren't real gamblers. They're right...at least, it worked on us! Probably the people who own these cars paid the 10 euros without blinking.

Last stop on our way out of town was the Jardin Exotique, an enormous collection of succulents established in 1895 by a former prince of Monaco using specimens he collected on his travels. I'm a big fan of succulents, so I was a big fan of this garden. Plus, it had a great view of the harbor, where all the poor people moor their tiny yachts.

Once in Nice, a short 15 clicks away, we went straight to the harbor and parked. Above the harbor is a bluff where you can look out over the ocean. Atop the bluff is a park, with the ruins of an old fortress and a cemetary, among other things.

After we'd fully explored the park, we found our hotel after much circling. We decided to walk through the old town on the way to the beach and pick up some happy hour libations. The temperature was perfect for a stroll, so we walked a bit and skipped some rocks, then sat down to drink some sangria and people watch.

We had dinner at a fantastic restaurant just off the water...one of the best we've been to while in Europe. Brian had fried zucchini blossoms and salmon, and I had spinach gnocchi. We shared a nougat ice cream sundae. Yummy!