So yesterday morning we walked the 2.5 kms from our apartment down to the bus stop at La Port. Buses leave for Monaco every 15 minutes and cost only €1.50 ($2.20 CAD, $1.70 USD) for the 20 km (12 mile), 40 minute trip.
The bus is heavily subsidized because it isn't really a tourist bus. It also transports hundreds of people who work in Monaco, yet live in much cheaper Nice.
Walking to the bus stop, we couldn't help but notice this huge piece of "art"...
Hmm.
We don't get it. Blockhead? Who knows?
The bus was pretty full and I had to stand for the entire trip. Mostly tourists. There are five stops when it goes through Monaco, and we wanted to walk as much as possible so I think we got off at the first one.
There is lots of construction going on in Monaco. Because the land area is so small, and property prices are so large, there is constant demolition of shorter buildings to make way for taller ones. Also, they are constantly redoing roadways and tunnels. And on top of that, the city is currently undergoing it's yearly transformation into a racetrack for the upcoming Monaco Grand Prix that takes place May 28th. It takes more than two months to get ready for this event every year!
Ferrari red!
As we were walking towards the western waterfront area, a couple of red Ferrari's zipped by. Wow...do they ever sound cool. I want to drive one some day! Anyhow, they were parked a little further up and I snapped a photo. From the talk we overheard, we think these two girls had rented the ride. The drivers each had red Ferrari jackets on, and the girls had British voices.
There is a LOT of money in Monaco. It has the most expensive real estate in the world. There are Lamborghini and Ferrari dealerships as well as Aston Martin and of course Porsche. And then of course there are the luxury yachts...
This boat s available for rent...only $200,000 per week!
This is a private yacht, owned by a British property developer.
This private yacht is worth $80 million.
Monaco Heliport.
Monaco doesn't have an airport, but it does have a heliport so that you can zoom yourself over to the Nice airport. Cost is €110 for the seven minute flight!
Ruth, enjoying the greenery.
We walked up to the palace for the postcard view of Monaco harbor...
A perfect view of Monaco.
Monaco Palace.
Lots of tourists up at the palace.
Another section of Monaco Harbor.
Lots of flowers.
Super yachts.
Monaco harbor.
Getting ready for the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix.
Super yachts.
Rolls Royce parked outside the Monaco Yacht Club.
If you own one of those yachts, the Rolls is just pocket change!
Thumper
Thumper has accommodation for up to 12 guests in five generous cabins plus berths for up to nine crew members. The master suite comes complete with a 55 inch Samsung flat screen television and a System Orca facility for audio/visual enjoyment. Two double and two twin cabins have 32 inch Samsung televisions and all cabins have full en suite facilities. There is full acoustic protection around the master and all guest cabins including adjoining areas, and also excellent sound insulation between the captain’s cabin and the sky lounge on the upper deck. Satellite wifi Internet throughout. And, Thumper is for sale. She can be yours for only $16 million USD!
Ruth, wondering what it would be like to be that rich.
We wandered from the marina up to the famous Monte Carlo Casino. You are allowed inside the casino lobby, but if you want to go into the gaming halls, you need to register. And probably provide a hold on your credit card!
Monte Carlo Opera House.
Monte Carlo Casino.
Lamborghini parked outside the casino.
Inside the casino lobby.
More public gardens.
One of the things we wanted to do in Monaco was to try and match up another one of my father's pictures from 1954. But this one was tough. The area has simply changed too much. And even if we would have been able to find the exact spot, the view would have been obscured by newer and taller buildings.
Monaco in 1954.
From approximately the same spot!
We had a great visit to Monaco. Not sure it's worth the money they want to live there though. We looked at a couple of real estate listings....here's the most expensive one we found...
That's not for the whole building...just an apartment near the top of the building!
This afternoon, we fly to Morocco for a two week visit. Our first Muslim country. This should be interesting. Next post coming to you from Marrakesh!
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Fantastic deal on eight Mikasa wine glasses. If you know your wine glasses, you'll know what a great deal this is...
And in Canada...
Looks pretty upscale there too much for us, glad you enjoyed .
ReplyDeleteYep, it was pretty upscale for those that live there but it was fun to just spend a day there. We certainly wouldn't have wanted to live there, and personally don't see the attraction to living there but obviously many people love it!
DeleteGoing by lining up with the highest point on that hill/mountain in the background, great job matching your father's photo. We enjoyed your day in Monaco - thanks!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Connie and Barry, Kevin did the best that he could with trying to match it up but it still isn't correct, it does however show how much Monaco has changed over all those years, more so than any of the other pictures that we have been trying to match up. Looking again at the two pictures, I think we may have been a little higher up but if we were lower there would have been nothing to even try to match up because there are just too many high buildings now.
DeleteGreat pictures of Monaco. Remind me of the name of the smallest country?
ReplyDeleteVatican City.
DeleteNice pictures. I don't understand why you would drive a fast car in a place where the speed limit is 30kmh on all roads, but it's only money... Gotta love those yaghts...
ReplyDeleteI guess it is all for show and prestige, that they do it, who knows! It sure would be fun to drive a Ferrari or a Lamborghini or even just be driven in one, though. :-)
DeleteMonaco seems very pretty but one day trip is likely enough :) Can't wait for Morocco! I've only been to one Muslim country, Egypt. One of my favorite things is hearing the call to prayer where everything stops instantly and people pray. Enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteYep, we think that one day is plenty, it is too expensive to stay much longer. The whole day that we were there all we did was spend about €4.80 ($6.85CAN) at the grocery store for a premade salad, some yoghurt and a bag of peanuts for our lunch, we didn't even by any fruit because we couldn't justify the price of it.
DeleteIt is going to be an interesting two weeks here. Just with the bit that we saw yesterday evening, I can see some good blog posts in the future.
All of the buildings look so new. However, the architecture is still in the Mediterranean style. I can understand why you would have a problem duplicating your Dad's picture since It looks like Monaco has either torn down some of the now old buildings in his picture and replaced them with new ones or has reconfigured, added to, or remodeled the old buildiings, all in a compressed area. But, of course, Monaco has lots of money to do that.
ReplyDeleteHave fun in Morocco. If you remember your history, Marrakesh was one of Prime Minister Churchill's favorite places, and he loved to paint pictures (his favorite hobby) of the scenery there.
There are certainly still lots of older buildings left in Monaco, they just can't been seen so easily through all the new and bigger ones. They may have torn down some but I also think that in some areas they have built out into the water more than in Kevin's dad's photos. Definitely lots of building/construction going on and it probably is like that all the time. Monaco has no lack of money that is for sure!
DeleteMonaco looks nice but very exspensive so not sure if that would be one of our destinations for the future. Morocco sounds interesting so looking forward to your posts from there. Be safe and enjoy!
ReplyDeleteMonaco is expensive and no, we would never make it one or our destination places but if you are close by in ever France or Italy than it is certainly worth going to visit just for the day.
DeleteSo far we agree, Morocco is very interesting and I can see some good blog posts ahead.
I had to check my bank account after reading your post to make sure that all of this hadn't cost me a bunch of money. It brought back memories of the TV show "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous". Nice picture tour of Monoco.
ReplyDeleteWe remember that show, and yep, there were quite a few shows filmed in Monaco no doubt!
Delete$28M for an apartment. Good grief! Wonderful pictures of a place I wouldn't want to live even if I could afford it and all the accouterments that go with being wealthy in Monaco. Thirty Two Countries is absolutely amazing, especially for full time RVers. I've met people who used to be world travels and then Full Timers but you and Erin & Mui are the only ones doing both simultaneously.
ReplyDeleteSherry, we totally feel the same way. It was fun to visit for a day but we don't see any attraction to living in such a small, compact, and very busy place like this but I guess as the saying goes "different strokes for different folks"! I think most do it for the prestige of saying they live there.
Delete33 countries now that have just arrived in Morocco! I wouldn't say that we are full time RVers anymore though because during the summer we aren't living in Sherman and this whole winter wasn't spent in him, however that will change next winter. I think that many people who live in their RV do it because they like their own bed and that it travels. Many don't like the idea of sleeping in beds that others have slept in, at least that is what we hear most often when we ask about others about travels outside of North America.
Love the pictures. I was there years ago and had my camera stolen on a train. Your pictures brought great memories!
ReplyDeleteWell, that sucks that your camera got stolen. That is one of our worst fears because you either lose your photos from the day or you can't take any photos for the day. Now that Kevin has a phone that can take decent enough pictures it isn't quite so bad.
DeleteI am glad that we were able to bring back some good memories for you. I bet too, that even after those years have pasted things have probably changed as well.
Wow! Great memories:) Spent three days on a luxury yacht there many years ago. I have not thought about it in a long time. Thanks for the memories!
ReplyDeleteWow, that would have been an experience of a lifetime! Kevin was dying to see what the interior of one of those yachts looked like and I was just trying to imagine what life would be like on one.
DeleteGlad you enjoyed the memories! :-)
You're killin' me!
ReplyDeleteYou aren't missing much, lol!
Delete