Monaco, Day 5

Today is a very calm day...which is great! Jerry is feeling much better and I am so glad. As I mentioned, I hate to see him suffer and I was very worried about what to do in case he needed emergency care.

We had breakfast at the marvelous hotel restaurant today and then I went to do some shopping while he rested. I found so much cute stuff, but still have the problem of "no room in the suitcase".

Last night I ventured out again to the market to get a little bit of fresh air. Saw some great things there, including some yummy looking seafood (I can dream, can't I?) and some Disney Princess water.

Sadly, we found out today that the exposition on the marriage of the Prince closed on December 31...that was the number one thing I wanted to do, but oh well.

Most other museums are closed or on a different schedule, so I think our last day here will be a quiet one. Hopefully we will get to go back to my favorite restaurant tonight. Last night I treated myself and had the most interesting caprese salad and a haricots verts dish that I woke up still thinking about.

I am struck once again by the beauty of the ocean as I sit and listen to the calming rhythm of the dock and its nautical inhabitants. I am finally seeing someone on the HUGE yacht that is across the way. Save that one and one other, most seem to be deserted, giving everything a very peaceful feeling. I am guessing the owners are not currently here, because it is such a beautiful day that I cannot imagine they would not want to take advantage of the sea, sky, and their gorgeous yachts.

My other favorite thing--while shopping today, I met 2 dogs, both yorkies. ONe had on a black turtleneck and a rhinestone collar (#me.reincarnated.as.a.dog), and the other had on a true Burberry raincoat. So cute!

Ok, off to respond to student emails and read some more of the book I started about Napoleon's expedition into Egypt.

Monaco, Day 4

The word for heating pad is "un coussin chauffant". I know this because Jerry's kidney stones are back this morning, and in trying to figure out the best course of action, I had several interesting conversations with employees at various stores. Apparently they are not very common in Monte Carlo, or at least in Fontvieille.

Right now, sedatives and cranberry juice seem to be the thing, but I'm fairly sure we'll end up needing to call a doctor in.

That being said...nothing interesting to post today except that it is extremely HOT here. I sat out on the porch of the hotel for a little while but had to come in because it was too much for me!

I am hoping that Jerry will feel better after some good rest--I hate to see him feeling so badly.

Monaco, Day 3

The theme for today was "unexpected"! Jerry and I both woke up around 3:00 AM and couldn't fall back asleep...so we planned to just stay awake until it was time to get ready for the hotel breakfast that starts at 6: 30 AM and start our trip down the French and Italian riviera early.

We clearly fell asleep 30 minutes before we had planned to get up (there was a whole situation with not being able to find the TV remote--hidden in the corner of the duvet cover--which would have helped to keep us awake, but anyway...). so we woke up at 10:00 AM and rolled into breakfast as they were clearing it up. Nothing like chorizo and edam to start off your day!

ANYWAY, after much research we decided we should go to SanRemy in Italy. So we started out, but unfortunately our GPS was having a small-villages-with-skinny-windy-streets moment, so we spent a good hour and a half driving up roads that were only big enough for 1\2 a car, never mind a huge Mercedes sedan. After being yelled at by a policeman for going the wrong way down a one-way street and spending that long driving around some small towns, we finally found the A-8. Or the A-10. I'm not sure which. I should also mention that had it not been raining, and had it not been holiday for all of the shop owners, we would have gladly parked along the side of the road and explored all of these little towns. The previously mentioned factors kept us from doing so.

We finally made it to the highway (8 or 10, whatever), which is so high above the ground it takes your breath away. Living in the south of the US, these "villages perchés" are just unimaginable. I desperately wanted to take pictures of the craggy rocks and cliffs and how the houses sat as if partly suspended in air, but you can imagine that with the other cars whizzing by and the rainy conditions, we couldn't really slow down.

Driving along la Turbie was interesting and sad, since that is where Grace Kelly had her car accident. Very poignant.

The only great pictures I got were as we came back into Monaco. I'll post them when Jerry does an upload to his computer. As a point of reference for how lost we were going through all of those little towns, when we decided to go back into France from "way into Italy", we were only 23 minutes away from our hotel. We spent 2 hours driving to get to SanRemy and Ventimiglia. Our worries of "we're never going to find Monaco again" soon turned to shame when we realized we were 20 minutes away...about 1\4 of the time it takes me to get to work each morning!

At any rate, it was an interesting little jaunt and one of those travel experiences that you just have to smile about. I did love the amazing views and getting to see the little villages.

After returning, Jerry decided it would be a good day to go the casino since it is the only rainy one while we're here, and I decided that, given my lack of "big money, big money" and luck, I would go shopping for smaller fare. He is not back yet, but I can say that I learned two lessons today in walking around:

(1) no matter how much I know in my head that I'm pretty broke and I have NO MORE ROOM in my suitcase, the soldes at Camaieu will always tempt me to buy something...or somethings (as in PLURAL). And it will seem totally reasonable that I am considering making a box to send things back to the US and this idea has no relation at all to the fact that I am buying things I shouldn't. So, the lesson being, I HAVE NO SELF CONTROL during the soldes.

(2) No matter my intentions, I will buy a veritable truckload of cheese if I go into a French supermarché by myself. Our hotel mini-fridge is now filled with wine, juice, and cheese. Who's going to be able to eat this much cheese before we leave for Paris? I have no idea...that's saying something--not even I can eat this much cheese!!! So, the next lesson being, I HAVE NO SELF CONTROL with cheese. (at least I'm not eating my weight in bread at every meal, but, man, is that hard!)

Anyone notice a pattern here when I'm anywhere near France? As justification, all I can say is that the cheese tastes great as I'm waiting for Jerry to get home, and I got both tops and the pair of pants for 25 euros together. So there1

Ok, off to eat more cheese...Here are some pictures of the cartoon characters dancing to techno music in the Christmas village, just down the street from the Santa jazz band.

Monaco Days 1 & 2

Well, we are ending the first day of the new year here in Monte Carlo...how lucky are we?!?!

You'll have to excuse any errors in typing--I'm still getting used to the tiny keyboard that comes with the iPad case that I bought just before leaving. It was absolutely the right purchase for this, because I have so much more portability and functionality, but after my cher MacBook Pro huge keyboard, I'm having some petits problems. :)

Let's see...recounting the last few days...we arrived in Nice late in the afternoon of December 30th, and Jerry got us upgraded to a MERCEDES!!! It is such a nice car (and makes all of the driving around on these twisty roads--getting lost--much more pleasant). We found our way to the hotel through a drive with beautiful scenery. They have planned the mountain roads here to show the beauty of the architecture and the land perfectly.

After arriving, it was late enough that we decided to eat dinner at the hotel and rest up for the next day. We are staying in a different part of Monte Carlo than last visit, so we needed a little bit of time to get our bearings in the daylight before venturing out.

The next day we had a beautiful breakfast on the terrace of the hotel that is just next to the dock.

The mountains are just on the other side of the hotel...

For New Year's Eve, we went out to do an open bus tour of Monte Carlo/Monaco, which was amazing because the open top of the bus allowed us to see everything. We tried our hand at driving around but with only a litte more success than before, given the winding, name-changing roads.

At any rate, we found our way to the city center that we recognized and bought some New Year's Eve necessities, etc. and oriented ourseles relative to the main port.

Me, outside the big rock enclosure

a bird on the top of the winding mountain trail that we climbed to get to Old Monte Carlo Village

There is apparently a special exhibit on the royal marriage in the ocean museum...I will clearly be spending an inordinate amount of time there!

Jerry outside the Museum..."we all live in a yellow..." ":)

An interesting winter display of penguins and woodland animals beside the palace...not at all to scale in size or grandeur, but cute all the same.

The guard outside the palace.

After the bus tour, we drove home and decided to walk to the main port for dinner and a look at the Christmas village.

After walking back and relaxing a little bit, we decided to get all dressed up for the hotel's celebration...

Here is Jerry looking handsome and debonair with his cuban cigar and drinks...I'm not going to post my picture because it doesn't show me in my actual sober state and not overindulging (all of you that know me recognize that every picture I take makes me look horrid...), but we had a great time. Of course I enjoyed my champagne, but the picture makes it look totally different. ANYWAY,

What an amazing thing to be able to kiss the new year in with such an amazing man in such a wonderful place.

Today we took it easy (see J above...) but I had a marvelous breakfast on the dock--it was postively HOT outside! Everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) was closed, so no shopping or wandering fun, but a day of rest, reading, and watching French news was great (especialy while listening to the rocking of the yachts and the gentle sea waves. I'll let Jerry tell you how he spend HIS day.... :)

About 4:00 PM or so. though, it got very cold. We opted for a wonderful dinner at the hotel and I'm now out here writing to the gentle harmonies of the yachts and the occasional car or pedestrian, narrated by a great selection of old jazz...case in point. Fred Astaire, singing Cheek to Cheek...

We are planning on driving down the Italian riviera a little tomorrow, so I'll be sure to post some more about that!!

Bisous