Waking up in Monte Carlo is quite an experience. This was our second time in Monte Carlo but the first time to dock in the city. On our last visit the winds were too strong to get into the port so we docked about 20 miles away in Nice, France.
The first thing you notice about Monte Carlo is that it is stunningly beautiful. The water is crystal clear and there are amazing high rise apartments along the waterfront that give way to huge mansions up in the mountains.
The second thing you notice is that there are numerous private yachts in the harbor that are almost as large as a the cruise ship (a slight exaggeration but not too much).
This is definitely the "high rent district" of the French Riviera . We saw a studio apartment that was 50 square meters in size that was selling for $1.5 million and another place that was selling for just under nine million. Sorry, I didn't get the realtors name but if you're interested I'm sure you can find it.
I also got a kick out of the car dealerships we saw as we made our way around town. No Honda, Toyota or the likes in this place. However there was a Lamborghini dealership right across the street from the Ferrari dealership both of which were just a few steps away from the Maserati dealership. I think you get the picture. I'm a little surprised they'd let a bunch of low life's like us in town!
We were told about the mountain village of Eze and that there was an easily accessible trail from the coast up to this village that made for a nice hike.
We made our way out of Monte Carlo by bus to Eze seaside which was a mere 500 meters below the village of Eze. Thanks to a friendly local who pointed us to the trail head we were soon on our way to the village by way of the Charles Nietzsche footpath. From what I have learned Charles was a poet and philosopher who lived in the area back in the 1800's who found inspiration for his writings while walking this path that would later be named after him. There were a few markers along the way with some of his deep thoughts and poetry. It was a little too deep for me to appreciate but come to think of it pretty much anything beyond Green Eggs and Ham is going to be over my head.
The trail was well marked, sturdy and very steep. Although it was only about 50 degrees, Beth was down to a short sleeve shirt within just a few minutes. I had on a pretty thick pair of warm up pants which I considered shucking but I had selected an old pair of underwear that wouldn't have been good for public display.
The trail was only a little over a mile and a half in length but with the grade and frequent stops to enjoy the views it took around an hour to reach the village of Eze.
The village has a very medieval look and feel to it complete with awesome views up and down the Riviera coast. Just the views and walking the narrow alleyways made the efforts of our climb well worth it. However, I do have to admit that I felt a little bit like Clark Griswald in National Lampoon's Vacation. When he reached Wallyworld it was closed and when we got to the top everything in the village of Eze was pretty much closed for the season. I guess business is so brisk in the spring, summer and fall that they shut it down from November to March. We don't generally contribute much to the local economy anyway so it wasn't a big deal. Especially since we were able to find a little restaurant that made killer crepes.
Reenergized from the rest and crepes we decided to let gravity do part of the work for us so instead of taking the bus down we took the footpath again.
I reread some of Charles's poetry and deep thoughts.....I was no more enlightened on the way down than I was on the way up!
Once we were back on the ship we were informed by the captain that due to unfavorable weather conditions we were not going to sail to Marseille, France but head directly to Palma, Majorca (Spain).
There was a small hint of disappointment but we had been to Marseille before so it wasn't a major disappointment. After five ports in five days a day at sea to rest and recover was pretty welcome!
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| From the trail to Eze-more pictures later! |
