Monaco and Menton

Time to get back and finish up the Europe trip blog. I still think about little Sonic whenever I see Super alone in his tank. I guess she is in a better place. Beats suffering in pain. I need to move on and stop thinking about her in her final days. So here goes...

This is Monaco! City of the rich and famous. When the bus we took hit the city, you just knew. Nearly every car that zoomed past was a luxury car. And there were the presence of the skyscapers and the private yachts and the expensive boutiques. I felt desperately poor in the face of such ostentious wealth.

 Here is the famous casino. Nope, I didn't step in. I wasn't going to lose my Euros anytime soon.

 This scooter is so pretty! Love the whole look. There were two of them parked right outside a boutique called "Pretty You" (what else?) that sells Gina shoes and evening gowns costing tens of thousands. What a waste of a pretty scooter to just sit outside as decor.

 Hotel de Paris...one of the grandest hotels I've seen. We went inside to have a look and it costs about Euros 700 for a night. I snapped a pic of the golden ceiling before I was stopped by the butler.

Unfortunately it was late and we had to get back to Nice where we are based...but....

 ...here we are, back the next day! Can't get enough of the decadence!! haha!

Haha yes I realize I have a Monaco Grand Prix cap on. This was their cactus garden just overlooking the bay. 

Just an example of the decadence. Look carefully. Can you see that the seat covers are made of LV fabric? We don't know if it's fake or real but I guess it fits right into the culture.

Here's the castle grounds, cordoned off here and there to allow the royalty to zip in and out. Frankly, after Versailles, this is nothing. There were however some nice souvenir shops and restaurants in the vicinity. 

If you had to climb all these steps (x3) to get up there, then the trip better be worth it.

There were some cannon balls all over the place, much like Singapore's Fort Siloso.

Monaco doesn't let you forget about Princess Grace. She had many memorials like this all over the place, showing off her beauty at various occasions.

This is the reason for climbing up the arduous steps.

This souvenir shop was selling cute automobile miniatures. Then just around the next bend....

a real Vespa GT, life size! My favourite colour for a Vespa.

Anyway, enough of Monaco, the next stop...Menton. If you took the train all the way to the end from Monaco, Menton is what you get. Quite opposite of what Monaco was. It is a sleepy town with a nice garden and gorgeous deep blue seas.

I liked this idea of a frame in the garden...super cool! I look like part of a painting now!

Just look at the colour of the sea here...azure blue!! The sun could kill though.

Oh, and no hopes for sandy beaches. The beaches are all rocky and stony and bound to leave ugly marks in your butt when you sit on your towel.

We didn't spend much time here. So back to the garden. Whoever created this had a quirky sense of humour. A bathtub! The shower cap was flitting around on the grass, so we grabbed it to complete the bath-time look. And no, I am not going to strip down to make the look more authentic. LOL.

When I came back from France, I found myself so much heavier. Here's why...French pastries! When you stroll past the confectioneries, there is no way you are not tempted by the smells and the colourful displays of delicious delicacies.

Anyway...here is where I stop. Too many photos. Up next...Provence.