Day 13 Mediterranean Adventures: Monte Carlo and Nice

Another bright day dawns as our ship pulls into the port of Monaco. Our tour today includes a bus ride to Nice along the Cote d' Azure, stopping on the way back at the medieval city of Eze.

Monaco is quite small, actually one square mile--in company with Vatican City as two of the smallest countries in the world.  It has a dense population and most much be multi millionaires as the cost per square foot for a residence is $6,000.  You are not hallucinating.  That is what we were told. With all of the high rises, many don't even have a view of the sea.     Casino 

  The harbor had so many yachts moored right beside our cruise ship.  The casino is one of the attractions of the city as is the palace of the Grimaldi family.  Bob and Jerry decide to venture out into the city of Monte Carlo later in the day while Joyce and Lydia take the opportunity to relax onboard.

The trip to Nice is on the lower corniche ( road cut into the side of a cliff).Our guide points out the corniche above where Princes Grace died in 1982 after suffering a stroke while at the wheel of her car. The views are just spectacular as we travel past the names of places we have only heard about--such as Cap d' Ferrat. Antibes and St. Tropez are just beyond where we stop in Nice.     

Nice is a huge city ( 500,000) and congested beyond belief.  Our bus takes us along the shore, through the town and ultimately into the old part of town to the market.  The flowers, fruits, vegetables and fish are everywhere. We enjoy a Cafe Americano (free toilette) and continue our tour through the market. The market is just across the street from the water and Nice Harbor.      

From Nice, we take the middle corniche back toward Monaco, stopping in Eze.  There is a modern part of the town, but we are headed for the ancient medieval village perched high atop a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean sea.  This was originally built as a fortification to repel advances of the Saracens from the African coast. The climb up is steep and long with very narrow streets and shops all along the road up to the top.  Of course, there is the ubiquitous church at the top, which we pass on visiting this time. Lydia takes the opportunity to stay below in the comfort of a park bench and welcome shade. We arrive back at the port for a relaxing afternoon and evening aboard our ship.