A Wee Country: Monaco

This morning we drove a little over an hour southeast to the tiny Principality of Monaco. It is the 2^nd smallest country in the world with a landmass at only 2.2 km sq. It has been a principality since the 17^th century and is currently ruled by Prince Albert II and his wife Princess Charlene. They have 4 yr. old twins Prince Jacques and Princess Gabriella.

We entered Monaco via an underground mountain tunnel that spirals downward to the sea. After parking underground we took a lift up to ground level. The first thing we saw as we excited the garage was a view of he sparkling turquoise waters of the Mediterranean Sea!

About 38,000 people live in Monaco. The city of Monacoville was absolutely beautiful and very clean. There are actually three cities that make up the little principality, Monacoville, known as Le Rocher, La Condamine, and Monte Carlo. The latter is known worldwide for being the playground of the rich and famous, who come to gamble at casinos and dock their mega yachts!

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Le Rocher or “The Rock” is the location of Old Town Monaco with it’s cobblestone and brick roads, bright earth tone Mediterranean colors, and 17^th-18^th century buildings. Perched on the cliff within Le Rocher is the Palais du Prince or “Palace of the Prince”. We arrived just in time to witness the 12:00 changing of the Guards. The guards processed from the barracks across the courtyard to the palace. They were dressed in crisp white uniforms and marched precisely to the drum and bugles,

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Just off the square we had a nice lunch at a local French restaurant and then we entered the Palace. We all enjoyed the leisurely audio guide tour of the Palace courtyard and State Rooms. Palais du Prince is one of the most elegant palaces I’ve ever toured! Classical details and well appointed without being over the top. There were no gaudy gold filigree statues, busy frescos, or crazy wild wallpapers etc. The lines of each elegant room contained Mediterranean colored trim work, furniture, and classical art. It felt like a warm comfortable residence. However the throne room was the typical red velvet and gold as one would imagine a throne room to look like!

The Palace ticket also included an entrance to the Prince’s Automotive Museum. Monaco is known not only for yachts and casinos, but also the Monaco Grand Prix Formula One Race, which is held every year. It’s usually held in May and the drivers start and end in Monaco, but also drive along the French/Italian Riviera.  There were race cars from as early as the 1920’s, fancy royal cars, and cars used in movies shot in Monaco.

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The sun was warm, but the ocean breeze helped cool us off. We found a gelato shop and sat in a little local green shady square while we ate. A few blocks further on and we were at the marina. I’ve always wanted to see the famous Monaco Marina with its multi-million dollar yachts! Docked there were simple sailboats all the way up to triple or quadruple decker mega yachts!

Then it was time to hike back up the hill through the green shady park back to the Palace Square. It was a tiring trek so once at the top we sat in the shade and gulped water from the local community water filling station. Public water fountains are all over Europe and are often well maintained and provide clean, fresh, cool water. The view was lovely from the side of The Rock by the Palace.

We meandered back through the charming streets to the Aquarium. Unfortunately, it was very busy. Instead we walked a couple of blocks to Monaco Cathedral.  While inside the Byzantine styled church, the organist began practicing adding an ethereal ambiance to our visit. We found the graves of Prince Albert’s parents, Prince Reinier and Princess Grace. Grace Kelly was originally a famous American actress and so the current Prince speaks French as well as American English. The entire sanctuary was traditional except for the neon blue lights around the organ balcony in the back.

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Our final stroll took us along the seaside and garden promenade. We drove up and out of the garage past the marina. I caught my final glimpse of the white yachts glittering in the sunshine before we headed into the spiraling mountain tunnel that took us back to France!