Hey, let’s take a train to Monaco this morning! We’ll ride along the Low Corniche to see for ourselves those tiny villages nestled along the the Cote d’Azur with harbors sharing space with some really enormous yachts!
And then we'll arrive in Monaco where even the train station floors and walls are made of marble. (Later we would notice that public trash cans, tree grates, and benches were matching and tastefully decorative. And even later we would read that this place has the highest per capita income in the world. Well no wonder then.)
Monaco is French but not exactly in France. After getting a bit disoriented after emerging from the train station - a situation that for us always involves lots and lots of walking! and of course discovering some lovely areas (but we never did stumble upon Monte Carlo!) - we made our way at last up a tall mountain to the sumptuous palace of the Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of the Principality of Monaco. From that breath-taking vantage point we could look down upon a larger harbor with even bigger yachts. Our pal Rick Steves says “lots and lots of yachts” - mais oui!
And later, as we savored an especially yummy dinner back in Nice, we played the “Happiness is” game. With our families and friends back home as our treasured “givens,” we threw out ideas about today.
Happiness is:
- The Cote d’Azur looking very azure today.
- Ordering our meal and wine in French.
- French bread - in France!
- French wine - in France!
- Asking for directions in French and pretending we knew what they’re telling us in return (actually not such a useful strategy for finding the bus back to Nice).
- Actually finding the bus to take us back to Nice, even though it was so crowded we had to stand up the whole way as we once again experienced the winding Low Corniche.
- Watching a boule match in Villefranche-sur-Mer (um, nice view of the ocean, guys!) played by young men while a much older man watched and clapped.
- Reading street signs and making up what they mean based on our teensy bit of French and lots of imagination.
- Experiencing French Riviera and pinching ourselves to keep believing it's true!
