This Saturday began at 5:30am for Hannah and me. It involved scarfing down breakfast, getting dressed, and trying to put on makeup with our eyes half closed with sleep. Then I had to drive us to Marseille. This was a last minute change of plans because originally, all transportation of the day was going to be done by train. Five minutes before leaving, I remembered that the trains stop at 11 and we'd be getting back at midnight. After such a long day, wouldn't it have been so much fun to sleep in the train station? No.
So we drove. We found the parking garage, bought our tickets and my discount card for transportation in France, and we made ourselves comfortable on the train. It was going to be a long ride. I attempted to keep my eyes open during the next three hours. The scenery was phenomenal. We passed Mediterranean coastline, frost covered vineyards, and cozy villages. But alas, six hours of poor sleep was not enough and I snoozed my way to Nice.
Nice seems like a perfect getaway location all on its own, but for us, it was just the transfer station. We were headed out of the country!
We arrived in the Principality of Monaco a little before lunchtime and set off to discover the country. Monaco is the second smallest country behind Vatican City so it didn't take too many confused walks down the same street past the Ferrari repair shop to finally figure out which direction to go.
First we checked out the port. They had just finished up the 78th Annual Car Rally and the race cars were all being loaded into their trailers. There was a lot of testosterone in the port that day.
Then we tried to find the Mexican restaurant that we were so excited about. Sadly, it no longer exists and our exciting plans for tacos and margaritas were extinguished.
Not wanting to spoil the rest of our day, we set off for the aquarium and ocean museum. Along the way up the hill, we saw some more beautiful coastline and the royal palace of the princes of Monaco. We also went into the cathedral where Princess Grace Kelly and her husband are buried.
At the aquarium, we took our pictures in front of Jacques Cousteau's yellow submarine and looked at a lot of fish, fossils, and whale bones. It was interesting but we were mostly just starving. So afterwards, we ate pizza and had the best chocolat chaud (hot chocolate) I've ever had in my life. We also watched music videos and discovered that I knew none of the American singers while Hannah knew none of the French ones. I am now considered a French nerd, and I like it.
Then we explored the royal family's collection of cars dating as far back as horse drawn carriages. I've never had any interest in cars but that was one of our favorite things. Rolls Royce, Mercedes, Jaguar... This family certainly has money!
Then we made friends with a bunch of weird animals at the zoo. We touched a monkey and Hannah gave one candy. Both of those things are surely frowned upon but the monkeys seemed ok with it.
In the end, we were freezing and it was getting dark, so we decided to find Monte Carlo casino before it was too dark to get there. We got lost for a while but eventually there it was. It is huge and gorgeous! The wealth of the people in this country is astounding! All around the casino were expensive hotels and shops like Chanel and Cartier. Everyone was dressed so elegantly and it was amazing. We didn't go in this time but maybe one day...
We got semi-lost getting back as well but we were able to hop some red tape in a tunnel and get back to familiar scenery. Along the way we schemed how to marry the sons of the ridiculously rich yacht owners who's boats we were passing. Magnificent boats.
Finally, we ate in the same restaurant as a flood of Hyundai businessmen and then caught the train back home. It was supposed to be a peaceful night train, designed with a dark interior, reclining seats, and few stops. Instead, no one could sleep because a bunch of Marseille teenagers got on and drank wine, smoked, and sang drunkenly and loudly for hours. No one was happy at the end of the ride. Why didn't anyone stop them?
But still, despite the idiotic troublemakers, the whole day was a whirlwind of fun. I've learned how and why the pursuit of money can be so addictive and I saw some really high quality things. I also saw scenery even more beautiful and priceless. I'm grateful for the casino though. Because of it, there are no taxes and a multitude of free public bathrooms. Put together with the almost indecent beauty of this place, I think it makes the list of one of my favorite countries yet.
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