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| The view from the train! |
Early the next morning, we left to head to the train station to go to Monaco!! The train from Nice to Monaco is only about half an hour, and the ride is beautiful because it goes right along the water. Again, there were no customs, so I guess the stamps on my passport will have to remain figurative.
I would describe Monaco as a cross between France and Disneyland. It's surrounded by France, the language is French, and a lot of French people commute to Monaco to work. Plus they have a bunch of agreements with France, like to use their military if need be, so I think it's almost like France legally too (except for the tax haven thing). But it reminded me of Disneyland because of the meticulous attention to security and cleanliness. Throughout Monaco, there are policemen, guards, and security cameras everywhere. I guess they have to keep the crime rate low so rich people will keep coming and gambling! And everything is super clean - all the streets, buses, shops, etc. Plus, there were guards in funny costumes at the palace!
When we arrived at the Monte Carlo train station, we were immediately struck by how clean it is! Everything is shiny and decoratively lit, and the floor was spotless. There were even a bunch of those moving walkways! However, the one thing lacking at this immaculate train station was maps. And we lacked research. Also, Monte Carlo is built on a hillside, so the streets are all on different levels and very winding. There are literally elevators to take pedestrians from one street to a higher one! So we were a little confused...
We decided to just walk toward the water though, and ended up at a harbor, with tons of fancy yachts. They were, if possible, even bigger and fancier than those in Nice! And then there we were, poor college students wandering around with our backpacks full of yesterday's laundry, wearing free plastic sunglasses... well, motivation to study hard, right?!
We spent a while looking at all the fancy boats and then out at the view of the ocean, which was just as blue as in Nice! It seemed like a darker blue though, which was interesting. But still just as breathtaking! We decided to awkwardly ask passers-by where "les sites touristiques" (tourist sites) were. The first people waved us away and said they only spoke Italian. The second guy laughed at us, but pointed us toward the palace. We didn't catch everything, but the general direction was uphill. Way uphill. I had no idea Nice and Monaco would involve so much hiking! But after Italy, nothing seems all that bad, so my feet were fine.
At the top of the hill is a little square which is the central part of the old town. I would never guess that it was the old town though because everything is so clean and well-maintained. There are two good view points, where you can see all of Monte Carlo, the harbor, and out across the sea. So beautiful! You can also see how dense Monte Carlo is; it looks like the buildings are all on top of each other, the way they stretch up the hillside.
In front of the palace, there are two guard posts, even though there was only actually a guard at one of them. At around 11:40, tons of people started gathering around the front of the palace, so we headed over too to see what was going on - it was the changing of the guard! Except it didn't actually happen until noon, so we ended up watching a lot of "pacing of the guard" and "standing of the guard" and even a little "yawning of the guard." The guys out front were standing up super straight and did the very fancy, stiff official walk whenever they had to go somewhere, but back behind the entrance to the palace, we could see the guards walking around normally with their hats off in and out of their office back there - kind of gave away the illusion!
When the changing of the guard finally did get underway, it was pretty cool to watch. Especially because all the guards were wearing uniforms straight out of a Disney movie! Well, except for the fact that they were all carrying M16 rifles... But they had the hats and the medals and the white gloves and everything! The impeccable cleanliness of their gloves does seem to indicate the level of actual guarding vs. looking official they do. When they're finished with the ceremony, the relieved guards all get in a minivan and drive off - maybe to their guard dorms or something.
Next, we went to the Monaco Cathedral, which was pretty cool. We saw the graves of Grace Kelly and Prince Ranier III. The cathedral was built in 1875, so I didn't find it as interesting as some of the elaborate Gothic-style ones we've seen. It was pretty though, and it was the only cathedral I've seen with cushions on the pews; Monaco is just so fancy!
Then we went to this beautiful landscaped garden, which I guess is pretty normal in Monaco. It had a really pretty view of the cliff side and the ocean, and there was a tourist information spot there! So we finally found some maps! Yay! Then we headed back to the old town to find somewhere to eat. Pasta!
Now that we finally had an actual map, we figured out how to take the bus to the world-famous casinos of Monte Carlo. I must say, even the city buses were sparkling! And that's coming from someone who's been living in France, land o' public transportation, for three months!
The Monte Carlo Casino did not disappoint my expectations of ostentatious displays of wealth. It's surrounded by other luxury casinos and hotels, and a lot of fountains. Out in front, there are a bunch of valets in fancy uniforms parking fancy cars, while not-as-fancy tourists peer in the windows and snap pictures. We went inside too, but there was a 10 euro cover charge to go into the actual gambling part (I assume to keep riffraff tourists like us out), so we just checked out the lobby and the nice bathrooms, which had self-cleaning toilet seats! Crazy!
Next, we took the bus to the Jardin Exotique (Exotic Gardens), which are way up on another hillside. Turns out that what passes for exotic here is what a lot of Californians have in their backyards; basically, it was a ton of cacti. It was still pretty though! And there was an awesome view of the city and the ocean as the sun set. Plus, there was "une grotte" (a grotto/cave) there, which seemed a little random, but we went on a tour of it and saw a lot of stalactites and stalagmites. Lots of stairs! There was also a lot of art there, like this pink lion which I really liked.
Then, sadly, it was time to head back to the train station and back to Nice and then Bordeaux. In between our train to Nice and our train to Bordeaux, we ran to a nearby grocery store to grab sandwiches and cookies for the train ride home. Twelve whole hours!!! I guess this one made even more stops than the one going to Nice. Luckily, I was able to sleep pretty well.
À bientôt! With stories from Portugal! I can't believe I'm getting to travel to all these places!!!
Christmas in France! Was joyeux! I went with my host-family to my host-father's parents' house in the campagne (French countryside), which is sort of like being on a small farm. They have a lot of chickens, an aggressive goose, and many cats (unfortunately, no dogs though). And they're surrounded by rolling fields and old stone houses and everything. Their house is really nice and big, and the second floor is like an apartment for guests. There's a kitchen, a bathroom, three bedrooms, and a dining room area. There's even a fireplace! There are also these really cool hanging hammock chairs, which I spent roughly 75% of my time in.
