The rain eased and we walked down the winding road and eventually came out at the bottom. We wandered round a bit then figured that most people were walking up another hill. We assumed it was to the palace, and indeed it was, but it was also to the old part of Monaco which was really lovely. Touristy of course, but who cares?? On the way up the hill we looked back and saw everything being made ready for the Grand Prix which is being held this month. Lots of temporary grandstands, tyre barriers... all the works. (Actually, that's all I spotted. I am not a knowledgeable car person. And it would not be an exciting day for me to sit and watch cars going round and round and round.....)
We also had more great views of Monaco itself. And some very expensive looking boats. Speaking of spotting things, apparently Ringo Starr lives in Monaco, so we kept an eye out for him. I must admit that I would just have been using him to meet Paul, but you have to seize your opportunities, and I'm sure he would have understood. But anyway, I think he was inside watching English football on the tele, as he was nowhere to be seen. It wasn't a day for venturing outside.
We got to the top of the hill and decided to take a trip on the Petit Train, as, just as in Menton, it was a really good way to get an overview and see the main sights. It became slightly crazy, as the longer we waited for the train to start, the more it rained, and then suddenly little rivulets would race across the seat and wet us!! We had tissues, umbrellas and whatever it took to try and mop up the water and keep ourselves dry. And meanwhile, the driver stubbornly waited for the train to fill up, which it couldn't do because the seats were wet... Anyway, off we went, and it wasn't too bad, all things considered. We saw the main casino, but no-one trying to break the bank there.
We saw very expensive shops and car sales places, the Royal Palace, the Cathedral and the well-known(apparently)marine museum. (It's really the Oceanographic Museum, but I'm not too sure how to spell that! Lol.) Monaco reminded me of Singapore - very clean and tidy, lots of lush planting and a general feeling of comfort. Apparently there is virtually no unemployment and I don't think they know about the recession.
We then had a look inside the cathedral, which has several tombs, most notably for me, that of Princess Grace.
We had a walk around the old town and then had lunch at a super little Italian restuarant, where the staff treated us like old friends. Nice! Another walk
and then we headed back to the station. We saw a sign pointing to it and I said that I thought we should go there, although it was nowhere near where we had come out in the morning. Louise thought it was probably leading to where an old station used to be, but I just had a hunch. And sure enough, it led us right to the station. Had we taken the other exit when we arrived we would have come out here - via travelators - at the bottom of the hill. Mind you, we're glad we didn't, as we would have missed the great views. But it was good at this end of the day not having to trudge up the hill. A real fluke! Anyway, we caught the train back to Menton and that was our day. It was good. I liked Monaco, despite the pretty awful weather. It was kind of cute and picturesque. And a place we have always known about for some reason so going there was pretty special. The Garibaldis, incidentally, originally came from Italy. I guess they just turned up one day and one of them probably said, "Well, I'll be King then and we'll say this is our country. Whaddya reckon?" And they're still there.
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