Degustación de Tapas - Part 8

Okay! I've had my Spanish siesta; now it's time to get back onboard the Liberty of the Seas for more European Tapas.... 

The last report from my trip to Barcelona was aboard a cruise ship; we spotted land ahead and pulled into the harbor for the first stop on the 6 day cruise. Where were we...?

...the answer: in France!  Our cruise ship docked offshore, in the lovely French Mediterranean harbor near Nice, (officially called Villefranche). The Citadel from this town was featured in the James Bond movie: Never say Never. (source: LINK -- At the link, scroll down to see videos scenes from the film.)

Bonjour mes amis. ^_^

From top left to bottom right:
1. our cruise ship / 2. View of the village from the shuttle boat
3. Cutenekko arrives in France! / 4. View of our cruise ship from the hill

My friend and I joined an excursion via the cruise ship company. We wanted to try what all the Americans did -- join a tour. So we boarded our bus which drove us along the scenic ocean road. Our tour guide mentioned Villefrance is home to many celebrity villas -- Tina Turner, Bono (from U2) and Sean Lennon (John Lennon's son) all have homes here.

Our bus continued onward to the first of two stops...Monaco!

Monaco is actually its own country and ruled by royalty. The most famous member being the late Grace Kelly, who, upon marrying the Prince, became Princess Grace of Monaco. The church where the couple were married was included on our tour. Let's go inside....

Church outside....

Bottom two photos show images from inside the church.

When Princess Grace was unfortunately killed in a car accident, her remains were buried inside this church. While I felt strange taking photos of the tomb, many tourists were doing so...when in Rome..? 

Our tour also included a 40 minute stop at the Palace of Monaco and we spent some time exploring the back streets, which were hidden between cute pink buildings. 

More scenes from Monaco...

Top Left to Bottom Right:
1. Painting inside Monaco church/ 2. Princess Grace's tomb
3. the Royal Palace/ 4. a side street featuring restaurants

Next, our bus rolled along the ocean road to arrive at our other destination -- Monte Carlo. Monte Carlo and Monaco also hosted scenes from the James Bond film: Goldeneye.

My friend, a race car fan, was excited to catch a glimpse of the stands and start line for the F1 Monaco Grand Prix (to be held May 23 - 26 -- more info is HERE) from our tour bus. We also got to walk part of the track, viewing a hairpin turn. It was pretty surreal.

The highlight and main stop was the famous casino in Monte Carlo. Here, we saw so many expensive cars -- Rolls Royce Phantoms, Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Porches, etc, etc. We also saw many car fans just sitting on the side of the road, taking photos while the expensive cars passed in front of the casino. If you want to marry a rich man, ladies, this is the place to hang out! (laugh)

Left: Monaco F1 Grand Prix/ Right: Cutenekko in front of the casino
(No, I did not gamble!!)

The amount of wealth on display in these two areas was mind boggling. My friend and I are both kind of cheap; we average $10 for two on dinner and I never buy clothes which are more than $30. As a result, Monaco and Monte Carlo felt out of our comfort zone. I couldn't relate to the people here at all, but it was nice to visit and satisfied my curiosity.  Also, as a fan of James Bond, you could say my travel urges were "shaken, not stirred." (laugh)

The ship will depart for the next port soon. Check back tomorrow for more. 

Want to visit Monaco? See travel information HERE.

Interested in trying your luck at the casino in Monte Carlo? Visit HERE for more information and a list of famous celebrities who live in the area.