It was dark when we arrived in Monaco but the bright street lights lit up the city as we sped through tunnels alongside supercars. However we passed straight through following a little section of the grand prix track as parking in Monaco is pretty much a no go so instead we parked in a little place called Menton on the outskirts of the city. The parking spot was a simple carpark on the beach but as well known by now they are the best spots especially when they are free! Surrounded by other campers we slept well especially after witnessing a spectacular fireworks display from some far flung Monte Carlo residence and in the morning took the short train ride into Monaco. Our first impressions of Monaco was that is was super confusing looking on google maps it seemed to take an absolute age to get anywhere! After stopping off at the tourist info we found out why. We took the public elevators up to the botanical gardens. It felt so novel and also shaved off about 20 minutes of walking time! The botanical gardens were such a let down I wouldn’t even bother walking up there if you ever visit Monaco. Instead we took the steps back down to the harbour and towards the walled old town area up on the cliff edge. The palace was beautiful but paled in comparison to the views of Monaco below it was a juxtaposed view looking down from this grand old building towards the super yachts and high-rise buildings. We aren’t daft and knew that prices in Monaco would be steep so our packed lunch went down a treat before we wandered between buildings taking in the church and park of the surrounding area. It was such a shame the streets were rammed with tourists otherwise it would have been so tranquil. We escaped the madness in the park admiring the beautiful scenery before walking back down towards the harbour. The buildings were beautiful especially the church its no wonder royalty marry there.
On the walk to the harbour vintage sports cars lined the streets and peaked Joshua’s interest. Our next destination was the infamous Monte Carlo Casino. It was a bit of a walk away but worth it to see the beautiful square which was an obvious draw to tourists of every nationality. We strolled into the building trying to look as casual as possible and snuck some cheeky pictures of the stunning interior. We wanted to feel lavish so splashed out on the overpriced drinks and lounged on the beautiful armchairs pretending we were big winners in the casino before going back out into the sun drench square outside. We walked through the surrounding park peering into the designer boutiques and hotels and soon enough we felt we’d seen enough of the super rich so hopped on the next train back to Menton.
It gave us enough time to hatch a plan for the evening so after purchasing a few beers we slipped on our comfies and tiptoed across the pebbled beach between locals and took up a spot ourselves. The sun setting threw a beautiful glow across the sea and surrounding buildings and we couldn’t have been happier just relaxing with a drink in hand. It was an amazing way to end our stay in the beautiful place if I had all the money in the world what a different experience it would be but that’s life isn’t it and regardless we had such a lovely time!
