The Principality of Monaco is all about crystal clear blue water, not desert. White buildings and luxurious yachts, not glitzy casinos and make-believe venues. It was all so utterly surreal in its own way.
It was 1969. I first heard of Monaco when American actress Grace Kelly married Prince Rainier in 1956. The Grimaldi family has ruled Monaco for over 700 years. It was a fairy-tale wedding of an American movie star to a Royal Prince.
I never actually thought I would visit there, but we would be passing through on the train from Barcelona, Spain to Venice, Italy and a stop in Nice seemed appropriate. My diary from that trip says that we took the bus from Nice into Monaco for the day, specifically into Monte Carlo. Our visit cost all of $9.09. Europe on $10 a day, lol.
We walked up to see the palace and went to the casino (but did not gamble). But the highlight was the certainly the Oceanographic Museum.
At the time we were there, Jacques Cousteau was the director. This is probably the best aquarium museum I have ever been in because of the very unusual variety of species that I saw. We easily could have spent more time there.
Black and white alert: Here I am standing at the museum:
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We were only in Monaco for a single day, but it was very enjoyable. It would be a great place to retire to and just sit and look out at the view. I would not mind going back and seeing more of the Riviera. Maybe combine it with a return trip to Majorca, which I almost blogged about for 'M'.
Check this site for some beautiful photos.
We are now halfway through the A - Z Challenge. I am having a great time doing this. I have the rest of my letters picked and only have six more to write up. I am so glad I started ahead of time. Click here to see the list of other bloggers. I've moved up to number 797.
M is also for Michigan, Mackinac Island, Minnesota, Maine, Mammoth Cave, Miami; Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin; Manitoulin Island; Majorca, Spain and Melbourne, Australia