Home Alone in Magical Monaco.

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Monaco at night.

I was sad to leave Menton, as I had grown to love it just as much as I had loved Ventimiglia. We walked to the station. It's currently being renovated and didn't seem to have any staff. I had to work out how to buy our tickets from a machine. When he could see better, this would have been Peter's job. Using the machine involved lots of turning of knobs and pressing ok. I paid with a credit card. It was also possible to use coins. One woman was having difficulty as she tried to pay with a note. That didn't seem possible and the machines didn't seem to give change.

The train we boarded was going to Grasse, but we got off in Monaco-Monte Carlo. This station is huge and apparently part of it is in Monaco and part is in France.

Statue just outside the station. It's called 'Fraternity'.

After booking our hotel, the Apart Adagio Monte Cristo, we were surprised to learn that it was actually in France rather than Monaco, but you would certainly not know you were crossing a border. In fact our hotel may have been in a place Sally really likes. It was called Beausoleil.

Just like with the other places we visited, I left Peter sitting in the station and went to look for the hotel. It was supposed to be four minutes walk away, but it took me around thirty minutes to find it. The problem with Monaco, as far as I am concerned, is everything is vertical. I kept trying to walk across the way when I should have been going up or down. Not only that, but the train station itself is filled with lots of covered passages. There are signs to indicate the directions, but because you are inside you don't really know where you are.

I had read that I could reach our hotel easily via two lifts, but until I found the hotel I couldn't find the lifts. Now I know that I should have come out of the station onto Boulevard Princess Charlotte, then I should have walked forwards for a few minutes till I reached some overhead arches. There on the left is a public elevator. I should have gone up on this, crossed the road, gone up in another elevator, then headed left.

Peter was going a bit crazy when I came back, because he thought something had happened to me. Anyway I took him the easy way that I had now established. We went to the elevators, then to the hotel. We could check in straight away.

When I saw our room, I was amazed. We had our own separate living-room with a kitchen. The kitchen had a fridge, a dishwasher, four cooking rings on a stove top and a microwave oven. We had a separate bedroom, and the icing on the cake, a huge balcony with a table and chairs. Then, horror of horrors, I looked in the bathroom. It had a bath and it was necessary to step into it to use the shower. We couldn't stay here. Peter wouldn't be able to use it. Visions of being moved to some poky airless, balcony-less room flashed into my mind. "I'll go down to reception and ask them to move us," I said. Peter took one look at my face and realised how disappointed I was. He told me not to do that. He said: "There's a rail. I'll try and get into and out of the bath." I said: "No, no, I'll go back down." But Peter insisted we stay.

Our living-room.

Our bedroom.

Our kitchen.

Our bathroom.

Our balcony.

I intended to cook for our stay in Monaco rather than eat out, so I said: "I will help you shower then go out and look for a supermarket." Peter said he would shower later. I said: "You must not do it when I am out in case you fall." He agreed. I set about unpacking a few things. I was paying no attention to Peter, then suddenly I heard water running. I went into the bathroom and there was Peter in having a shower. He told me it had been really easy to get in due to having the rail to hold onto. He got out easily too. What a relief! The shower was not going to be a problem. However, the apartment had many hidden unpleasant surprises in store for us. We just didn't know that yet.

I went downstairs and asked the receptionist if there was a supermarket nearby. She said it was five minutes walk away, gave me directions and showed me a picture of the building it was in. This was very fortunate. I wouldn't have found it without the picture, as it was in a residential block and wasn't particularly visible or well advertised. You had to know it was there. It was a large supermarket, too, a Carrefour.

I bought chicken, garlic, onions, red peppers, courgettes, pasta, butter, cheese, milk, water, beer, wine, stock cubes and herbs de Provence. I then headed home. I opened the front door of our apartment. It battered into something and I heard a scream. What was going on?

I quickly realised that our toilet which, was in a tiny room separate from the bathroom, had a door that opened directly in front of the apartment front door. Peter had just been coming out of the toilet when I opened the front door and I had knocked into the bathroom door and clobbered him on the head. Apparently it was pretty sore and it left a mark on his forehead. Oh no! What a ridiculous design!! Totally impractical.

We were both really tired and hungry and grumpy. Peter did not feel like going exploring, which was fair enough considering I had probability given him a mild concussion. However, I said I would go out for a walk, because we didn't have a huge amount of time in Monaco and I didn't want to waste any daylight time. It got dark around 5pm. It was currently around 4.

I decided to try and see at least one thing before it got dark. I ended up going to Port Hercules. I got there by going back into the station and wandering through lots of tunnels, as I said before, this left me a bit disorientated about where I actually was. Also, I know I am being a moaner, but I didn't actually like the port. Why not? Well, to walk along the waterfront you walk on the edge of a busy road. There are some low barriers to ensure the bit you are on is pedestrianised, but it's not a proper walkway and you are constantly stepping over parts where boats are moored. It seemed designed for the car driver and the wealthy yacht owner and the pedestrian was definitely very much an afterthought. I suppose it's all down to lack of space, but Monaco is very much a playground for the wealthy to enjoy.

Wandering around Port Hercules.

At one point I got into a public elevator and ended up on an outdoor walkway next to the yacht club. There was another pirate statue here just like the one in Menton. I came back home in a bad mood and made dinner. I told Peter he hadn't missed anything by not coming with me.

Just discovered this is actually Ulysses. Tied up perhaps and listening to the songs of the sirens.

To make dinner I had to cut up chicken and vegetables. All our utensils were provided. The knife I used was damaged. It had a nick on its blade where a small but extremely sharp part stuck out. I hadn't noticed that and cut my finger very badly in two places. Now we were both injured. Fortunately, the food was lovely, even if I do say so myself. It helped cheer us up.

After eating, we both fancied something sweet and I hadn't bought anything, so I decided to go back to Carrefour again. When I went into the bedroom to get my handbag, I managed to bump into the TV. There was a TV on the wall at the end of the bed and the space between the wall and the bed was narrow. I managed to walk into that TV at least four times on this stay. I have bruises all over my arms to prove it. Peter was sympathetic the first time, but after that he kept saying. "For goodness sake, you know it's there." I did know, but somehow it didn't help. I am an incredibly clumsy person and always have been. I brought ice-cream and biscuits back from the shop, so we had coffee and dessert and then headed for bed.

Peter was last to bed and he said we should leave the hall light on in case we wanted to go to the loo in the night and close the bedroom door to block out the light. He closed the bedroom door and a huge ironing board that had been propped up behind it fell on top of him. Staying in this apartment was like starring in a 'Home Alone' movie. I swear the place was booby trapped everywhere. I kept expecting Kevin to leap out at us.

By this time, we were both exhausted and injured, but we slept really well. Everything looked better in the morning.

I woke up, showered, headed to Carrefour for a baguette and pain-au-chocolate and made us a lovely breakfast which we ate on the balcony, mercifully without being attacked by a seagull.

After breakfast, we headed out. We went in the general direction of the casino. It quickly became apparent that Peter did not like walking here. It was because all of the streets were really steep and that made him feel like he was going to fall. Our progress was incredibly slow. Eventually we came to a lovely building called the Hermitage Hotel and there was a little garden outside it where Peter could take a rest. The garden had a cafe and lots of Christmas trees. We sat here for a while and I checked directions on my phone. We were very near the casino.

The Hermitage Hotel.

Peter in the garden next to the Hermitage Hotel.

We wandered a bit further and there it was - the famous Monte Carlo Casino. This is a beautiful building which was designed by Parisian architect Gobineau de la Bretonnerie. It first opened in 1865. It's not just a casino, it has been expanded to include the Opera of Monte Carlo and the Ballet of Monte Carlo.

There were some fountains in front of the casino and we stopped to take photos there.

Fountain near the casino.

Peter and the fountain.

I found Peter a place to sit in the sun and I wandered around the gardens opposite the casino. These had a pond, lots of beautiful trees, some of which were a lovely shade of yellow. There was a merry-go-round nearby.

Peter in the garden next to the casino.

Us in the gardens.

Autumn colours in the gardens.

Merry-go-round.

Then we walked over to the casino itself and took some pictures outside it. The area in front of the casino was lavishly decorated for Christmas. At first I thought the whole area was pedestrianised, but no. Cars came streaming through the area with the decorations. Again little thought given to those exploring on foot rather than in their expensive chauffeur driven limousines.

The Casino of Monte Carlo..

The Casino of Monte Carlo.

Peter on the red carpet at the casino.

Peter with the decorations outside the casino.

Hotel de Paris opposite the casino.

Hotel de Paris, Monte Carlo.

Speaking of cars, outside the casino there are many extremely expensive looking parked cars. I have zero interest in cars, but I took some photos to send to my friend Jason as he loves flash looking cars. He was well impressed.

Flash cars parked outside the casino.

On the other side of the casino there was a lovely place to sit, some view points over Port Hercules and some Christmas stalls selling designer, luxury goods since this was Monaco. I know I keep going on, but this was the only place on the holiday where I actually felt that I looked like a down and out in need of major cosmetic surgery compared with the beautiful people in their designer clothes who were just everywhere here. It was not a comfortable feeling.

A sunny spot to sit.

Behind the casino.

Walking along the front behind the casino.

View over Port Hercules from behind the casino. The Prince's Palace is on the opposite hill.

Peter with the view over Port Hercules.

Looking down on Port Hercules.

Luxury dresses.

Christmas tree.

Santa in Monaco.

Peter was beginning to feel that he had walked enough. I said: "You surely don't want to go back the way we came. It's all uphill." We settled for going down further to Port Hercules and because I had been there the night before I knew how to get back from there. So I took him to the port and we walked along the front. It wasn't too bad. I really hadn't been in the right frame of mind for exploring the night before.

Beautiful flowering tree on the walk down.

Port Hercules.

Peter at Port Hercules.

By chance we bumped into the Chapel of Saint Devote on our way home. This beautiful chapel is dedicated to Saint Devote, the patron saint of Monaco.

Devote was a young Corsican girl who suffered persecution and torture during the reign of the Roman governor Diocletian. She died without denying her faith. The emperor ordered her body to be burnt, but some fellow Christians managed to smuggle it away and placed it in a boat which they pushed out to sea. The boat ran aground in Monaco and a shrine was built in honour of the young girl. People began to say that miracles took place here, so many people flocked here to pray. Then one day a man stole the relics of the Saint and placed them on his boat. He hoped to gain money by selling them. Angry fishermen chased after the thief and rescued the relics. They then set the thief's boat on fire. Every year on January 26th, the Eve of the Feast of Saint Devote, a boat is burned outside the chapel in memory of this event.

Another tradition associated with this chapel is that the wife of the Sovereign Prince of Monaco always places her wedding bouquet in the chapel on the day of her wedding.

Statue of Saint Devote in her boat.

Chapel of Saint Devote.

After getting Peter home, I headed out again to explore Monaco Ville, where the Prince's Palace is. In my opinion this is the loveliest part of Monaco. We have both been to Monaco once before and really enjoyed this area, though this time Peter did not fancy the steep walk up.

I, on the other hand, enjoyed the walk up for two reasons. One was the wonderful views and the other was it was lined with nativity scenes from different parts of the world. It was beautiful. I love nativity scenes.

View on the walk up.

The walk to the palace.

The walk up to the palace.

View on the walk up.

Statue of Prince Rainier III and a nativity scene.

Close up of the statue.

Close up of the Nativity scene.

Nativity scene from Namibia.

Nativity scene from Provence.

Nativity scene.

Nativity scene with a view.

Nativity scene.

I photographed the palace in the remaining daylight, but I intended to wait until it got dark and photograph it then too, as it is lit up in pink at night and looks magical.

Outside the palace there's a statue of Francois Grimaldi. By disguising himself as a Franciscan friar, he gained entry to the castle on the Rock of Monaco then took it by force, beginning the rule of the Grimaldi line in Monaco.

Statue of Francois Grimaldi outside the palace.

Close up of statue.

The Prince's Palace of Monaco was built in 1191 by the Genoese. It was seized by the Grimaldi family in 1297. It is currently home to Prince Albert of Monaco and his family.

The palace by day.

I was just in time to see a changing of the guard ceremony taking place in front of the palace.

Changing the guard.

I looked at the views over Port Hercules and over Monaco which were absolutely breathtaking. There was a statue about paying homage to foreign colonies at the viewpoint, plus canons and heaps of canon balls.

View over Port Hercules.

View over Monaco.

Statue paying homage to foreign colonies.

There are great views too on the other side over Fontvieille where the sun was going down. Fontvieille is an area of Monaco we didn't manage to get to on our first visit and we didn't manage to get to it this time either. On our first visit to Monaco we started walking from near the border with Menton and visited Larvotto Beach, the Japanese Gardens and lots of other places before arriving at the Monte Carlo Casino and walking around Port Hercules to Monaco Ville and the Prince's Palace.

View over Fontvieille.

Fontvieille as the sun goes down.

Fontvieille as the lights come on.

Canon on the Fontvieille side.

The square outside the palace has some beautiful buildings and had a gorgeous Christmas tree.

Buildings on the palace square.

Buildings on the square outside the palace.

Christmas tree on square outside palace.

Nativity scene on Palace Square.

I walked around a few of the picturesque streets of Monaco Ville.

A street in Monaco Ville.

Then I visited the beautiful Saint Nicholas Cathedral. This is free entry, as a religious building should be and it's gorgeous inside. I gave a donation as I was so pleased it was free entry, as religious buildings should be.

Saint Nicholas Cathedral was built between 1875 and 1903 on the site of the first parish church in Monaco. Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace are both buried here.

The cathedral.

Inside the Cathedral.

Painting inside the cathedral.

Altar inside the cathedral.

Inside the cathedral.

Building next to the cathedral.

I wandered through the wonderful Jardines Saint Martin. Truly one of the most magical places in Monaco. These gardens are filled with beautiful statues, lots of attractive plants and have fantastic views. This was especially true as the sun went down and I was joined by my friend the seagull.

Prince Albert the Seafarer.

Hector and Andromache.

Lovers' statue.

Le Temps Inalterable by the French Sculptor, Cyril de la Patelliere

Le Temps Inalterable by the French Sculptor, Cyril de la Patelliere.

The crossroads of life’ – by Swiss Sculptor Edouard-Marcel Sandoz.

Statue of Princess Grace.

Eagle.

Cacti.

Me in Jardines Saint Martin.

Looks like our friend from Menton finally caught up with us.

And brought his baby.

Sunset over Fontvieille from the park.

I walked to the Oceanographic Museum. This is a beautiful building and I think the aquariums inside would be very interesting to visit, but I didn't go inside.

Oceanographic Museum.

Jacques Costeau's yellow mini-submarine.

It was getting dark, so I headed back to the palace which was now starting to light up, and so was the Christmas tree in front of it.

Starting to get dark and the palace and tree is beginning to light up.

Perfect Pink Palace.

Palace at night.

Palace and Francois Grimaldi statue.

Homage to colonies statue at night.

Buildings on Palace Square at night.

The Christmas tree at night.

The night time views over Monaco were spectacular.

Port Hercules as the lights come on.

And as it starts to get dark..

Fontvieille by night.

I then headed back down the hill. I phoned Peter to say I was on my way back. I was getting tired and my legs hurt. I crossed the road to see the Christmas market along this side of Port Hercules. Actually I could not really see it well due to all the barriers around it. I think it was free to enter, but security around it was very tight. I didn't visit it as I couldn't be bothered queuing up to be searched and allowed in.

Christmas market.

I was getting a bit overconfident about knowing my way back from Port Hercules and, of course, I went wrong. I was tired, my legs and feet hurt. I just wanted to go home and make dinner, but I missed the entry to the tunnels at the station and found myself walking up a steep hill. I could have just turned back, but no. I thought: "This will be the road that leads me to the station exit where my lift is". I was about half way up when I realised it was not that road. I could see there were wonderful views back towards the Prince's Palace on the other side of the road. I crossed over to have a look.

View back towards the palace.

I was a bit lost but I decided to keep waking up then try to work out where I was. Fortunately the road lead me to the Hermitage Hotel. The park outside it was pretty at night. I knew where I was. I had a bit more uphill walking to do then I was at my lifts.

The Hermitage Hotel at night.

When I got home, I was really tired. I started making dinner. Suddenly I became aware that there were bloody footprints all over the kitchen. Peter has previously had to have a toe amputated and is very prone to foot injuries. I rushed over to check his feet. "What have you done?" I kept saying. "I haven't done anything," he replied. I checked his feet thoroughly and could find no wounds. I looked at my own feet and instantly felt a bit sick. My left sock was absolutely saturated with blood. The bloody footprints were mine.

I actually don't know what I did. Whether I banged my foot, or someone tread on me with their designer shoes, but I had a cut on my toenail and it had bled a lot. I cleaned my feet, cleaned the floor and made dinner. Again I was exhausted. I slept really really well.

In the morning then weather had changed. We had just had two beautiful sunny days. Now it was pouring. I went out for baguette and pain-au-chocolate in the rain and came home soaked. I made breakfast. We couldn't eat on the balcony that day. We packed everything up, checked out and headed to the train station. We were going to Nice and the final part of our stay.

This featured blog entry was written by irenevt from the blog A Trip to Italy, France and Monaco..
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By irenevt

Posted Thu, Dec 14, 2023 | Monaco | Comments

Home Alone in Magical Monaco.

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