More Monaco and then Nice, France!

It's great waking up knowing we were already in port. We ate breakfast and were off onto shore!

I had mapped it out, I knew how to get to the train station...umm, sort of. We found our way there and went through the hassle of NOT having COINS to pay for the train ticket to Nice. Well, we eventually found out how to get to the ticket booth and ran for it. We ran back and just made it onto the train.

Nice was my first time making it to France, obviously, since this was my first trip to Europe. I was sort of disappointed. So was Deb. Unfortunately it was a Sunday so many things were closed. However, we made the most of it. We found our way to the French Riviera and were on the lookout for stars.

All we found was the beach, a nice market, and a place to enjoy some Leffe (to take the edge off).

I had found myself figuring out Italian from the first 10 or so days, plus it's close resemblance to Spanish. In France, I was lost. I was like "perhaps the beef tare tare." The waiter informed me, thankfully, "that is raw beef." Ha! I opted for the ham & cheese! It actually was on a baguette which turned out to be the best bread I ate on the entire trip! Deb went crazy in France...another pizza. She was pleasantly surprised, though!

Being semi-disappointed we opted to head back to Monaco and explore the city further. We got gelato, walked through the beautiful (and very rich) city. Found our way to the palace and even went to see Princess Grace's tomb. Overall it was a lot fun. Before we made it back onto the ship we stopped for cappuccino and crepes! Whoa, the crepes were amazing. Debbie was in heaven!!

Even got a nice shot of the ship before making it back onboard.

Next stop...the much anticipated Florence (aka Firenze)!

Golf...then winning at the "Monte Carlo Casino"

Even though we were supposed to wake up in Barcelona and head off to enjoy tapas and spanish culture we woke up alongside Italy. In only a few hours we'd pull up alongside Monaco a day earlier than expected. We'd have preferred the day in Barcelona, but sometimes things just work out...

We met up with the Carson's in the spa that morning and a day of activities unfolded. We all competed in a putting competition in the lobby. I sunk 2 of 3 balls! I was all set to move on to the next round until those old folks came in and put 3 in a row in. I was like, dammit! :-) We even convinced Debbie to putt...she did awesome...like a pro.

Then Bob and I ventured up to the top deck for some mini golf. We had time for a full game, and an abbreviated game. I was down by 6 strokes and miraculously came back! It was a game of chance with blowing winds and a rocking ship! Once our time was over we ran and met up with our wives for Bingo. Of course!

At dinner we planned out our night in Monte Carlo. I was sooo excited! I wanted to go into the Monte Carlo Casino in a full tux, James Bond-like. I settled for the suit. We went out with our friends from the ship, Bob and Lisa, Tricee and Horas, and Kate and Derek. You think you are doing well in life until you go to Monaco. The cars parked on the street are insane! Lamborghini's, Ferrari's, Porsche's, classic cars, Bentley's, and so on!

We paid the 10 euro cover charge and went into the Monte Carlo. I was not scared to drop money into a slot...I was not going to be intimidated...no way! I went ahead and put in a whole 5 euros! (the minimum) Well...it worked out! I won 35 euros which covered our cover, slot money and the 4.50 euro water I got for Deb. What a fun time we all had in there. The ornate decorations, the clientele, the whole experience. We all went towards the VIP area, but that didn't work. I had the beautiful woman on my arm (which seemed to be the first requirement), but my wallet was obviously insufficient. Hello, I just dropped 5 euros! :-)


Afterwards we all wandered back towards the ship through the Carnival and more. We all had a full day the next day!