Preface: I realize the gap in between the last post and now has been great, our trip is actually over now and we're back to real life, but I really still wanted to capture the last two weeks of the trip here in my blog. I would have done so during the trip, but we ran into some locations without free internet, and add to that the energy it would take to update the blog, it was just tough trying to get it all in during the trip. Anywho, the next few posts over the next week will round off the trip nicely, and I plan to word them in such a way as though we were still there. We'll see how it goes.
Today was officially the craziest day of our trip thus far. It was unfortunate in some sense, but by the end we both felt it kind of came together in such a way that we should likely look back on this day as an awesome day, despite it's cons. The day started much like any other - we woke up, packed up our gear, checked out of the hotel, and made our way to yet another adventurous destination. I had expected the drive down to Eze to be smooth and take about two and a half hours. In a perfect world we would have checked in to our hotel, maybe explored Eze a bit, and then spent the rest of the day in Monte Carlo - which is basically right beside Eze. Yeah... in a perfect world, lol.
The drive went as smooth as could be expected, quite nicely actually. The countryside changed once again, continuing it's mediteranean theme, as well as bringing us through beautiful mountainy regions. We were on the main highway cruising around 140 km/h - did I mention how I love that their speed limits are 130? yeah... I love that - and we came to a point where the GPS was saying we had about forty minutes to go, and asked me to get off the main highway just past Cannes. Now in retrospect, this was one of those creepy sixth sense moments, as I was like, "ummm, what the hell, why does it want me to get off the highway? I feel like we should just be staying on". I chatted with Lindsay about it, who simply trusted the GPS knew what it was talking about, and at that crucial forking in the road I was faced with two choices: go with my gut and stay on the highway, hoping it would offer an exit to Eze; or to trust the GPS wasn't leading me astray, and get off the highway. Against my gut, I chose to get off the highway... big mistake.
The road led us through the city of Nice, right down to it's waterfront on the Mediteranean Sea. It was beautiful! The city was unlike any I've ever seen, and looked like how both Lindsay and I would imagine Miami Beach area would look like. It was awesome inland as well, with steeply sloped cliffsides rising hundreds of feet, dotted with houses, buldings, villages, and winding roads. At first the road was moving quite smoothly, albeit with drivers who didn't understand the concept of driving in their own lane. If it wasn't for all the driving I'd done thus far, it may have been intimidating - instead I was zipping through small openings, and weaving like a true Frenchman. We had basically decided that the GPS had led us on the true path once again, though I couldn't help but think in the back of my head that there was going to be a detour that would eff everything up... ladies and gentlemen, I officially HATE bicyclists. They shut down this main artery through the city in lieu of arriving bicyclists on a route from Monte Carlo. This forced us into a detour that was crowded to put it lightly. It was only by the skin of my teeth that we managed to navigate through that mess to an alternate route recommended by the GPS. After 40 minutes, we arrived at the precipice of this alternate doorway to Eze, only to have it slammed in our faces by the local police, who had closed off that entry - AGAIN for the stupid bike tour! A U-turn and a desperate move towards the highway direction led us on what seemed like a legitimate detour route, which we followed. This route got us to within ten kilometres of our destination, up a steep and winding mountainside. You know what though?... closed... this time I was screwed over a little extra as my beautiful Peugeot diesel manual engine valiantly failed to engage after having to stop in the middle of an extremely steep graded road. Four tries edged me closer and closer backwards toward the car behind me. With cars beginning to grow impatient, honking ensued as the thick sweat began to drip from my face. It was at this moment that my fantastic wife recalled something her Dad had told her about getting up a steep grade in cases such as what we found ourselves in. His method was simple, turn on the engine but leave the parking brake on. Get into gear and begin to rev to a decent RPM, and then slowly release the parking brake. This concept requires a fair bit of mental concentration surprisingly, as there are few things in play, but thinking calmly I was able to enact this method with supreme skill, and once again our car moved forward in what was a joyously excited moment for Linds and I. Of course, after that we had to turn around again and go back, defeated by yet another failed route.
At this point I was not all that happy. Our day was slipping away, and we seemed destined not to make it into Eze, let alone get out of that crazy city. At that moment I was decided, we were going to head north back to the highway and get out of this craziness. Once back on the highway, after another twenty minutes wasted, we found ourselves one exit away from Eze... ... ... at this point my original sixth sense proved correct, we should have just stayed on the highway. Whatever, spilt milk, we didn't cry but just kept moving - finally breathing a sigh of relief thinking we would finally get into Eze. We got off at the exit, made it to within three minutes of our hotel, and guess what... yup... THAT'S RIGHT! We got turned around by more police. I was ready to 'flip a table and piss on it' at that point (that's a Michael Kazmaier-ism... it's genius really). I pleaded with the officer in my crappy french, but he politely said it would not be possible to go into Eze at all for the next few hours. At this point, a mere few kilometres from Monte Carlo, we decided to say screw it with Eze, and we went straight into Monaco after turning 40 minutes to go into about two and a half hours wasted.
Once we were moving again though, all the stress began to slowly dissipate. It was hard to be upset when the steep mountainside city of Monte Carlo, physically touching the clouds at some heights, was so stinking beautiful. The winding roads are so much fun to drive on, especially having been baptised with such roads throughout France, and really knowing our car at this point. I can see why Europeans love F1 Racing, and why some of the most famous race tracks are in some of these cities on their main roads.
We made our way through the city towards a point of interest that is the reason I wanted to come to Monte Carlo so badly: the Oceanographic Museum and Aquarium. If you've seen the pictures on Facebook, I really don't need to say much more. This place was incredible! So much so, in fact, that the entire stresses of the day evaporated into a feeling of "this was so worth it". We spent a few hours window shopping through the massive aquariums and sea-life they had stored here. This place had Jacque Cousteau on their payroll, amongst many other famous explorers who collected these specimens for display and study. We saw some things I had never imagined before existing, and it quickly became clear to me where George Lucas get's his ideas for alien creatures and their appearances.
After enjoying our time there, we decided to tour the city, making the famous Monte Carlo Casino our destination. We walked along their boardwalk which serves as frontrow seating to the worlds largest collection of MASSIVE luxury yachts. The bay of sorts is LINED with at least 30 huge yachts which simply dock along the boardwalk. No security, no typical harbor, just boardwalk with yachts docked alongside and little bridges extended from each yacht. It was so cool. It's become my life long dream to own a massive yacht, and make Monte Carlo my personal playground like all the other super wealthy owners so evidently do. It was beautiful there, far more than I had anticipated. The water, the city, everything, it was so nice.
We made our way to the Casino, which was a beautiful building, saw some of the most expensive cars in the world just parked around, and even went inside. We feared we wouldn't pass muster in terms of the dress code, but they let us in. That was as far as we went though, as to enter the real casino, you need to buy a pass for about 15 Euro's a piece. It makes sense I suppose, as it keeps us tourists out, and lets the serious gamblers concentrate. We peeked into the main room though, which was much smaller than I had imagined, but far more magnificient at the same time. The room looks like a palaces throne room. It's beautiful.
Afterwards we made our way back to the boardwalk, and found a nice italian restaurant that looked popular. I've found that if a restaurant in Europe is packed, it's usually a good indication you're going to have a great meal. It proved accurate here as well. We enjoyed a relaxing meal, walked along the boardwalk back to our parking area, and made our way to the hotel in Eze finally, sometime around 9pm-ish.
This time we made it into the hotel without any trouble, and enjoyed a unique backdrop of steep mountainsides, dotted with lights, and roads. Our hotel is physically built onto a steep side, with every room supposedly having a view over the Mediteranean Sea. It's beautiful. The view is beyond anything I've ever seen, so much so that I haven't the words to describe it. I've managed some pictures that attempt to capture it's beauty, but they don't come close. I'm trying to burn this image into my head as I enjoy a glass of cognac, but I fear it will remain a ghost of the view I'm seeing right now.
All in all, a fantastic day depsite the time wasted, and the energy spent. Tomorrow we start a brand new chapter in our travels: Italy. The border is right beside Monaco, so we're practically in Italy right now. Tomorrow takes us to the historic city of Lucca, once the capitol of Tuscany. I'm really interested to go there, as a few of our friends have spoken highly of it. We'll see. To be honest though, I think I want to stay here forever. I mean that, it's that beautiful. Well, in practicing my Italian, arrivederci, buona notte. Pics can be viewed from this link here.
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