We were on deck for the sail in with our coffee and my camera, the first thing I noticed was the excess. The harbor looked so small, probably due to the multi-million dollar yachts. I think the billionaires paid the multi-millionaires to dock their 40-60 ft yachts in the harbor to make their boats appear even larger.
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| The people on the dock look so small against those boats. |
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| The two largest in the harbor |
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| Looks like David and Goliath |
After seeing how the other half live we decided to stroll around to the back side of the ship and take pictures of the boats that couldn't afford the slips in this harbor.
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| A helicopter, really? |
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| Out for a Sunday afternoon boat ride. |
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| That little sailboat was 30-40' long. |
Pictures of the Casino Royale, the Royal Castle and other interesting shots taken from the ship.
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| The walkway to get off the ship |
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| You must pay 10 euros just to enter the Casino Royale |
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| The Royal Palace |
We took excursions provided by the ship for all of our ports, obviously some were better than others. For Monte Carlo we decided on a bus trip up and down the French Riviera. Some of the things we learned were that the beaches are made of pebbles, OUCH! That European men have a fascination with the Speedo, double OUCH! That looking down the side of some of those cliffs from the bus makes no sense at all! The driver pointed out the road where Princess Grace died from missing a curve, we weren't close enough to take a picture and besides that might be just a little bit morbid. Most of the pictures I took are from the window seat of a moving bus, so the pictures are not the best but you'll get the idea. We started in Monte Carlo and traveled to Nice.
We stopped at a scenic overlook and were told the story about the house that sold for 750 million dollars. Me being the skeptic I am checked it out on the internet when we got home. Sure enough it's listed as the worlds most expensive recent home sale. Here's the article on Forbes, (Most Expensive Home Sales)
© Eric Duliere/Maxppp/Landov
1. Cote d'Azur
The Villa Leopolda mansion on the French Riviera commanded about $750 million when it was sold this week. The mansion, built by king Leopold II of Belgium in 1902, sold to a Russian oligarch.The villa was formerly occupied by the wife of the late billionaire banker Edmond Safra before the deal was struck this month.
http://www.forbes.com/2008/08/15/properties-sales-homes-forbeslife-cx_kfhd_0815realestate_slide_10.html?thisSpeed=undefined
I didn't have the angle or the skill to get a picture anywhere as good as the one above but here are a couple I was able to take.
None of our excursions were complete with the stop at a local manufacturing establishment. On this trip we stopped at a perfume factory, I had no interest in the perfume but I did have an interesting experience in the bathroom.
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| My first seatless toilet! It won't be the last. |
That toilet was worth the stop! In addition I went outside and took some more countryside photos. As you can tell, the day was hazy but otherwise perfect.
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| A newer building built right in the side of that lovely old castle |
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| The city of Nice or Villefrance or one of those fancy dancies. |
On the road again to the town of Menton, and it appeared to be more middle class and much more my cup of tea. I love the window sills, the shops, the people and the overall atmosphere. I got to see many Speedos, a couple of topless women, a crowded and uncomfortable beach. Enjoy.
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| Give me your American dollars for my French junk! |
Are you ready for the beaches? Having grown up on the west coast of Florida these beaches seem alien to me.
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| A pebble beach? Can you say, "dimples on your derriere." |
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| Can you spot the topless sunbather? |
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| Menton, France |
I loved our visit to the French Riviera but honestly it was not my favorite stop. The glitz, glamor and opulence are not my style. More than once I caught myself thinking about the starving children in Africa, that should make my mom proud.
Back to the ship for another round of Dos Equis still dedicated to our room steward Ignacio. It doesn't seem ecologically friendly to have your bed and your towels changed twice a day. It didn't seem to matter much to Ignacio, we followed all the rules and hung up the towels and still got fresh ones twice a day. We occasionally put up the Do Not Distrub sign to prevent more global warming, Al Gore would be proud.
Being tired from the long excursions, dressing for dinner seemed like a chore so we ate most of our meals at the buffet, pizza station or burger shop. It seemed as though every time we did go to the dining room we were seated with gay male couples from Toronto and one of them had a superior, anti-American attitude. One particular couple we couldn't get away from, they were on many of our tours. On one tour we stopped for a bathroom break and I'll never forget his comment to his partner, "Are we stopping for those old small bladdered, overweight American broads again?" I wish I was smart enough and brave enough to have come up with, "NO, were stopping to make gay Canadian couples feel superior about their large bladders and thin bodies." It was nothing to do with his sexuality, I just didn't like this guy, his partner was lovely though.
The Ruby Princess had a feature that we loved, "Movies under the Stars," we spent many evenings on the luxurious lounge chairs watching romantic comedies (Garys favorite, I'm not kidding). They provided popcorn, cookies and milk, and warmed blankets.
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| This is a stock photo from Princess, I can't claim it. | | |
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Tomorrow is a big day, Florence and Pisa. We have to set the alarm for 5:30, it's an all day excursion. Nite nite!!
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