Description: Monaco was a must see on our trip to Cote d'Azur. It was only a thirty minute drive from Nice, but we opted to take the train, which runs every hour. Going by train was a good way for us to take in the sights along the way. We emerged from the tunnel to the train station into the bright light and gleaming white hulls of the harbour. Monaco is wealthy city. We noticed right away looking at the architecture. The yachts that grace the harbour are the size of ocean going liners and every second car on the street is a Ferrari. From the harbour we walked around the stands and banners for the upcoming Grand Prix and took a brief stroll down the famous straight in front of the swimming pool. The yachts rolled on as far as we could see, some with helicopters, some with their own flotilla of small boats on deck. At the end of the harbour we turned right out of the harbour and up on to Le Rocher ("the rock") to the Musée Oceangraphique established by Prince Albert I in 1910. From the rock we walked down past the palace (flag down, no Grimaldi's in evidence) and out through the town to the beach. The beach turned out to be a disappointment. It was small, studded with concrete and littered with garbage. We sat for a while and then turned back towards the harbour seeking lunch. We eventually succumbed to desperation and found lunch in one of the small, nondescript Italian restaurants by the harbour. This one was doing a lively take-out trade to a bunch of teenagers diving off the back of the harbour pier. The food was barely edible but at least the coffee was good.
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