Europe - Nice/Monaco - Day 7

Tuesday August 1, 2006

Today is Miguel's birthday. This day was the main reason for the trip. The perfect excuse to scour Europe. More importantly, the perfect day to swim in the gorgeous water of Nice and spend an evening at the Monte Carlo in Monaco. I know I described Nice as dirty the day before, but its aquamarine, 78 degree sea makes up for it.

I woke up more red than I wanted to be for our second day in the sun. Before hitting up the beach, I headed to a pharmacy and picked up some Aloe Vera. Something I should have applied to my candy apple red body the night before. I figured I should pick up some drinking water for the dehydration factor as well. So, I picked up a pack of six liter "Naturalle" drinking water.

There was nothing natural about that damn drinking water. It fizzed more than a shaken can of coke! Dammit, I bought "water with gas!" I didn't notice the large print on the label, "gazuse." This was my chance to get acquainted with nasty ass gaseous drinking water. What better place to start trying it out than in nasty ass Nice.

...going back to my positive place now...

It was a perfect day for hitting up the beach. The sun was out and hot and the water was nice and calm. One problem though. The beach was nothing but stones. There's no sand, no area to push way the stones and make a comfortable spot to lie down on. It's just smoothed stones for as far as the eye can see. It's like a hot stone massage, if you are trying to see it in a positive light.

The second we hit the water, any negative feeling about Nice went away. The water was some of the most perfect ocean/sea/river/lake water I've ever been in. This water beats out a lot of pools I have been to! We spent some time floating around in the water and enjoying one of the main reasons why we came on this trip. It was a great way to finish out Nice.

Our plan to see Monaco was chopped down to an evening of elegance. This elegance started with us using the outdoor shower at the beach to quickly rinse off the salt water and suntan lotion, before heading into the country where money grows on trees. Nobody has to know our ghetto plan, but us...aaannd you.

Driving into Monaco is like driving into Beverly Hills. Everything is landscaped perfectly, the streets are super clean, the shopping is extremely expensive, and beauty isn't in the eye of the beholder. Everything is beautiful in this country and everyone knows it.

We found a parking garage close to all the action and decided to stay in our normal clothes to survey the area before we jumped into our suits to hit up the Monte Carlo. We spent some time watching the most expensive cars in the world drive around and took pictures of it all. However, it was time to hit up the Monte Carlo in style and celebrate his birthday in fashion.

It all went down like a transition in scenes on the backstage of a play. We headed back to the parking structure and began to change into our suits right there in the garage. This is when you wish you had Superman speed. We were using the parking garage as a changing facility with a lamborghini next to us and an Aston Martin across the way. Haha.

We were money.

We walked into the Monte Carlo like movie stars. Everyone was looking at us and wondering who we were.

haha, just kidding, they were all looking at the Ferrari 430s and Bentley GTs parked out in front. Even the bell hops looked at us in disgust.

The Monte Carlo is about elegance in all manners. The hotel is like a museum with architectural marvels and a handful of tried and true gaming tables to play American BlackJack and a few European games. There were only 7 tables total open to the public. The real action is behind closed doors. The real money was not for viewing pleasure. So, we didn't get our James Bond moment where we ask the Femme Fatale if she likes it shaken or stirred, but we got to see the Monte Carlo.

We spent the evening out in front of a cafe watching beautiful people walk by, beautiful cars pull up, and ugly tourist gawking at all the action. What a contrast for the eyes to feast on.

We closed down his birthday with a nice dinner at the cafe, said goodbye to the Monte Carlo and Nice, and began our departure from Southern France.

It's 11:00pm and Paris is only 8 hours away. Time to do what we do best and that is drive at night.

In the end, I enjoyed my overall experience in Nice and Monaco, however I am ready to make up for some of these experiences by finally getting to see Paris.