I needed a tuxedo

This post must be prefaced with the point that I have always wanted to be James Bond. I have always had this dream of driving to Monaco in an Aston-Martin, going to the casino gambling with millions of the British taxpayers pounds and then possibly killing some Russians. Well, Angela tried to make part of this dream come true for, she took me to Monaco for my birthday. First she bought me an awesome panama hat, then we flew down to Nice and checked into our bed and breakfast. The next day we hopped a train to Monaco and got there at about 11 am, all while wearing my panama hat.


(Me in my hat)

We walked out of the train station into one of the most gorgeous places I have ever seen. We first walked along the water and looked at all the yachts. Words cannot describe these yachts. The best way I can describe them is "floating mansions." They were monstrous. At this point I felt exceedingly poor (this is a theme that would persist throughout this trip).


(Yachts, we couldn't even get them all in the photo they are so big)

As we walked down the water we realized that we were lost. I walked up to a Monegasque (someone from Monaco) and said "Ou est le Grand Casino?" He point in a direction and we walked up a hill (another theme that would persist throughout this trip). We came to a gorgeous staircase that we followed up. There was a building that looked like it might be the casino. Lo and behold, it was.


(Le Grand Casino)

This was the most gorgeous casino I have ever seen. It rivaled St. Peter's Basilica in ornateness. It didn't open until 2 pm so we went and had lunch and spoke to a nice Monegasque man for a while. We then walked back to the casino. As we walked in I was told to take off my hat, which is certainly not a normal occurrence in American casinos. They then checked out passports because the Monegasques are not allowed to gamble in the casino. We paid our 10 euros to enter the casino and they printed our names on the ticket (they are serious about not letting Monegasques gamble). We wandered around the casino admiring how gorgeous it was. Then I decided I had come this far, I can't leave without placing a bet. I found a roulette table with a 5 euro minimum bet, placed my 10 euro note down and got two chips. I placed one on red, and won! I then took my winnings and again placed it on red, and won again! One thing I remember my dad teaching me was quit while you're ahead. I had doubled my money and decided I had accomplished what I wanted. Not only had I gambled at Le Grand Casino in Monaco, I had a winning percentage of 100, and I had doubled my money. I cashed in two of my chips and saved two for souvenirs (which were the cheapest souvenirs in Monaco I might add).

We then took a bus up to the top of the old city of Monaco and saw the most beautiful blue water you could ever imagine. There is no doubt that this is one of the most gorgeous places in the world, if not one of the richest (the sheer number of cars that cost more than $500,000 in this city is amazing).


(View from Vieux Monaco)

The next day we spent in Nice, which I think can best be described as nice. It's a pretty place right on the water. The views are beautiful, however, the beach is rocky and there seems to be little else for Nice to offer. I must add we had a fantastic meal at a Lebanese restaurant called "Adonis." If you're ever in Nice look it up, you will not be disappointed. The next day we left for London.