From Jewel of French Riviera to Monaco's Luxury

Bonjour! 

After our fascinating time in Marseille, we took a bus to Nice, French Riviera, eager to experience the glamour and beauty that this region is famous for.

A Traveller's Art Gallery

Our stay in Nice was a little far from the bus station and we had to walk a little with elevation. We reached our accommodation and our host Natalie invited us into her house. Her home was like an art gallery - filled with souvenirs and paintings from her travels around the world. Even the common restroom showcased her fascinating collection. Despite breakfast not being included with the stay, our host kindly offered us typical French breakfast with croissants and fruit juice.

Later that day, we played a few board games with our host. As we chatted, Natalie shared her frustrations with the French government about unemployment benefits, where people can earn as much as 4000 Euros a month without working.

After spending a wonderful day getting to know Natalie and her fascinating collection, we were ready to explore what Nice had to offer.

Beaches & Boardwalks

In the evening, we went out to explore the city. The city's historic old town was a maze of narrow, winding streets filled with colourful buildings, charming shops, and bustling cafés.

We discovered a church with an outdoor pub hidden inside. It was an unexpected find where we could buy brewed beer and snacks while surrounded by the church's architecture.

After enjoying a chilled beer, we headed to the Nice beach, which was beautiful and pristine with a boardwalk stretching the entire coastline. The beach was bustling with people chilling with their own chairs, umbrellas and even tents. As the Nice airport was nearby, planes flew remarkably low overhead. In fact, if we jumped high enough, we could touch the planes. We understood why people crave the French Riviera - the water, the setting, and atmosphere were simply beautiful. Walking along the boardwalk, we reached a cliff offering a perfect picturesque view of the entire beach.

As evening approached, Nice was filled with tourists, many speaking English. As the city caters to tourists, you don't need to speak French at all. We sampled local dishes including focaccia and croissants.

As we walked back to our accommodation, we saw many people slow dancing near an abandoned church with their own speakers. We always love seeing locals in their element, and it's a great way to spend time with your loved ones.

We also stumbled upon one of the city's most charming traditions.

The Noon Cannon

Every day at noon, a cannon is fired across Nice, signalling lunchtime. This tradition began in 1861, when Sir Thomas Coventry-More, an Englishman living in Nice, needed a way to remind his wife to return home for lunch. The city embraced this quirky custom, and now Castle Hill echoes with the daily cannon shot.

The next day, we decided to explore Monaco, just a short train ride from Nice.

Trip to Monaco

Monaco is a micro-nation nestled in France - second smallest country in the world at just 2.08 km² and is smaller than Central Park. It's completely surrounded by France on all sides except the ocean. Our love for Formula 1 pulled us to explore Monaco. At Monaco, we went to the Prince's Palace just in time to witness the Change of Guard ceremony. It was an age-old ceremony where guards in striking white uniforms from the previous day hand over their duty to the incoming guards.

After witnessing this impressive ceremony, we walked around the castle and admired the stunning coastline from above. The view was absolutely breathtaking, but we found ourselves more captivated by the streets below. Monaco's roads were filled with luxury cars, more expensive than anything we had ever seen. It's no wonder that some of the world's richest people, including many Formula 1 drivers, choose to call Monaco home, especially with no personal income tax. Interestingly, the famous casinos of Monaco aren't for locals.

As F1 fans, we couldn't resist visiting the Private Car Collection of HSH Prince of Monaco, where we explored the impressive collection of cars, including Charles Leclerc's winning F1 car and legendary 1950s F1 cars such as the Maserati 250F, Ferrari 500, and Mercedes-Benz W196. Seeing these legendary cars up close was truly unforgettable.

After our visit to Monaco and Nice, we headed east to another country, Italy. Along the way, we had an unexpected encounter that would become one of our most memorable moments. Read more on that in the next post.

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