Entering France and Monte Carlo

We took a three phase train trip from Valencia, Spain to Nice, France where we would take another train to Monte Carlo to meet the rest of the cruise passengers. 

Phase one from Valencia to Barcelona was great, although they took my Swiss  Army knife, that I have packed all over the world, away from me. No knives allowed on the train, who knew. After that the ride was good, the scenery beautiful and the train fast.

Switched trains in Barcelona to go to Valance, France. Once across the French border the Gendarmes came aboard to check passports, two young African males where pulled off the train and interviewed on the platform by more officials and then escorted someplace else, but not allowed back on the train. Scenery on this leg was not anything spectacular, mostly trees and suburbs.

Arrived in Valance about 25 minutes late, so we could not purchase a ticket from Nice to Monte Carlo as we could not make the connection. So now it is a taxi or Uber and it is going to be midnight when we get to Nice.  At about nine thirty the train stops because there is a train in front of us that broke down. At ten PM they announce that because the train will be delayed for more than an hour they are going to unload us and provide alternate transportation. Thankfully there were a lot of ladies in our car that could explain this to us in English, so no big deal, part of travelling, stuff happens right! So off we get in the train station at Toulon, and they have not made arrangements for the alternate transportation.  Again a young lady took us under her wing and kept us informed of what was happening. We had a two hour wait before any buses finally arrived. We were led to believe that if people could not make connections in Nice, because of the delays that they would be given a hotel room, but the train company would not accommodate us in any way because we did not have another ticket, even though the connection was late in Valance and they would not sell us one.  We were assured that someone from the train company would be at the station in Nice to assist people to find taxi’s, etc. 

The young lady got us loaded on the right bus and off to Nice we go, about a two and a half hour ride. The bus pulled into a back street beside the train station which was closed with probably a hundred or so homeless nestled up to the walls sleeping and no train company rep. All the locals scattered to wherever they were going and there we were trying to get Uber and the app would not work. But a local couple took pity and ordered us a cab, so we and two local ladies were at the taxi stand waiting for our cabs when the vultures (with mugging on their mind) started to circle us, the two local ladies and me and Loreen with our suitcases at three in the morning. I am sure they thought Loreen and I were quite the prizes. When a taxi did arrive we all took off after it, we knew it was for the ladies,  but we just wanted them to take us to a safe place, away from the vultures. Those ladies put us in the taxi and told the driver to take us to Monte Carlo the quickest and best route. What a nice pair of ladies. We made it to Monte Carlo four hours late and $120 for the 15 minute taxi ride! 

Monte Carlo is Monte Carlo, pretentious, expensive and if you don’t gamble not a lot to do. We took some longs walks, looked at a few stores, trousers for sale for 330 euros, and looked at all the yachts, including at least one with its own helicopter. 

Monte Carlo is a very small country, about two square miles in size, and an ever expanding population so there is new construction eating up the side of the mountain, some quite modern,

Older and newer apartment buildings

as well as building new land in the sea. Just below the Casino and the Fairmont Hotel there are a number of construction barges working on placing fill in the ocean for a new building complex. One can buy, prebuild, a nice place to live here at the going rate of 70,000 Euros per square meter, that is about $105,000 CD per meter. 

New land being built.

The main attractions are the Royal Palace, the Casino, the Paris Hotel and the crowds in front of these areas are astronomical. We stopped for a drink in the café in front of the Casino - outrageously expensive. 19 euros (about $30 CA) for a beer and glass of wine. They gave us nuts and olives though, but the people watching was well worth the price.  

Casino

There is a nice beach, next to the area where the new island is being built.

In front of the beach

Not sure why Avalon sent us to Monte Carlo as both Nice and Marseille are much closer to Arles where we were getting on the ship for our river cruise.