Best Weekend yet.
They say Nice is the Florida of Europe – it's where everyone vacations for the sun and warmth. I see the comparison, but believe there's really no where in Florida quite this classy. Always Europe is able to upstage any comparable American city with its rich and spanning history(again, just wait until we get to Monaco). Nice was inhabited by the Greeks and Romans in ancient times, and then by Mideveil rulers in France, but Louis XIV destroyed the chateau and other military installations in the early 16th century. Quite soon the English began descending upon Nice. Young Bachelors getting their higher education would stop here along their “Grand Tour,” which usually took them places like Italy, Greece, and Egypt to discover the antiquities. This new tourist attention to the area stirred the creation of the “Promenade des Anglais” the main road along the water and many other amenities for visitors. All of this added up to a renewed economy and return to glory for Nice, which is now the fifth most populous city in France.
We visited the Place Rossetti for most of the morning, seeing the Cathédrale Sainte Réparte, eating traditional Nicoise food, and then tasting some of the 100 flavors of ice cream from the Glacier Fenocchio. The ice cream shop had flavors such as avacado, beer, tomato basil, as well as the standards, and many more. I had speculoos ice cream as my addiction with this spread has become an obsession during my time in France. We also stopped by a book and map market in the Place du Palais for a bit. I covet all the old maps I find, but can never bring myself to buy one. This was all before 2 pm when we took our place on the sidewalk to watch the “Bataille des Fleurs.” This is a parade held every year during Carnival (which is a dated tradition, but took its current form in Nice in 1873). During the parade performers toss/hand/throw flowers at audience members – mostly mimosas – the celebrated flower in Provence.
Due to our patience and excellent scouting we found 5 spots right on the front lines of the parade. This was really key to the enjoyment of the parade. We were able to interact with the performers and see everything without interference. If you showed interest in a float or a person and smiled and took pictures they would come over to give you flowers or a smile – or in my case – a kiss. I had one performer approach me and ask for a “bissou” or kiss on the cheek – so I did. He then gave me kisses on both of my cheeks, and when I started to turn my head again, planted one on me square on the lips. He then gave me all the flowers he was carrying – score! I also was gifted with a face full of white, black, gold, and red paint for the rest of the day. The extravagant parade was really fun and was the perfect length. It left us just a bit of time to rest on the rocky beach and soak in the sun before re boarding the bus for Monaco.
Monaco is half the size of Central Park in New York City. It is an principality which is independent of France, but uses French forces for it's national defense. The Grimaldis have been in power since 1297 when Francois Grimaldi seized the fortress of Monaco from a rival Italian faction disguised as a monk. He led a small army in to the fortress brandishing a sword under his robes. It was an important maritime port until the French Revolution. The French annexed it, messed around with the royalty, and came out of the situation with half of the land, leaving Monaco lacking in natural resources. So the Prince at the time, Charless III, decided tourism was the answer building a handful of hotels, a theater, and a Casino. Smart guy.
We got to Monaco with enough time to clean up before our included 3 course meal. It's a good thing we were provided with time to clean up because nothing in Monaco is dirty...nothing. I suited up in my LBD and headed out, heels and all, to take on Monaco. We dined at a restaurant overlooking the docks containing yachts I can't even fathom the cost of. We had taken over the restaurant for the evening as the entire CEA organization (plus visitors from Cornell College in Iowa) was in attendance. The food was excellent, the wine was free and endless, and the waiters poured quite liberally. Our 3 hour meal started with the best sample of salmon I've ever had with a spring roll, moved on to Chicken in a Dijon Peppercorn sauce with sauteed veggies and potatoes, and finished with a molten chocolate cake, and countless glasses of wine. I can't name a meal I've had more fun at in quite a while. So, it was midnight, but things were just picking up in Monaco. A group of us headed to the Casino to see what all the fuss was about.
Though I'm not one to appreciate luxury vehicles I was able to note that the cars parked in front of the casino were drool worthy. There were Rolls Royces, Aston Martins, Ferraris, etc. Did I mention that the majority of the taxis we saw were Jaguars? We made our way in to the casino, walked around a room of slot machines and realized one needed to pay Ten Euro to go in to the main Casino with Black Jack tables and such. Holly and I, fueled by liquid courage, decided to enter and see what all the fuss was about/snag ourselves a billionaire. From here I will present the evening in story form.
Holly Keller, heiress to the Keller Cattle Company fortune, and Julia Liston, daughter of Queen Sharon and heiress to the ASC – mortgage loan origination software fortune, entered the Royal Casino around midnight, looking ravishing in their deep emerald and onyx gowns (respectively). They browsed the floor to find the highest rollers in the joint, positioning themselves behind the 500 Euro starting bid table, they weren't messing around. They found themselves behind an Austrian man of fortune and encouraged him and offered sympathy appropriately. Mr. Austria became very angry and called over the floor manager after losing close to 10,000 Euro in 5 minutes. He complained of their treatment of clientele and the dealer was quickly switched out. Julia, noticing the entrance of close friend Mara Schapman, another heiress from the United States, ventured to find her at the slot machines. Mara, not one to sit and watch, was winning back the cost of her entrance fee plus some. Upon returning to the tables Julia found Holly surrounded by the patrons of the 25 entrance bid table. These customers, obviously struck by the poise and elegance of the heiresses, were itching to know more of their presence. Holly and Julia, playing coy, let on very little of their student status, and instead diverted the conversation to the patrons themselves.
There was Peter Pan – or so he had called himself at one point, who was an entrepreneur from Cincinnati. Julia and Mr. Pan were able to bond over a shared fondness for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Mr. Pan, blonde, bearded and portly, also shared some American-in-Monaco-esque cultural secrets with the girls.
Next were the Canadians. Mrs. Canada was a tall beauty in a red dress who had originally approached Holly. She worked with her husband and found herself in Monaco on business. She was a real spitfire who complained the casino was so stuffy and nothing compared to the spectacle that are Vegas Casinos, she kept asking where the music was. Mrs. Canada doled out relationship and marriage advice to the girls – hers, “marry someone spontaneous, someone who's willing to pick up and go to Europe for the weekend, and can provide that for you.” This was obviously the path she had taken as her and her husband had left their 3 children at home with the nanny for their working vacation. Mr. Canada really knew how to work a room. He returned from the bar advancing unseen towards the small crowd. He stealthily took a place next to Julia putting his arm around her and introducing himself. After making a few crowd pleasing jokes he sat back down at the table.
Mara joined Holly and Julia, after gathering her winnings, just in time to meet Steve. Steve was working the crowd while his wife did some serious work at the table. The girls were informed by Peter Pan that she had roped in 40,000 Euro the night before. Steve was quite cheeky and very inebriated (or “pissed” as he would say). He made comment of how beautiful and straight all of the ladies teeth were, appropriate for a Brit. Feeling they could ask Steve much of anything after, gauging his state, the girls went at it. Where are you from? - Manchester (enter if you're not a Manc, you're a Wank jokes). Holly asked how often he and his wife found themselves in Monaco – every weekend. Julia asked him how he was able to afford this - “by racing whippets of course.” Whippets? Dog racing? - oh yes of course! The girls were giggling and Steve was loving the attention while his wife was visibly steaming at the table. Trying to lighten the situation the girls thought quickly and talked up his wife, noting she was a boss. Mr. Pan, who was potentially quite taken by Mrs. Whippet quickly joined in laying on the compliments.
Suddenly the ladies noticed it was 2 am and decided it was best they move on to the discotech, knowing it was smart to make appearances multiple places that evening to attract media attention. They said their good-byes. Mr. Pan let them know that the Casino would surely shut down if all the beautiful women left. He and Julia exchanged a quick, “Go Bucks!” before the ladies gracefully left.
Snap back. So, we left the Casino, a bit high on life. I'll make note, like earlier, of how interesting the Casino experience was. We are not short on extravagant Casinos in the US. Vegas is filled with them, but not many normal entrance Casinos in Vegas are as special as Monte-Carlo. Again, there's an interesting history (yes, yes, Vegas has one too), but never would you see Mr. Tourist sitting in a bald eagle shirt and swim trunks in Monte-Carlo. Everyone was dressed to the nines, with their nicest jewelry, shoes, etc. It was just so classic and posh all at the same time.
Like I said, we headed to the discotech for a quick swing around the dance floor before headed back, heels in hand, to the hotel for a quick sleep before having to get a move on again.
The next morning, still riding on the vibes from the night before Holly, Jordan, Mara, and I headed to the Palace and surrounding area to check things out. We stood overlooking the port and the city (country) in awe for about 30 minutes. Everything is so clean in Monaco. I've been to my fair share of ports, and even interesting and beautiful cities have their lot of dirty apartment buildings in need of a facelift, but literally every building in Monaco looked as if it was washed monthly. We watched the changing of the guard and explored the streets and gardens near it. The cathedral which holds the tomb of Grace Kelly was closed for Sunday services, but we were able to see the outside before boarding the bus yet again. This time on to Eze.
Eze is a city much like Gordes (one of my first visits and blogs). Eze is a small village situated atop a tall hill overlooking the Mediterranean. It was often attacked by pirates despite it's location. The draw for us there, other than the nifty town, was the perfume factory. We were shown quickly around the premises of Gallinard Perfumes – though not in an actual production area – and then led to the gift shop. We learned about the “noses” - super smellers, and how many flowers make one liter of scent (about a ton if you're using delicate like rose). I was suckered in to buying a delicious smelling blend called, “si tu savais...” meaning, “if you only knew...” Though I did give myself time to reflect on my potential purchase, exploring the cobblestoned streets, before buying.
Leaving was so sad, meaning our weekend of indulgence was ending, but not before we were all given free soap and washclothes from the Perfume Manufacturer. Sensory overload from the weekend led to immediate sleep on the bus.
I'll end with a quote from Holly Keller. While walking around Monte-Carlo Sunday morning we realized there were many 24 hour shops and services in town (which is unheard of in Aix), and she noted, “Monte-Carlo, the city that never sleeps, but why would you when reality is better than your dreams?”
I couldn't agree more.
Nice:
Monaco by Night and Day:
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| The Heiresses Holly and Mara |
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| Jordan and I |
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| The Cathedral where Grace Kelly is entombed |
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| The Palace |
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