28.01.2006, afternoon

To go from Nice to Monaco there are three main roads: the Petite Corniche, along the coast, the Moyenne Corniche, a bit higher up with very good views (which was the one we took on the first day, albeit in pitch dark) and the Grande Corniche, even higher up in the hills, with the amazing fantastic breathtaking views.

What a dilemma! No, not really, of course we took the latter one, but if you saw the photos I've posted earlier, you know it already. It was a longer road though, and there was some traffic leaving Nice, so when we got to the panoramic places our guide mentioned, the afternoon was nearly gone.


(click on image to see bigger version)

And it really was amazing and fantastic and breathtaking. At one point we stopped just above Cap Ferrat, and we could see the Nice airport and Cannes and the Esterel mountain chain just behind. The time of day seemed to yield the perfect light, and as it was winter, all the clouds were reflected in the very still sea. All that rain paid off, as the sky was way more impressive than it would have been during summer.

I felt one of those so called natural highs, just by being there. The wind was icy and piercing, but after I took all the pictures I could, I stayed for a little while longer, just trying to absorve it all, to burn the image into my memory and to clear my mind of all the other visual clutter. It was one of those images you see in photos (now you can see it in my photos) but that it's ever so stronger when you're actually there. This is what we came for, this image was the essence of my holiday.

However, the light was fading fast when we got to Monaco, and we failed to see it during daytime. It didn't dampen our spirits, nor did the rain... after that ride nothing would. Having seen the casino bit two days before, we headed for the bit we hadn't seen yet... the old town, the palace, the cathedral and the Oceanographic Museum, which we would've liked so much to have visited.

We left the car in the free park and climbed all the way up. We had a good view of the whole thing, and this much I can tell... Monaco is very ugly. Apart from the old buildings, which are kept in pristine conditions, the lack of space caused the hillside to be crammed up with ugly sixties style high-rises. All of a dirty yellowish colour... ugly.

As usual, the old town is the pretty part. But Monaco's old town is kind of weird. Pretty but really strange and fake-looking. I guess it's just for one reason: it's really clean. All the buildings appeared to have been painted that same afternoon, and you couldn't see the tiniest bit of litter. Twilight was adding to the eery feeling as well. Shops were closed and apart from a bunch of loud italian tourists, the streets were deserted. It did feel a bit like an amusement park after closing.

We contemplated the Royal Palace and the view over the bay for a bit and wen't back for yet another go around the Formula One circuit - duly recorded on my camera this time, although we must admit the traffic conditions weren't brilliant for fast lap. Then we left for dinner, somewhere just round the corner... Italy.

Sanremo to be precise, just for the fun of being in yet another country on the same day. It did look like a nice place, but we didn't get to see it properly. The nightlife of Nice awaited, and this time we did manage to find it. The old town was sizzling with activity, and we chose a little pub with live music for a G&T... or two... or more. There was a rock band playing, Fastdrive and although there was a an incredibly self important lead singer called Drive, who thought he was the hottest thing on the planet, they did rock, and he had a pretty good voice.

The following morning, I said my goodbyes to the beautiful blue sea and we made it for the airport. Back to work!