I Am A Celebrity!: 2019

Monte Carlo - Monaco
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

SOMEWHAT IRONICALLY, we were now more than half way through our cruise and we still hadn't really touched on the namesake, "Italian Riviera." Our next port, Monaco, is some 300 plus miles from Barcelona, so we would have another "at sea" day between Barcelona and Monaco. Monaco is right on the border between France and Italy (hence the French Riviera and the Italian Riviera), so we were probably technically at the "Italian" Riviera after we cruised on from Monaco.

Monaco
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

WE GOT to see a touch of Spain, France and Monaco, in addition to the planned Italian destinations. Our last 3 ports were to be Monaco, Santa Margarita, and La Spezia. First, though, was Monaco. Monaco has the distinction of being the second smallest (by area) country in the world, being nearly 5 times the size of the smallest: Vatican City. By population, however, Monaco is not even among the 10 least populated countries. I was surprised (but not shocked) by that. During a work day, the population swells by a magnitude, as the vast majority of the working population lives outside the city in nearby France or Italy. The reason is pretty simple. They cannot afford to be a resident of Monaco. Basic requirements (there are some exceptions and some other requirements), are that you must deposit a minimum of 500,000 euros in a Monaco bank, and must rent or own property in Monaco. There are no inexpensive properties or rentals in Monaco! It really is a place for the so-called "rich and famous."

A high view of the port of Monaco - Celebrity Edge moored out in the background
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

MONACO IS noted for a couple permanent institutions: The Monte Carlo Casino and the Monaco Grand Prix street race. Historically, it is also noted for Princess Grace (American Actress Grace Kelly) who was married to Prince Rainier III of Monaco, and who was famously killed in a solo automobile crash in Monaco in 1982. She had been "Princess Grace" since 1956. the Prince's Palace is also one of the architectural "must see" sites in Monaco.

Monaco
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

YOU CANNOT see the Grand Prix unless you are there in June - and good luck finding a place to stay or getting anywhere near the race, unless you know somebody. We did the next best things. Our driver drove the entire course with us - showing us the famous hairpin turn that slows the racers down to almost normal street speeds. Nonetheless, one of the things Monaco is known for is the near omnipresence of extravagant automobiles, and we saw a few of those.

Monte Carlo Casino - Monaco
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

THE VERY small nation state houses the Prince's Palace, the Casino, and good handful of ritzy high-rize buildings along the downtown area. There is also a public marina and one or two private marinas. They hold some of the worlds largest and most ostentatious yachts in the world (with ownership worldwide).

Monte Carlo Casino - Monaco
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

THERE IS no pier in Monaco large enough to accomodate the larger cruise ship (The moored ship pictured is actually an Oceania "small ship" - which we would have a chance to sail on a couple years later), so it was a "tender" port. As we would learn by example, tender port stops on a cruise are very much dependent upon the weather and sea conditions. Fortunately, our stop in Monaco proved to be relatively calm seas.

The Nautica Ship moored at the pier is roughly 1/3 the size of the Celebrity Edge, though the optics here don't show that.
Cruise Port - Monaco
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

WE HAD booked an excursion that day that would take us back from Monaco to Nice, France, and then a stop in ancient Eze, France before returning to Monaco for the balance of the tour.

Cote' di Azur - between Monaco and Nice, France
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

ONCE WE stepped off the tender, we found our group of just a few people and more importantly, our guide for the day.

Nice, France - viewed from an overlook east of the city
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

AFTER TAKING us once around the Monaco Grand Prix Track, we headed west, for Nice, France. Our French guide and driver was very knowledgeable about the region, its geography and its history. He started out with a "quiz" for us. Two questions. He noted that our excursion was described as a visit to the famous "Riviera" (for which Monaco is also noted and famous). So, he first asked: "what does that ("riviera") mean?" I must confess I hadn't ever really given it much thought. I didn't really know. The answer was logical and simple enough. The riviera is where the land meets the sea, or the coastline. It is an Italian word (ironic, that most of us are more familiar with the term "French Riviera." While the French do also reference the "Riviera," the French aggrandised name for their own riviera is actually Cote' d' Azur ) making reference to the azure blue waters of the Mediterranean along the coast. The French Riviera stretches from St. Tropez all the way to the Italian Border. Today we would spend most of our time along the French Riviera.

Old Nice - Nice, France
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

TO THE west of Monaco, about 5 - 6 miles, the border is between the French town of Menton and the Italian town of Ventimiglia. From there, the riviera is known as The Italian Riviera, or Riviera di Ponente. We would not travel there, or anywhere east of Monaco that day. Someday, I would love to explore the area. We would instead sail some 100 miles east toward Portofino, Italy for our next stop.

Queen Victoria's Favorite Chocolate Shop - Old Nice - Nice, France
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

NICE IS the 5th largest city in France and one of the two largest on the Mediterranean Coast (the other being Marseille - France's 3rd largest), with populations of nearly one million. Originally occupied by the ancient Greeks, dominion over the city changed a number of times over the centuries. Since the end of Medieval times, it was controlled by Savoy, the French First Republic, Sardinia (eventually Italy) and then back to France in the middle of the 19th century. During those times its strategic position on the coast made it an important seaport. But in the 19th century, Nice, once a walled city, experienced sustantial growth and popularity for its tranquil beauty and its position along the Cote' di Azur. It became a place for vacation visits from the rich and famous of central Europe, including England's Queen Victoria, who probably was as responsible as any other factor for turning Nice into a premier holiday location. Victoria spent many cold winters on the French Riviera - most of them in Nice. One of the first things we came upon after parking in the Old City was the Maison Auer Chocolate shop, which is reputed to be the Queen's favorite shop in Nice.

Restaurants along Cours Saleya - Old Nice, France
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

QUEEN VICTORIA wasn't the only famous person to spend significant time in Nice, however. Attracted by the clear air and soft light of the coastline, artists Henri Matisse, and Marc Chagall spent many months painting there. Writers Friederich Nietzsche and Anton Chekhov spent winters there, completing some of the famous written works for which they are known. And the list goes on.

Cours Saleya Fresh Food and Flower Street Market - Old Nice, France
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

OLD NICE is build like many older European cities, with narrow streets and alley lined with stone and brick buildings. The prominent architecture there is Baroque, which followed from the Rennaissance coming out of the Middle Ages. They are photogenic and beautiful to look at. In the center of Old Nice, a mere 3 blocks from the seacoast, is the noted Cours Salaya outdoor fresh food and flower market, which lines the center of the street with vendor stalls for very nearly 1/4 mile. Both sides of the boulevard are lined with shops, cafes and restaurants. It being mid-morning, it felt like a good time to take a load off, rest our feet, and just soak in the easy, slow moving atmosphere at one of the sidewalk coffee shops. It also gave us access to wifi (back in 2019 the ship-base wifi was essentially non-existent, and very expensive and we got along without it by finding hotspots whenever on shore). I made one of my favorite "street" shots here of the gentleman reading his morning paper and having coffee. He seemed like the quintessential French country gentleman.

Local Nice resident enjoying a quiet morning moment - Old Nice, France
Copyright Andy Richards 2019 - All Rights Reserved

BY THE second half of the 18th Century, Nice had become a very popular winter destination for the English, seeking sunshine and more moderate weather. The Old City (Old Nice) was set along a shallow bay, known as Baie des Anges (Bay of Angels). The English aristocratic regulars began to build a promenade along the beach for the view. The city of Nice decided to substantially expand the project, covering a long stretch along the Bay. It was orginally referred to by the locals as The English Way. Upon completion of the entire wide walkway, however it was eventually renamed La Promenade des Anglais, by the French. Today a premier attraction for visitors and resident alike, it was that Promenade that became the center of worldwide attention when on July 14, 2016 a Muslia terrorist drove his truck into a crowd of people on the Promenade watching a fireworks display in celebration of Bastile Day. That was probably my first knowledge of the famous promenade and I want to walk it and photograph it while in Nice.

WE REJOINED our guide and headed back east, in the direction of Monaco. But not before first making another really cool stop in the Medieval Village of Eze, approximately mid-way between Nice and Eze. Currently, the population of the tiny little mountainside village is something just over 2,000 residents. I refer to it as a village, but it is - more accurately - a commune. Reputed to have been first populated in 200 BC, it fell, alternately, under the dominion of "the usual suspects": Greeks, Romans, Moors, and so on. Ultimately Eze came under the control of France.

SOMEWHAT MISLEADINGLY referred to as a "Seaside Village," its center is up a very steep, narrow, mountain some 1,400 feet above the coast. It is also often - more accurately, I think - referred to as an "Eagle's Nest." The commanding view of the Cote de Azur below made for a strategic and very defensible vantage point. Eze actually borders Monaco.

THE NOTRE Dame de l’Assomption church is build on nearly the highest point in Eze. I say nearly because there is yet another higher elevation that is truly something of an eagle's nest. You reach it by climbing a steep, twisty, stone path up to the very top. The church was built in 1762, but there are some relics inside that suggest that the location dates much further back was once a Phoenician Temple.

AFTER A short time up the mountain, we again re-joined our guide at the base (as far as his vehicle could go), to head back - finally - to Monaco. We got out and walked briefly around the Monte Carlo Casino. And even more briefly inside. I am not a gambler. But even if I was - the ante to get in: too rich for my blood.

WE HEADED up to The Prince's Palace and a couple stops from up at that high vantage point, where we could see well down into the city tucked around the harbor. That is where I made the shots down of the port and our Celebrity Edge ship. We also saw some smaller boat harbors and residential housing in the area. You don't see single family housing in Monaco. Most of it is medium to high-rise.

SOON ENOUGH, our day was over and we headed back to the tenders, for our very short ride back to the ship. We were ready for the next stop! Portofino. I had watched a Rick Steve's You-Tube of his visit there prior to this cruise. The actual stop was Santa Margherita. It looked, from the photos I had seen, to be a pretty harbor. And a very short 15-minute ferry ride to nearby Portofino. No excursions were booked. We planned to walk the harbors and streets and just take it in. We would be getting off the ship with two other couples, Rob and Carol and Neil and Mel, who we had met onboard and become friends with. We looked forward to a nice day on shore. Alas, we didn't get it. I will break the suspense in the next (upcoming) post. In the meantime, some readers may have realized that I left you hanging earlier. 😁 I do that sometimes - but I try to get back on track. I said that our guide's quiz consisted of two questions. The second? He asked us if we knew why Monaco's highest royalty was only a Prince (and not a King). In the answer was a history lesson that I really should have known! But I didn't. Monaco is a sovereign nation. But historically, it is/was known as "The Principality of Monaco." Not "the kingdom." And there you go: King = "Kingdom." Prince = "Principality."

I Am A Celebrity!

Sunday, August 30, 2026

2019 - Monaco

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