It’s raining HARD when I get up. Great. The Weather Channel says that it should clear out around 10 or 11am, so I let Ken sleep for a while and putz on the computer. As predicted, the weather is clear by 11am as we head out. We decide to visit Monaco for the day. It was easy to find the bus stop, and the bus driver was taking a break when we arrived. We had no trouble finding Monaco. However, we haven’t had anything to eat yet (the hotel offers breakfast but it’s a rip-off), and the first thing we find is McDonalds. We try to avoid American fast food when in Europe, but there’s a time for everything. After lunch, we start trying to find the Monaco aquarium. Unfortunately, now it’s started raining and we have a wrong start before getting on the right track. We went past the marina, where we definitely enjoyed looking at the boats, which range from small (i.e. 30-foot boats that look big anywhere else), big, and huge (i.e. twice the size of my house). The aquarium was definitely the highlight of the day. Their collection is tropical and Mediterranean fish. We really enjoyed it and spent a couple hours. In addition to the aquarium, they have a research center where they grow coral and many different fish species.
It’s raining when we leave, so we wander around the old city in Monaco, then head for the casino area. To be honest, the casino was disappointing. You can see the casino from the outside, but the main part is off-limits to anyone who doesn’t gamble at the tables (enforced by a 10 euro cover charge). We played some slots at the casino next door, but it didn’t feel much different than a casino everywhere else. Then, we found the bus stop for the way back. We tried to get on going east and then ride the bus back home west, but the bus driver wouldn’t let us on. Phooey. So, we walked back to the area where we had started and got on the bus there. We went back to the hotel for about an hour, then headed out for dinner. The hotel manager gave us a recommendation. The food was generally good, but we got the stereotypical French attitude (i.e. snooty towards Americans). They completely overcooked Ken’s steak (he asked for medium, which to the French means medium rare, and it came out medium-well American style). We didn’t leave an extra tip, and we wouldn’t go back even if we were staying for a longer time. Since it was no longer raining, we went for a walk along the beach after dinner. It’s nice to be outside when it’s not threatening to rain! I am very thankful that we brought rain gear, but I wish we had to use it less ...
