Principality of Monaco

The Principality of Monaco is located along the Mediterranean Sea on the Côte d’Azur (The French Riviera), nine miles west of the French city of Nice, five miles east of the Italian border, and is surrounded by France on three sides.

The city named Monte Carlo, with its beaches, gambling casino, and luxurious hotels, has long been a famous resort. The official capitol, Monaco-Ville, with the prince's palace, government buildings, and the cathedral, is located about 200 feet above sea level on the flat top of a rocky promontory. Only 16% of the residents are natives, most of the rest are from France and Italy, and are here because of favorable tax policies.

We have visited the Principality of Monaco five different years, and it’s impossible to travel the French Riviera without crossing and re-crossing Monaco. Most of the city streets zigzag back and forth parallel to the Mediterranean, with flights of stairs going directly up and down the mountainside, from street to street. Often the yacht basin has impressive, sometimes very big and fancy nautical visitors tied to the dock.

During our first trip to Monaco we drove down the almost frightening, steep, switch back road where Princess Grace’s fatal car accident occurred some years later. When we tried to drive up the hill to the palace, where she then lived, the police stopped us and indicated we were not allowed. I informed the policeman that, “Princess Grace sure wasn’t treated this way, when she visited our hometown.” Boy was that policeman impressed (not). She did visit nearby Palm Springs, from time to time, but long before we lived in this area.

We always eat in a “new” restaurant, each anniversary, and for the 29th we ate dinner in a restaurant on the top floor of a Monaco hotel. Well, we hope it was just a bad night for them, but of the 53 dinners up to the year 2004, that one rates number 53. The picnic lunch on the sea-wall, next to the Loews Hotel one year, was a far better meal, with superior service. (Number 30, at the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, always ranks number one.)

Later that night, in honor of our anniversary (or could that just have been a coincidence?) there was a massive fireworks display. It was as if a scheduled one hour exhibition, lasted a minute. A spectacular performance, proving that Monaco really does, or does not, know how to put on a fireworks show.