This time last week I was just arriving at my hotel in Monaco for a short break. We arrived at the airport in Nice late afternoon and took the bus to our hotel. We stayed at the Columbus hotel and it was lovely. The room was spacious with gorgeous views over the princess Grace rose garden, mountains and across the sea. There was a pool in the garden which we used a couple of times (but even with the gorgeous weather it was still a bit chilly!) and a small gym and a bar.
The view from the room:
By the time we had arrived and unpacked it was already 8pm so we decided to just take a walk around the area and grab a bite to eat.
The following morning we ate breakfast in hotel. There was a great range of pastries, cereals, fruit, hot food and even a tasty chocolate cake, so we were well fed for the day ahead.
We took a walk to the Palace and had a look inside, before enjoying some ice cream in the sun. We then walked on through the pretty palace gardens to the Oceanographic museum and then looked round the cathedral where Prince Rainier and Princess Grace were married. We returned to the hotel for lunch on our balcony which we had picked up from the supermarket and a quick dip in the pool.
After lunch we went to the animal garden we had walked past the previous evening. It was apparently started as Prince Rainiers private animal collection many years ago, but there are now plans to turn it into a petting zoo. We thought it would be home to small animals and birds but to our surprise there was a rhinoceros being kept there. I was pleased to read online after that the plan is for the rhinoceros to be moved to a larger, more suitable home and in recent years Prince Albert has worked with the born free charity to enable leopards which were being kept there to be released into the wild.
Next we took a look inside the collection of classic cars which are on display just around the corner. It is the Prince's private collection of cars and has everything from formula one race cars to Victorian coaches. One of my favourites was a pale blue fiat with wicker chairs and no roof - very sweet but not so practical in British weather!
We struggled to find somewhere to eat on Sunday night as there were not many restaurants open and the ones we did find were expensive. Eventually we found a 'bar' with outdoor seating and an extensive menu and I ordered a tasty pizza and then went back to the hotel for an early night as I was so tired from all the walking.
On Monday, after breakfast we took the bus to Nice. We walked around the antique market and found a stall selling vintage pin badges for a euro each and picked up a couple of Monaco and race car theme pins which made for nice and inexpensive souvenirs. I also found a sweet vintage pearl necklace in very good condition which I was pleased with, as I had been looking for a replacement.
We then went up to the fountain and found a spot with a view over the promenade to eat the picnic lunch we had brought with us, before taking the bus back to Monaco.
When we got back to Monaco we took a walk up to the exotic gardens, although it was more of a hike than a walk, we had to climb so many stairs to get there! The exotic gardens are home to a wide variety of cacti and succulents and being so high up have breathtaking view over Monaco.
On our way back we picked up a bottle of wine in the supermarket and took a takeaway back to our hotel to eat on the balcony as we were too tired to eat out.
On Tuesday we got up early to catch the bus to Eze, to visit the Fragonard perfume factory. It only took 15 minutes to get there and we took a tour of the factory, spent a little time in the factory shop picking out some treats and then took the bus back to Monaco.
For the afternoon we decided to visit the famous casino in Monte Carlo. I wasn't so keen to visit as I had read bad reviews online about rude staff and an underwhelming interior, but I was pleasantly surprised. The lobby was ornate with beautiful frescos on the ceiling, marble pillars and a pretty butterfly display cascading down in the centre. We were even approached by a member of staff who informed us about the tours which were running and the additional area we could look around without paying the entry fee for the main part. After a quick look around and some photos, we spotted the cafe which was surprisingly reasonable for the location and so beautifully decorated, with panels of the walls covered from floor to ceiling in roses, so of course I had to take a couple more photos the roses as a backdrop!
After our ice creams we then went for a walk to look for the beach where we paddled in the sea. Along the way we seemed to pass a footballers walk of fame with their footprints cast in the stones which was interesting.
That evening we went out for dinner again and all too soon we were heading back to the hotel to pack. We had such lovely weather and it was a really relaxing trip even though we packed so much in.
