Monaco

We enjoyed a freelance day in Monaco today. We missed the connection to the train to EZE, so opted for a tour of the Palace of Prince Albert in the 'old' section of Monaco. THe palace is loaded with artifacts which were gifts from various foreign heads of state to teh Grimaldi royalty over the centuries. Afterwards we watched the changing of the guards in front of the palace before finding 'Fredies' restaurant for lunch. The Carnival Magic was also in port so some 4000 folks grew teh population of hte principality and crowded all venues, including eateries. Our server seemed a bit overwhelmed looking after tables of 4, 6 and 8 respectively, but hte food was prompt and good.

We used the public transportation (1 euro per trip) and then headed to the Casino area in hte newer section of town. We separated for 45 minutes to do our own thing and then reconvened to walk around the harbor/marina back to the tender port, drooling over the opulent yachts en route which was also a portion of the F1 race course and locals seem to drive it accordingly.

We tendered back to the ship by 430 to freshen up for drinks and appies in Skywalkers before dinner.

As neither of us slept well last night, and we have a full day in Cinque Terre, outside of Florence tomorrow, it will be an early night tonight. All in all, it was a great day and the siz if us, Barb and Dave Conrad(aka Gonzalez), and Linda and Leslee get along great and have lots of laughs and animated conversations.