June 4 - Monaco

Musée Océanographique de Monaco


Swimming pool at Hercule Harbour

Monaco

I’ve had a fascination with Monaco since I was a little girl, pouring over Majesty magazines. I learned all about Princesses Caroline and Stephanie, and their brother Prince Albert. I don’t think there was a more beautiful woman than their mother, Princess Grace. Princess Grace lived every girl’s fairytale, falling in love, marrying a prince and moving to a castle in a gorgeous, foreign country. Monaco seemed like a fairytale itself, a tiny principality, less than two square kilometres in size, ruled by a prince, who’s family had been ruling the country since 1297.

I was excited for the opportunity to visit Monaco. It’s close to Nice, a twenty minute train ride. Popping out of the train station, you swiftly realize Monaco is ‘tidy town’. A welcome change from the urine soaked, dog poo caked sidewalks of France. For once, you didn’t have to watch where you walked. Instead you could look up and marvel how they packed so many buildings into cliffside of the two square kilometres of the second smallest country in the world!

The palace is set on top of the hill, Monaco-Ville, overlooking the principality, as is the Musée Océanographique de Monaco. The Musée is located out on a point, overlooking the Mediterranean, and was once under the direction of Jacques Cousteau. Built in 1910, it’s an impressive piece of architecture that is home to various collections of marine species, as well as an aquarium on the lower two floors. Between the museum and the palace is the beautiful cliffside gardens and pathway, Jardins Saint-Martin.

We spent a perfect sunny day exploring Monaco. We stood outside the palace, imagining Princess Grace living inside the very walls. We admired the expensive cars out the front of the Monte Carlo casino – oh yawn, another Rolls Royce? Finally, we picked out our fantasy yacht amongst the myriad gigantic boats in the harbor. Loving every minute of it, we decided a day wasn’t enough, so we would come back again the following week...