Monaco – Our 5th Country

Early Sunday morning drive to beautiful and exclusive Monaco. Monaco is an independent and sovereign country located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea about 2hrs from Toulon. The drive shouldn’t be bad, early morning there isn’t much traffic and there are toll roads so no roundabouts every 600 meters. The weather is good, a little cooler with temperatures in the high 60’s, clear skies so no rain.

There wasn’t any particular reason for going to Monaco except to see it. We chose Monte Carlo as our destination since most people know that city and the F1 race is held there. The Monaco Grand Prix started in 1929 making it one of the oldest F1 races. The course is a little over 2 miles long, but drivers need to change gears 54 times per lap! This makes a Monaco Grand Prix win more dependent on the driver than the car.

Statue of a 1929 racer

Statue of a modern F1 racer

Monte Carlo

Daily driver in Monte Carlo

My daily driver

What kind of work do you do to have this yacht?

Monte Carlo is also home to a mega-yacht harbor with some of the worlds most expensive yachts taking up residence there from time-to-time. And if that isn’t enough, there’s always the famous casino where the filthy rich get rid of some of their filth.

Monte Carlo casino

Reflecting on our photo. (Me & Mom-Bear in the center)

Monte Carlo opera house

To be honest, we were a little underwhelmed by Monte Carlo. Difficult streets to maneuver, not a lot of sites to see, and because it’s the off season, just a few mega yachts. All-in-all it was a good drive but not the top of the list.