Monaco

Well, our little point-and-shoot camera ran out of juice before we got to Monaco so all we have are photos along the way.

We started the day sleeping in . . . or at least as much as Avery would let us. Then we headed out along the coast, enjoying the seaviews from our car. Eventually, the coastal road took a turn upwards in order to provide this luxurious five star exclusive rights to what I would imagine to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the French Riviera. The grounds for the hotel were off limits to anyone other than a paying guest, but we snuck a photo or two. The grounds is the first photo in this entry, the second is a peak at the grand hotel itself, below.We continued to climb upwards from the premier corniche to the moyenne corniche, planning to stop in Eze. We really couldn't believe it was the "medium" one. The height was a more than a little scary. For the record, Brad has done some incredible driving in his past, tackling Manhattan without a hitch, even Mexico's crazy drivers and rough roads, and of course France complete with the tiny, unmarked one-way streets of Cannes.

But nothing could prepare him for the Corniche.

We were driving on a narrow road that was hundreds of feet above the water while being sandwiched between a tiny stone wall and one row of crazy European drivers going about Mach 4. I truly felt our lives were in danger.

But, Brad prevailed.

Barely.

And for his reward, we continued onward to Monaco . . . where driving actually got worse!

Monaco hosts the Grand Prix every year during the last weekend of May . . . and clearly, there were remants of the racers left.

We had never seen so many Ferraris and Porches in one area . . . and certainly have not seen them all wizzing around a tiny and busy European city like that!

Instead of having horse-drawn carriages to take you around the city for a tour, they had Ferraris for hire to show you the sights. It was pretty tempting. While our little Citroyen was nothing like the Ferraris zooming around Monaco, it did the job. It got us from point A to point B without much trouble.

Monaco itself was very pretty. The buildings were really elaborate, but tasteful. In some ways, I am glad I wasn't tempted to take photographs because I really don't think any of the could possibly have done the city justice. It was almost too pretty, in a way.

We made a quick getaway and thought we were safe in terms of easy driving since we found a highway that was a little straighter than the corniches.

However, we soon realized that the Grand Prix was behind us when a Ferrari was riding our tail . . . followed by a porche, both going full speed.

Neither looked to be slowing down for us.

Our hotel was such a nice sight that night!