The South of France = MONEY!

Missed buses and the train strike made for an interesting day!  lol.  So, we did NOT get as early of a start as we had planned.

Neither Diane nor I set our alarm, and were depending upon the other person to wake us up.  The sun was up early, as it has been this entire trip, and the further south we are the later the sun rises and the earlier the sun sets.  So, anticipating a 4:30 sunrise did not occur.  Diane and I slept in until almost 8 (but we DID go to bed after midnight, of course!), so a catch up sleep day must have been needed. 

 We were up and ready quickly and set off through the beautiful village of Beaulieu Sur Mer to a bakery right down the street for some much needed coffee.  Ordered a beignet, a chocolate croissant, an espresso and a coffee latte, we sat outside in the warm sunshine and ate our dejeuner

(breakfast).  Then Diane and I walked through the small but quaint streets of Beaulieu, passed a wonderful open air market full of fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers.  We were heading to the Office of Tourism to get a bus schedule, so we could ensure we met the correct bus at the right time and place.

Well, after navigating to where bus 83 would pick us up...  it never showed!  ??  We waited just in case it was late, but no.  SO...  did we get upset?  Did we get frustrated?  Did we give up?  NO!!!  We just said, "Time for Plan B!"  Did we KNOW what Plan B was?  Heck no!  lol.  We remembered we had passed a train station, and decided to just take the train.  So we hiked back and tried to buy a ticket at the station...  due to the strike, NO...  no tickets were available.  Talked to a local and he said to just explain to the train personnel what happened, and we should be fine.

So, success!  We got on the bus and it all worked out.  We were headed towards Eze Village, which we were told held a medieval village  BUT...  we missed the train stop and that was that!  We never got to visit it. So, we continued on and altered our
plan on the run and decided to START at Monte Carlo.  That was where we exited the train.  We got out of the station, and started to find a way down to the water.  It is NOT an ocean, but the Mediterranean Sea.  So beautiful and turquoise like the Aegean Sea in Greece.  We found an incredible passage way, with steps DOWN, down, down to the sea.  The city built into the side of a mountain and the incredible amount of boats, ships, yachts, and even cruise ships lined the waterways of Monte Carlo.  I have NEVER in my life seen ships that were the size and obvious cost of the ones lined up along the walkway in Monte Carlo.  As Diane and I walked, we had to pick up our jaws off of the ground.  These yachts were beyond big, snazzy, sleek, immaculately clean, with crews awaiting on board...  just beyond comprehension as to the money they must cost...

We found an incredible walkway that literally mimicked the ocean's edge... and we walked and walked and walked.  We passed casinos, yachts, stores (like Rolex and Brooks Brothers), anything that is related to the rich and famous can definitely be found in Monte Carlo.   We were NOT allowed into the casinos. as our casual clothing did not warrant our entrance.  But, we DID stop and have a glass of champagne at the port where all of the yachts were docked.  Then we got aboard a boat to take a quick (I mean QUICK!) ride across the Mediterranean Sea to Monaco.  We landed at "La Roche" or The Rock.  It was an enormous museum for a palace of ancient times.  We had to walk UP stairs this time...  hundreds of them.  Reminded Diane and I of our Paris trip.  Yes, this will definitely be another 10 mile day.  :)

After traipsing around Monaco, we decided we needed to get back to our train station.  The man we asked for help pointed to a point across the ENTIRE city... Diane and I were getting tired of walking by then, and the flip flops (I know, I know!) we wore were NOT the best for walking all those stairs, or the distance we did.  But, we kept on walking, towards where the man told us.  More and more stairs, both up and down marred our easy journey, but at one corner, I asked for help, and was told that a train station was RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!  Thank heaven!  lol.  We got to the station, purchased tickets, and were waiting for our train.  When it came, we were forceably told, NO!  This is NOT your train!  And were sent away.  What?!?!?!  So we had to go to another platform and wait for another hour.  By the time the right train pulled up, there were literally a hundred people waiting to get on the same train!  And when the train pulled up, they ALL did!  Diane and I felt like we were in a cattle car, for sure!  Standing room, squished in.  But all's well that ends well...  haven't I said that before?  We got on, and got off at the right stop.

Starving, due to the fact we hadn't eaten for 5 hours, Di and I went to a restaurant in Beaulieu that we had scoped out that morning.  Yea, it was open.  We went and found a table for 2 outside and sat down and ordered a beer.  We asked for the dinner menu and were informed that NO, not until 7!!!! p.m.  That was when dinner service started.  Dang, we were hungry.  So, we ordered a beer and were also brought some baby olives...  which we ate EVERY one of them!  We really want to go to this place for dinner, and when we asked the owner if we could reserve the same table for dinner at 7 he said that he had 30 people already reserving the place tonight at 7.  He suggested that we come back at 8:30 p.m.  Oh man!  We were sooooo hungry but decided it will be worth it to wait.  And, the owner made it sweet when he didn't make us pay for our beers because he was disappointed that he could not accommodate us tonight.
We stopped by a shop and grabbed a sandwich and chowed it down back at our apt.  That should hold us over until 8:30, because we are determined to eat filet mignon and scallops at this restaurant.