The great casino city of Monte Carlo is a home away from home for those who
can afford it. Before you can even think
of owning property here, you need to have and maintain a balance of a minimum
of $800 000 EU in your Monaco bank account.
If you can afford that, then you can start to look for the perfect home
at about $30 000 EU per square metre! The port is close to a marina holding plenty
of luxurious yachts.
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| A view of the marina and part of the race track at Monte Carlo, taken from nearby the palace. |
The country is very small and very secure.
We were told that anyone can leave their keys in their expensive cars
and they will not be stolen. One reason
is that there are security cameras on almost every building, and they are
monitored 24 hours a day. Another reason
is that there are only a few roads leading out of the country and at each of
the borders, a spike belt barrier can be engaged at any time to ensure law
breakers don’t leave the area.
We took a tour that led us out of the country of Monaco into France to Eze
where we wandered around the medieval town up on the hillside. We were on the tour with our new friends,
Laurie and Dan, so this also gave us an opportunity to get to know each other
more. The town of Eze is quite small and
we walked up the steep coblestone paths to the fortress with great views. Every nook and cranny of the fortress has
been converted to shops for artisans to sell their creations or tiny
restaurants and cafés. When you walk to
the top of the fortress, there is a botanical garden that offers breathtaking
views overlooking Monaco and the Mediterranean; however, the four of us opted
to seek out a place to enjoy a local beverage.
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| Our new friends, Laurie and Dan from Maine. |
When we returned to the port, we had plenty of time to wander around Monte
Carlo. The church where Prince Rainier
and Grace Kelly were married, and also where they were buried. The palace was within a five minute walk down
a couple streets lined with stores and vendors before opening up to the
grounds. It looked quite simple, in
palace standards, but then again, what do I know?
