Life of the rich and famous

So to join the rich and famous in Monte Carlo I took the 1.50euro bus from Nice because I'm not rich and famous myself.  It turned out to be a great idea as this was typical of the view en route.

Then to the home of the Formula 1, the world's first casinos and way too much money, Monte Carlo.  I took the hop on/hop off bus and listened to a bit of history as I got driven around.  Apparently, the country used to be quite a bit bigger and have huge orange orchards as their main source of income but in the 1860s those areas seceded and King Charles had to come up with a new source of revenue.  He created Monte Carlo (Mount Charles) and brought in the casinos. 

It was a bit shocking walking through the marina and seeing dozens of these floating monstrosities and the parking lots filled with expensive sports cars...everyone there seems to have money to burn.

To try to get some of that money for myself, I went up to the world famous Monte Carlo casino.  They charge 10 euros just to walk in this lovely building designed by Charles Garnier so I went to the free casino next door.  I didn't win any money or see James Bond but it was fun anyways.

I didn't really think much of the city.  It's overly complicated getting around because of the raceway, it's very mountainous and seems a real hodge-podge of new and old construction side by side which makes it feel disjointed.  There's also a huge, loud and tacky amusement park along the entire waterfront.  An interesting trip but not somewhere I'd want to stay.

The next day I went to a great outdoor flower market in Nice.

I would love to live in a place that had a market like this every day.