Country #26 and counting: Monaco

We took a scenic ride along the coast...

The view along our drive from Nice to Monaco

...and stopped at the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild for the 5th annual Fête des Roses, a rose festival in an extraordinary villa...

The Fête des Roses at the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild between Nice and Monaco

...before driving on into Monaco in what must have been the most anticlimactic entry into another country that I've ever experienced: not even so much as a billboard to denote the international boundary. A state border crossing in the US will at least greet you with as much.

Monaco was a beautiful little country, the world's second smallest-- just after Vatican City. A constitutional monarchy, Monaco has been ruled continually by the Grimaldi family since 1419, though it was first ruled by a Grimaldi beginning in 1297. A family history that might merit less boasting today than in the era when the commemoratory statues were constructed, the Grimaldi family first "won' the throne when Francesco Grimaldi, also known as "Il Malizio" (The Malicious) disguised himself as a Franciscan monk and attacked the fortress of Monaco. You can see a statue honoring such bravery in the image in the center right of the collage below.

A sunny afternoon in Monaco

Monaco charmed us with its narrow streets, colorful buildings, and its completely natural displays of its citizens' wealth. ("Oh, don't mind my Porsche, I've just popped out for a few errands.") I particularly enjoyed looking over a part of the city "reclaimed from the sea" to discover that boat parking lots had been included in its layout. (You can see this bottom center in the Nice photo collage.) Unfortunately (or fortunately, from our wallets' perspectives), we had little time for more than a quick tourist's tour of the city/country and a sandwich to-go before I had to get back to Nice to hop a night train back to Paris. I'd caught a bit too much sun and came down with a fever on the train-- not my greatest night ever-- but it's a small price to pay for such a dose of blue skies, matching seas, and breathtakingly beautiful sights far away from the bustle of Paris.