Sunny Skies in Monaco

Dave and I arrived to Monaco early on Tuesday. As always, Dave left to play a tournament within an hour of arriving as I attempted to get settled in to the apartment.

I spent the first day getting caught up on articles, but was able to venture out on Wednesday for a bit. It was SO NICE outside. Everyone was hanging out on the beach and enjoying the sunshine.

Welcome to Monaco! :) The entire town is basically landscaped by the way. I guess the richest principality in the world can afford that sort of thing. 

The ocean is always tempting you here! 

National Museum of Monaco! 

So beautiful! People are catching rays. Beware: The water is NOT WARM. It is freezing actually. Not even Dave would jump in.

Winding streets of Monaco.

Can you see the EPT sign? That is where Dave is playing in the tournament. 

On Wednesday evening, Dave and I did get the opportunity to experience a bit of the Monaco nightlife, and the pricetag that goes along with it. We started at the casino bar, purchased on drink for each of us, and was shocked to see that the bill was 30 euro!! That is basically $40 USD for two drinks. I think we should probably just invest in purchasing the entire bottle for 135 euro. What a ripoff!! Hopefully as the trip goes on we can check out some more places, and hopefully the price won't be as outrageous. We also visited one other bar for a quick drink and they served us gummy bears and marshmallows as a pre-drink appetizer...pretty interesting. The menu was also provided on a personal iPad. Things are pretty over the top here in Monaco if you couldn't tell...

Thursday was another sunny, beautiful day so we decided to head to the beach for a little bit. Besides there being screaming children everywhere, it was nice to relax by the ocean...and get some sun. I might have gotten a little tan, and as always, Dave is RED. Next 40 euro investment will have to be sunscreen!

Well, that is all for now! I am back to working on articles for a bit. I will venture to more of Monaco and the casino area tomorrow to take some more pictures!

San Remo & La Pigna

I have to admit: After Dave and I's trip to San Remo in the fall of 2011, I was a little pessimistic about going back. Luckily, being in the small city again has been amazing! I am having a way better time now than I did my first time! Yes, this means I will no longer refer to it as "San Shithole."

It has been sunny and beautiful here the entire time. There are literally hundreds of restaurants to eat at and a gelato stop every 50 yards. I am definitely not losing any weight being in San Remo...that is for sure. Dave and I have gone out to eat for most meals and haven't been disappointed yet. The lasagna, ravioli, lobster spaghetti, and pizza have all been delicious. We have also become fans of tiramisu.

Beach area outside our apartment. Not warm enough to swim yet :(

:)  Walking on the beach

The pictures just don't show how pretty the sea and the city are.

Dave and I both had "off work" yesterday, so we used the beautiful day to our advantage and trekked up to La Pigna. It is actually the location of the original city of San Remo. The streets consist solely of steps (no driving here!) and the walk to the highest point of the city takes about a twenty-five minutes. The view from the top is amazing.

Starting the walk to La Pigna! 

It was almost a bit creepy...we wouldn't do the walk at night! 

So pretty!

The happy and sweaty couple.

View from the top! - Started from the bottom now we here!! (Sorry, I couldn't resist)

You can see the ocean! That is the top of another church. 

Check out the sky! 

Madonna Della Costa Sanctuary. 

Believe it or not, that is a SNAKE dangling right there. It crossed in the path infront of us and then tried to book it down the side of a hill. I remained on snake watch the rest of the walk. 

Just in case you get thirsty! 

Walking back down. 

I love the different colored buildings here.

Sun just went down in the city of San Remo! We enjoyed some gelato while we walked along the boardwalk!