Pepaw has a saying that when you're lucky,
you don't need to be very smart. OK, his version is a bit more direct, but you get the idea. The adventures that Ben and I had in Monte Carlo are living proof of this.
Saturday morning we headed off to Monte Carlo. The F1 race was Sunday, but at $400 a ticket, we weren't planning to see that anyway. Saturday was qualifying and two "minor league" races, plus we figured the crowds would be smaller and since we didn't have tickets for ANYTHING, we thought we'd have more luck on Saturday than Sunday.
Monte Carlo is easily the most beautiful city I have ever visited - even better than Cannes. The core of the city is a mile square, horseshoe shaped collection off buildings around the gorgeous Monaco harbor. It's a city built on rocky cliffs, so the buildings are scattered at all different heights. It is also around the harbor that the F1 track is laid out. It uses city streets, making it unique on the F1 circuit - all the other races are at dedicated speedways. The start/finish is along the harbor, then the track goes up a hill to the Casino, around a few hairpin turns and downhill to a tunnel, under a hotel, then along the waterfront in the other direction to complete the circuit.
Our plan was to buy tickets, but we quickly learned that all the cheap seats were sold out, except for the $30 tix that get you access to a hillside where you can throw down your own blanket and... no thanks. We also learned that there are lots of other ways to see the action. Because the track goes through the city streets, there are TONS of apartments, restaurants, and other buildings that have a GREAT view of the track, and the F1 jerks can't control access to those. So what you have is a lot of enterprising Monaco residents and business people who sell access to their homes, bars etc. The going rate seemed to be around $150 for qualifying and about $600 for the race.
We decided $100 wasn't too bad especially if it means you get air conditioning and bathrooms. On our way to find an ATM this lady stops us and asks if we're looking for a place to watch the qualifying. Turns out she's Scottish, has an apartment in a PRIME location for viewing the track, and is selling spots today for $50. She even offered to let us come see if before we pay to make sure we like the view. Well, let's just say we never made it to that ATM. Once we saw the place we gave her $100 on the spot and stayed there until 7pm!
It was a beautiful 6th floor apartment with a view of most of the waterfront portion of the course. She and her husband served us champagne, sandwiches, and wine all day. They had a flat screen with the F1 broadcast going. It was really really impressive. She could've easily been charging $200-$300 and getting it, but her ignorance was our good fortune. She had sold spots to about 10 other people, who were all very nice. Some Aussies, a few Brits, some Danes and a couple Kiwis (New Zealand). The company was wonderful, the hospitality was great. The qualifying was great fun too, and we got to see a GP2 race AND a Porsche supercup race that had been postponed from earlier in the day.
After that is was off to explore the streets of Monte Carlo. We wound our way through town and up the hill to the Casino. This Casino is legendary, and it was on my "must do" list so I was very excited that we were able to get in. It's $10 entry fee but well worth it just to see the place! It's like an old palace - renaissance art on the walls, great tall ceilings, crystal chandaliers - the most oppulent casino in the world. I'd love to show you pictures but you're not allowed to have a camera inside. Let's just say that this casino is featured in a couple James Bond movies, and when you walk around the place, it FEELS like the kind of place where James Bond would gamble. It's several orders of magnitute more refined than the trashy American casinos like you get in Vegas. The slot machines here, for example, do not make any noise at all. No one drinks at the tables - it's just not done.
Craps didn't open until 10pm, so we had dinner and then came back. The funny thing is, when we left the casino, there was this HUGE crowd outside taking pictures of everyone coming out of the casino. I think these people didn't realize that the place is open to the public, and they thought we were celebrities or something. As the evening went on, the growds grew, and the traffic around the casino featured even MORE exotic cars than what we had seen in Cannes. It wasn't "do you have a Ferrari" it was "which model and what color?" Lamborghini, Bently, a Porsche Carrera GT, Enzo Ferraris - I mean we're talking the most expensive and rare super cars out there. All pulling up in front of the casino.
I should also mention that, at night, the F1 course is open to traffic. They are city streets, after all. So a lot of these guys bring their Ferraris out just to take a lap on the course, then come up to the Casino to gamble. One turn on the course is right in front of the Casino. So when Ben and I returned after dinner, since we had already paid the "admission" cost, we were able to walk right up the front steps and into the Casino, right where all this spectacle was taking place. On the French Riviera, even those who are not rock stars, can feel like rock stars. No, we did not win it big. I taught Ben how to play craps though, and he worked the table for a good hour. There is a novelty to craps in Monte Carlo because it's an American game. Not many people knew how to play it, so Ben was drawing quite a crowd.
After the casino we went back to the train station. We met an Aussie on the way whose tour group had left without him, so we helped him find a train to get him back up the coast. Ran into a children's book author on the train too, who had just written a book about a teddy bear's adventures in Monaco. She writes all her books from the perspective of the bear, and takes the pictures herself to use for illustrations.
Saturday morning we headed off to Monte Carlo. The F1 race was Sunday, but at $400 a ticket, we weren't planning to see that anyway. Saturday was qualifying and two "minor league" races, plus we figured the crowds would be smaller and since we didn't have tickets for ANYTHING, we thought we'd have more luck on Saturday than Sunday.
Monte Carlo is easily the most beautiful city I have ever visited - even better than Cannes. The core of the city is a mile square, horseshoe shaped collection off buildings around the gorgeous Monaco harbor. It's a city built on rocky cliffs, so the buildings are scattered at all different heights. It is also around the harbor that the F1 track is laid out. It uses city streets, making it unique on the F1 circuit - all the other races are at dedicated speedways. The start/finish is along the harbor, then the track goes up a hill to the Casino, around a few hairpin turns and downhill to a tunnel, under a hotel, then along the waterfront in the other direction to complete the circuit.
Our plan was to buy tickets, but we quickly learned that all the cheap seats were sold out, except for the $30 tix that get you access to a hillside where you can throw down your own blanket and... no thanks. We also learned that there are lots of other ways to see the action. Because the track goes through the city streets, there are TONS of apartments, restaurants, and other buildings that have a GREAT view of the track, and the F1 jerks can't control access to those. So what you have is a lot of enterprising Monaco residents and business people who sell access to their homes, bars etc. The going rate seemed to be around $150 for qualifying and about $600 for the race.
We decided $100 wasn't too bad especially if it means you get air conditioning and bathrooms. On our way to find an ATM this lady stops us and asks if we're looking for a place to watch the qualifying. Turns out she's Scottish, has an apartment in a PRIME location for viewing the track, and is selling spots today for $50. She even offered to let us come see if before we pay to make sure we like the view. Well, let's just say we never made it to that ATM. Once we saw the place we gave her $100 on the spot and stayed there until 7pm!
It was a beautiful 6th floor apartment with a view of most of the waterfront portion of the course. She and her husband served us champagne, sandwiches, and wine all day. They had a flat screen with the F1 broadcast going. It was really really impressive. She could've easily been charging $200-$300 and getting it, but her ignorance was our good fortune. She had sold spots to about 10 other people, who were all very nice. Some Aussies, a few Brits, some Danes and a couple Kiwis (New Zealand). The company was wonderful, the hospitality was great. The qualifying was great fun too, and we got to see a GP2 race AND a Porsche supercup race that had been postponed from earlier in the day.
After that is was off to explore the streets of Monte Carlo. We wound our way through town and up the hill to the Casino. This Casino is legendary, and it was on my "must do" list so I was very excited that we were able to get in. It's $10 entry fee but well worth it just to see the place! It's like an old palace - renaissance art on the walls, great tall ceilings, crystal chandaliers - the most oppulent casino in the world. I'd love to show you pictures but you're not allowed to have a camera inside. Let's just say that this casino is featured in a couple James Bond movies, and when you walk around the place, it FEELS like the kind of place where James Bond would gamble. It's several orders of magnitute more refined than the trashy American casinos like you get in Vegas. The slot machines here, for example, do not make any noise at all. No one drinks at the tables - it's just not done.
Craps didn't open until 10pm, so we had dinner and then came back. The funny thing is, when we left the casino, there was this HUGE crowd outside taking pictures of everyone coming out of the casino. I think these people didn't realize that the place is open to the public, and they thought we were celebrities or something. As the evening went on, the growds grew, and the traffic around the casino featured even MORE exotic cars than what we had seen in Cannes. It wasn't "do you have a Ferrari" it was "which model and what color?" Lamborghini, Bently, a Porsche Carrera GT, Enzo Ferraris - I mean we're talking the most expensive and rare super cars out there. All pulling up in front of the casino.
I should also mention that, at night, the F1 course is open to traffic. They are city streets, after all. So a lot of these guys bring their Ferraris out just to take a lap on the course, then come up to the Casino to gamble. One turn on the course is right in front of the Casino. So when Ben and I returned after dinner, since we had already paid the "admission" cost, we were able to walk right up the front steps and into the Casino, right where all this spectacle was taking place. On the French Riviera, even those who are not rock stars, can feel like rock stars. No, we did not win it big. I taught Ben how to play craps though, and he worked the table for a good hour. There is a novelty to craps in Monte Carlo because it's an American game. Not many people knew how to play it, so Ben was drawing quite a crowd.
After the casino we went back to the train station. We met an Aussie on the way whose tour group had left without him, so we helped him find a train to get him back up the coast. Ran into a children's book author on the train too, who had just written a book about a teddy bear's adventures in Monaco. She writes all her books from the perspective of the bear, and takes the pictures herself to use for illustrations.
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