After settling in, the four of us left to go find a place to eat for lunch. We walked for a few blocks and then decided on the Liber'tea Room, a beautiful outdoor bistro overlooking one of the main shopping streets here. We dined on fresh salads and strawberries which tasted even better than they looked.
After that, we decided to go on our first real shopping trip which, obviously, I was more than ready/excited for. We started off at Sharon, which surprise, was way expensive and out of our price range. Even more surprising, the lady who worked in the store (who spoke perfect English) didn't find it funny that I was named Sharon here in France traveling to Nice and Cannes only, which is the only two locations of the store. Womp womp.
Alas, we had to settle on shopping at Milton Rose, a cute boutique next door which was much more affordable and even though the lady there barely spoke any English, seemed to enjoy our company. We hit a few more shops but sadly, didn't find anything.... We shall return to the shopping scene tomorrow.
After that, the exciting part of our day began. We headed over to the site of the flower market in Old City to a gelato place we spotted the day before but didn't have the appetite to stop in. Turns out that it was the one gelato place recommended to Jaycee that supposedly is super well-known and famous for having well over 100 flavors- who would've known?! The gelato looked beyond-amazing and they had so many interesting flavors like cactus, lavender, chocolate ginger, M&M, and rose (just to name a few....) We all devoured ours and are DEFINITELY going back tomorrrow.
We walked back to the hotel and got changed for our biggest adventure for the day: Monte Carlo. There are no words to describe how absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous it was. Supposedly it has the highest standard of living in the world, which from the first 5 minutes of walking around is abundantly clear. We felt so lucky that we had the opportunity to go to another COUNTRY (it's casually in Monaco...) just for a night. We again navigated our way to the train station, found our track, and got to Monte Carlo with no problems! The city is perfectly crafted from marble and stone with wide roads flooded with the sickest cars ever (which, thanks to my stepdad, I can actually recognize). I probably looked like a puppy dog staring into the gorgeously-designed windows of all the high-end designer shops: Chanel, YSL, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Lanvin, Rolex, Loro Piano, Montblanc, Bulgari, and so mnay more. There was a HUGE underground mall which was probably the most unbelievable thing I have ever seen. Actually.
The waterfront was just as gorgeous and we made our way down there after all the shops closed (which unfortunately for us, but probably fortunate for our wallets, was pretty early around 7). We ate dinner at the famous Cafe de Paris right across from the even more famous Casino de Monte Carlo. The casino was by far the highlight of the entire day. You had to pay a 10 euro cover just to enter, but it was like paying for a museum because the inside is so spectacular. Every hotel in Vegas wishes it could replicate it, but the Monte Carlo Casino is one of a kind. Pictures were not allowed (boo) but imagine the highest ceilings, painted and decorated with gold, and lavish crystal chandelliers all around. Someone who worked there explained to us that it was "off-season" so most of the tables were closed, but the four of us tested our luck out at the slots. We all lost 10 euro each but it was more than worth it to have the experience of being there. The only sad part was that the minimum blackjack table open was 25 euro hands and I am not yet confident enough in my gambling abilities to take that big of a risk (sorry to all my Puerto Rico blackjack fans)...
The city is on a huge hill so instead of walking all the way back up, we decided to take a cab so that we could make our train. The cab, in typical Monte Carlo style, was a Volvo truck, and behind it in the taxi line was a Mercedes town car followed by an Audi. Typical. The four of us came back to our hotel and split a bottle of rose in the lobby... A great end to a great day. Vous voir demain!
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