What Happens in Monaco Stays in Monaco

I liked Monaco much better than Nice or Cannes.  It was super clean and nice, but I guess when your country's only population are wealthy people, that just happens naturally.  I tried to take some photos from the bus I was on as I rode into Monaco, but they mostly didn't turn out with things like trees or fences rushing by, or weird reflections off the bus window.  I got some MUCH better views later on, but didn't have a camera at that point.

I walked around the city a little bit before going to meet my friend for lunch on the beach and a drive around Monaco/France in his car.  I stopped by the Prince's Palace, which was nowhere near as cool as I thought it would be.  As a arrived at the casino, it was surprisingly super small, and I actually thought it was the opera house at first.  There were signs for the opera house right next to the signs for the casino, and me, being used to the Las Vegas casinos, just assumed this small and fancy building in front of me was the opera house.  Turns out it was the casino, and I'm not sure if I ever did see the opera house.  I ended my time in Monaco by going through their Christmas market, which oddly was the most delightful Christmas market for children of all of the markets that I have seen.  You don't really think of children when you think of Monaco, you mostly just think of James Bond or something like that.  But it turns out children do exist there, and they get treated to a most enchanting Christmas market.

Obviously the best part of the day was hanging out with my friend, enjoying fabulous conversation, listening to amazing music and riding in a convertible Porsche around some gorgeous countryside.  It was basically the only reason I was in Southern France to begin with, and it definitely made the whole trip well worth it!