Monaco and Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild in Cap Ferrat, France

Tom loves big boats.  Monaco has an abundance of mega yachts.  But his true love is sailing and Monaco doesn't have much in the way of sailboats.  It didn't stop us from admiring the amazing assortment of yachts tied up there.  What we found surprising was that the docks were not gated. We could literally walk right up to the boats.  

Monaco is built up against the cliffs in amazingly high density living.  This must be some of the most expensive real estate in the world.  What put Monaco on the map was the casino built in the 1800's  

A marina in Monaco

It's winter so there was a small ice skating rink for the children learning how to skate.  It's fun watching them holding onto a wooden animal as they figure out how to skate for the first time.

A little girl learning how to ice skate.

For those who already know how to skate there is a beautiful ice skating rink.

All ages were enjoying ice skating.

A statue honoring Prince Rainier III of Monaco 1923-2005 who married the American actress Grace Kelly

I wanted to see the Changing of the Guard at the Prince's Palace.  This takes place daily weather permitting.

Prince's Palace of Monaco home of Prince Albert and his wife.

Changing of the Guard

Prince Albert I was a visionary who felt that creating the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco would allow the study of the ocean and give us increased knowledge and focus on his desire to raise awareness, convince and enlist as many people as possible for the protection of the oceans.  Back in 1921 he gave a speech warning of the dangers of overfishing.  Prince Rainier III continued the quest to protect the oceans.  He was the one who invited Jacques-Yves Cousteau to become director of the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco.  Cousteau piloted the museum for 31 years until 1988.

The Oceanographic Museum was a highlight.  The exhibits were large, clean, educational, and the fish looked healthy.  It almost made me want to go scuba diving again.

A lovely meal in France is a galette with ham and cheese inside and a perfectly fried egg in the middle.  It looks like a crepe, but is it?  A galette is usually savory and made with buckwheat flour.  A crepe is a pancake made with wheat flour and served sweet.

A traditional galette for breakfast.

What to do when your toilet room is extra tiny?  Here is what one restaurant did.

The first time I've seen a toilet/sink combination.

A side street in Villefranche-sur-Mer

Looking down a little street in Villefranche-sur-Mer towards the ocean.

While I do enjoy going out for the occasional meal, we spend a lot of time eating in.  You can interpret that as meaning I do a lot of cooking.

Breakfast of avocado on a toasted baguette with garlic sautéed mushrooms and a fried egg on top.

From our villa we can walk to Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild at Cap Ferrat.  It's a long walk. A round trip is over 15,000 steps, 7.25 miles and 45 flights of stairs.  Our reward once we arrived at the Villa and gardens was a delightful lunch with a bottle of wine. What a way to celebrate life!

The entrance to the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild

Lunch started with a bottle of wine.  We began our walk on the other side of the bay that you can see behind me.

The tea room is a lovely place to relax and enjoy a tasty meal.

Our lunch of seared tuna and salad. was perfect.

After lunch it was time to walk through part of the villa.  We wanted to enjoy the gardens even though it was too early in the season for the roses to be in bloom.  We were pleased to find that some of the gardens were in full bloom.

A perfect room to enjoy a meal for Beatrice, Baroness de Rothchild the French banking heiress who built and furnished her home.  

The home was designed to take advantage of the views.

The gorgeous gardens are the main draw for most visitors.  The garden is shaped like a ship, inspired by Beatrice de Rothchild's many ocean-liner trips.  She had 7 gardens recreated from locations located around the world, all with priceless sea views.  As you stroll through the gardens you will hear classical music playing and watch the fountains dancing to the tunes

Fountains dancing to classical music such as Beethoven.  

View of the fountains and garden leading to the back of the Villa.

Lovely sculptures are found placed strategically around the gardens.

Cactus bloom framing a view to the sea.

More sculptures.

Fountains, small pools and grotto's are tucked into the gardens.

In front of the Villa is this peaceful setting.

Some of the stairs we climbed for the return to our Villa.

More of our "walk."