Around the World: Toulon, France & Monaco

Our next two stops were Toulon and Monte Carlo. Toulon is a small Mediterranean city in France. Again we decided that we would walk around on our own. A few of the excursions took people to surrounding towns but after a long day in Barcelona we wanted to take it easy.

The port was not very large so we walked directly from the port into town. There was a nice market already going in full swing. The smells were amazing as there were many people roasting chicken right outside of their shops. It would definitely be a fun place to live in order to stop by the market on your way home for some fresh food and produce.

We continued a little further into town but eventually decided to come back to the port. Before heading back to the shop we walked down a street along the water. There were all sorts of cafés and restaurants. We stopped for some crepes before heading back. It was definitely a place just to relax, have lunch and some wine as it was a small scenic town.

The next day we got to stop in Monte Carlo. We again decided to walk and do things on our own since it is such a small country. We unfortunately had to tender since there was another larger cruise ship in port that day. It was only about 20 minutes to get to shore though.

We first made our way to the train station as we had decided to make our way to Manchester by train that day. After that we started our walk to a small Japanese Garden. Since the Monaco Grand Prix was only about 3 weeks away we had to navigate our way around some of the fencing and construction but it was still pretty easy to get around. Along the way we stopped outside the casino to take pictures. Apparently the locals are not allowed into the casino. As we continued we walked past the well known turn that takes place during the Monaco Grand Prix. It is almost a 360 degree turn. Eventually we made our way to the garden which although small was very peaceful. There were not many people in the garden which was nice.

After that we started our walk to the Palace. We walked along the water which was very scenic. We had to make our way up some steep steps to get to the palace but thankfully it was not a very long walk. At the top of the hill we obviously got to see the palace which the Royal Family lives in today. Right on the grounds is some shops and a restaurant which seems a little strange as it is so close to the palace. Right around the corner is the Cathedral wehre Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier were married and are now buried. We took an alternate route back to the ship was nice as it gave us a nice view of the port as well as the city.

We got back in time for lunch which was good because we found out we had to get off the ship early since we were not coming back due to immigration issues. They basically just had to confirm with the authorities that we were all clear from the ship.