Villefranche and Monaco 12/08/13

[Ms Sleepy]

We woke up early this morning as at 6.30 we could feel the vibrations as the ship was weighing anchor at Villefranche.

So we decided to get up and wash ready for breakfast we got to Topsiders at 7.45 we chose to sit inside. We had the usual Juice, Cereal, Coffee, Mickey Waffles and Bacon, and we tried the french toast, the food was not up to the standard of Parrot Cay but it was ok.

After breakfast we had to go to the Buena Vista Theatre as we were independent travellers to Monaco. We sat down and before we knew it we were called to tender, we had to walk down the stairs to deck 1.

Once on the Tender we were across in no time at all. We walked to the train station directions picked up from the Dibb very useful. I had already purchased my train tickets on line from Rail Europe cost us about £16.00 for the 3 of us not bad. I had to validate the tickets in the yellow ticket machine that was on the platform. We caught the 9.08 train which was earlier than we had planned but that was Ok. When the train came in it was a double decker train which Rebecca thought was awsome so we went and sat upstairs. I will say the train was really clean and they seemed to run quite promptly not like at home.

We got to Monaco at 9.18 and picked up a map from the tourist information office and then headed off to Casino Square, it took us about 20 minutes to get there and there were so many people around, Nigel and I went in, on saying that you can't go very far inside, but at least we can say we have been inside.





I fancied a coffee so I said shall we have one at Cafe Du Paris, surprisingly Nigel agreed so we sat down and ordered 2 Coffees, 1 Orange Juice and 1 Coke, which came to 25.00 Euros, Nigel said it was expensive coffee, but as I said what do you expect this is the Cafe Du Paris in Monaco for goodness sake!






We then left Casino Square and headed on down towards the Fairmont Hotel which is on the bend of the F1 track we took a few photos as we are all F1 fans so quite excited at the prospect of seeing parts of the road used in the race.





We carried on walking until we reached the tunnel now this is exciting to see exactly where the cars drive through so we walked the length of it and when you get to the other end the sun really hits you.





We came out at the Marina wow some of those yacht's were huge.



We carried on walking a passed the Swimming Pool Complex, we were heading towards the Oceanographic Museum as that is where the tourist train goes from, we had seen it earlier passing the Fairmont Hotel.



We then passed La Rascasse which most F1 fans will recognise as the cars pass it during the race.



My goodness it was one hell of a wall to the Oceanographic Museum, if I'd have realised quite how far it was I don't think we would have done it.



I got the tickets for the train they were 8.00 Euros each and then I went to get us a cold drink as we were all gasping by now. I got 1 Lemon Slush and 1 Strawberry one they were really refreshing and only 6.00Euros.

There was quite a queue waiting for the trains but thankfully it didn't take long as there were a few of them on the go. We got on the train and put on our head phones where there was a running commentary telling us exactly what we were seeing, we went all around Monaco and past the Palace.



So we got of the train and headed back down towards the Marina, and oh look we passed La Rascasse again so Nigel just had to have his photo taken with the sign.





We went to have a look in the Stars and Bars Restaurant as we thought we might have a bite to eat but it was packed and there was a long wait so we changed our minds just took a photo of Mike Hakkinen's Mclaren that they have on display there.



Rebecca was getting a bit tired now as we had walked miles and she wanted an ice cream so I promised we were heading back towards the Ice Cream shop she had seen earlier on. But first I wanted to pop into the Super market and get a bottle of wine, I got 3 bags of crisps and a bottle of Hardy's Chardonnay and it only cost 10.00Euros bargain.

Continued in next post

[Ms Sleepy]

We passed the swimming pool complex again wish I'd thought about taking swimming costumes we could have done with a dip to cool off.



So we got to the ice cream shop and Rebecca got a Nutella ice cream and I got a bottle of water, I can't remember how much that was but it was possibly about 6.00Euros.

We then started to head to the train station and unfortunately it was uphill, our train was due at 2.15 and Nigel was navigating, Rebecca said her legs were aching and she couldn't possibly walk any further. Nigel said he knew the way and that if we went this way there was an escalator, just what we needed. Well the escalator turned out to be a flight of stone steps we must have climbed about 80 I was struggling to get up them steps.

When we got to the train station we had missed our train by 2 minutes we could see it pulling away as we were walking through the station so we had to wait for the 2.45 one, which meant we had half an hour to rest while we waited for it to arrive.



The train came in right on time and we were back at the port for 3pm.
We got back to the tender area and there was a huge queue thankfully it wasn't for the Magic so we went straight down to the tender boat. We were given some lemonade before boarding which was lovely and refreshing.



When we got back on board we had to do bag check and they gave us a nice ice cold flannel to wipe our faces with.

We went and got changed and went up to deck 9 for some food. I can't remember what we had as for some reason I made no notes and we didn't take any photos must have been exhausted after all that walking.

We went in to shower at 5pm ready for our evening meal which was in Parrots Cay. Rebecca had Pineapple to start followed by Chicken breast and chips, Cyprian our server cut the chicken for her.





I had crab to start and Grouper for mains with a cocktail.





Nigel had Chicken Tenderloins to start and Ribeye to follow and a glass of White Wine.





So now it was time to order desserts we love desserts, so I ordered the Sweet Temptations which was Lemon Meringue, Crème Brulee and S'mores, Rebecca had a sundae and Nigel had Banana Bread Pudding and also a side order of S'mores.









We all finished up and left the restaurant as Rebecca wanted to go to Oceaneers Lab again.

We went through the Antrim and look who we bumped into Chip and Dale we had just missed Mickey Mouse, he was on the stairs.






Continued in next post

[Ms Sleepy]

Then we bumped into Storybook Belle by the Oceaneers Lab so Rebecca had her photo taken with her.



When we dropped Rebecca off we went for a walk around Deck 4 to walk off our Dinner, and we saw the sun setting. We bumped into Minnie Mouse and I had my photo taken and got an autograph for Rebecca.





Then we went to Sessions for a drink we thought I looked nice and quiet but unfortunately there was a very loud woman in there so we could hardly here the piano player her and her friend were chatting to three men and were consuming rather alot of cocktails. When she was leaving she was so drunk she fell over and then just lay on the floor laughing.

Well we had a drink each first I had a Mojito cocktail which was ok I like Bacardi but not fussed on the mint and Nigel had a Murphy's they gave us some peanuts I enjoyed them. Then we had another drink I chose a blue cocktail which almost matched the colour of my dress and Nigel had another Murphy's oh and some more peanuts.



We went to pick up Rebecca and we all went off to bed.

La Spezia

[HiddenMickey35]

Super and love the photos too...

Scottishwee35

[Bats]

The drunk woman wasn't quite large with blonde hair was she? We met a couple and we nicknamed the man 'Billy Big B*****s'. He was the most boring man in the world who had seen it and done it all .. concierge this, first class that .. blah blah. Do you know he didn't waste his time with all that PADI diving nonsense as that's for beginners and people who aren't very clever .. no, he did the most skilled course in the world and could dive as deep as the ocean .. you get the picture!

The woman was telling us how much she loved the adult pool as it was so private .. I said we liked secret deck 7. Neither of them had heard of it, despite the fact they'd been on multiple cruises on the Magic. Oh how I scoffed at them!

I do hate people who think think they know it all :angry:
Anyway, we steered well clear of them as much as we could!

Great photos .. I can't see the first 4 for some reason

[Lillie]

Interesting read, thanks for sharing. Been planning what to do for our day in Monaco next year - similar to what you have done :-) Great photos too, looks like a lovely place.

[Bats]

Originally Posted by Lillie

Interesting read, thanks for sharing. Been planning what to do for our day in Monaco next year - similar to what you have done :-) Great photos too, looks like a lovely place.

See more...

Personally I wouldn't bother with the Cafe de Paris ... 15 euros for a pint of beer. It's seriously nothing special.
Walk through the park, walk through the tunnel and look at the mahoosive yachts (ships in some cases! ) - grab an ice cream from the main drag and have a bimble around.

[Dan's Mum]

A lovely day

Dee
x

[Ms Sleepy]

Originally Posted by Bats

The drunk woman wasn't quite large with blonde hair was she? We met a couple and we nicknamed the man 'Billy Big B*****s'. He was the most boring man in the world who had seen it and done it all .. concierge this, first class that .. blah blah. Do you know he didn't waste his time with all that PADI diving nonsense as that's for beginners and people who aren't very clever .. no, he did the most skilled course in the world and could dive as deep as the ocean .. you get the picture!

The woman was telling us how much she loved the adult pool as it was so private .. I said we liked secret deck 7. Neither of them had heard of it, despite the fact they'd been on multiple cruises on the Magic. Oh how I scoffed at them!

I do hate people who think think they know it all :angry:
Anyway, we steered well clear of them as much as we could!

Great photos .. I can't see the first 4 for some reason

See more...

Hi Bats

She was Blonde but I think from what I could gather she was with her sister and their 2 children, no men with them.

I don't know why you can't see the 1st 4 photos as I can see them on mine on my laptop, although just looked on my tablet and they are not showing, so can't explain that.

[Lillie]

Originally Posted by Bats

Personally I wouldn't bother with the Cafe de Paris ... 15 euros for a pint of beer. It's seriously nothing special.
Walk through the park, walk through the tunnel and look at the mahoosive yachts (ships in some cases! ) - grab an ice cream from the main drag and have a bimble around.

See more...

15 euros OMG ! May give that a wide berth then