13th - 15th September, 2021
Hotel Best Western Mediterranee, France
Menton is only a short train ride from Monaco, the focus of our next exploration. The hop from Saintes-Maries was relatively short too, only a 3½ hour journey! The weather was overcast although still warm as we stretched our legs walking along the front after checking in. First impression was of a typical seaside resort which had seen better days. The hotel was in a great location and I was even able to chat in Spanish rather than try and bumble through in French! We spent our first evening walking along the sea front and, of course, looking for somewhere to eat!
The next morning we sorted out train times (and eventually the right platform!) at Menton station, a short walk from our hotel. The train journey wasn't long and we emerged from the station in Monaco to find ourselves right beside the "hop on, hop off" bus stop. We hopped onto the first bus amd managed to get front seats on the upper floor. Traffic was thick and the bus made slow progress through the narrow, winding streets. Eventually however, we were high above the area where we'd arrived and the city was spread below us in its curved layout around the bay.
The driver told us at one point that there would be a "changing of the guard" at the royal palace, so we decided to watch the procedure. For me though, it was the crowd which created the greater spectacle; it seemed so ridiculous with mobile phones aloft and very few people actually watching what was going on.
Pat & Linda did another turn on the bus, however rain had started to gently fall which simply added to my dismal feeling of being in concrete jungle, part building site.
The next morning we sorted out train times (and eventually the right platform!) at Menton station, a short walk from our hotel. The train journey wasn't long and we emerged from the station in Monaco to find ourselves right beside the "hop on, hop off" bus stop. We hopped onto the first bus amd managed to get front seats on the upper floor. Traffic was thick and the bus made slow progress through the narrow, winding streets. Eventually however, we were high above the area where we'd arrived and the city was spread below us in its curved layout around the bay.
The driver told us at one point that there would be a "changing of the guard" at the royal palace, so we decided to watch the procedure. For me though, it was the crowd which created the greater spectacle; it seemed so ridiculous with mobile phones aloft and very few people actually watching what was going on.
Pat & Linda did another turn on the bus, however rain had started to gently fall which simply added to my dismal feeling of being in concrete jungle, part building site.
The weather became dismal and rain began to fall. We decided to return to Menton and as the weather started to clear, went for a walk along the front in the opposite direction to the previous evening. I don't know if it was the sun making an appearance or whether this end of town really had much more to offer. There was plenty to look at and we put in the steps. A border collie caught my eye as I watched it try to gain the attention of its mistress who was undertaking exercises. The ball kept getting dropped closer and closer until it couldn't be ignored; such typical collie behaviour and lovely to see. We finished off the evening with some delicious mussel. The restaurant where the food was prepared was across the road from where we were sitting overlooking the beach. The waiter had to negotiate the traffic as he crossed with our meals and took great delight in teasing us with confusion as to what we'd ordered! We ate and watched as night fell and coastal lights illuminated the shore. Making our way back to the hotel, I couldn't help feeling that Menton for me, had much more to offer than Monaco.