MARCHING TO MONACO

The Nunnery walk which I did with my aunt the day before was clearly not enough for me, so on the 11th of May (2007), my family and I decided to walk to Menton along a sea-side path titled "Le Corbusier" (which is named after some prominent architect). This walk is about 6 kilometers, but took longer than than the average time required to walk it because of our random photo sessions and the frequent pauses we took to admire the view.

We parked the car at the beginning of the path and got a head start with our photo sessions:

The path follows the sea [see directly below] and is paved. We walked on a gorgeous sunny day with little wind. One could see Monaco, Roquebrune and Carnoles without difficulty :) I have posted pictures below...

At some point after walking for about half an hour, the path bordered on rich French estates. These estates boasted a wealth that just seems surreal to me. I didn't manage to get any pictures of the houses since they were not in view. However, the picture below is on of these estates' private sea-side backyard! There were rooms in the building and it overlooks the Mediterranean. I would be happy to have that as my primary residence, let alone a backyard :)

After walking about half way, the family sat down at a break point and drank some water [see left]. There was a nice French lady who sat next to my mother who eventually piped up and joined in our conversation about this, that and the other. Before she departed, I asked her what her name was. A smile spread on her face, and she replied "Je m'appelle Rita... ah, la jeunesse". She then informed us that she was 88 years old [see below], and still going strong. We were baffled! She trotted down the path better than any other 88 year old I know [see below].

After we got over our amazement at this lady named Rita, we took off again in the direction of Monaco and my photo sessions continued [see below].

About 20 minutes later, we made a pit stop at a relaxed and mellow restaurant located on the beach near Roquebrune. We ate a green salad and sipped rose wine and cappuccinos. The place had character. After shooing my family back on the path to get going to Monaco, we marched off again. The view from some spots was gorgeous.












After reaching the outskirts of Monaco,we sought out the bus stop for the bus that would propel us back to Menton, the car and the Winter Palace.

The bus weaved and turned in streets that I probably wouldn't even dare to drive in due to their narrow and overly winding nature. After a few bus stops, my mother waved at us to get out. I found this bus ride stunningly short, and here is the reason why: due to a misunderstanding, the bus driver informed us that we had to get out at a stop which turned out to be the wrong stop! We would have had to walk another hour (at least) to get to the car, so we waited for the next bus [see below] which arrived 15 minutes later. The bus driver rolled his eyes in irritation when we explained why we didn't want to pay another fare :)Eventually, we got home and cooked up a good meal. I was quite tired after a good day and was happy to be home.