Our ship cruised north all night and we awoke to twinkling lights reflecting on the waters of the harbor at Monte Carlo. Tall  buildings blended with the steep cliffs to create a striking image as the sun came up.  We were impressed by the glamorous mega yachts anchored in the harbor.

     We booked a tour to Menton, which was located further up the coast on the French Riviera.  The bus slowly climbed the the steep hillside and we were rewarded with stunning views of the dramatic coastline.  A tour to a perfume factory was on our itinerary and we enjoyed seeing  how perfume was produced.  Debi did some serious shopping in the gift shop.  Our strapping young French driver noticed that Debi was having trouble with the stairs on the bus and literally took the problem into his own hands and carried her down to the street.   Debi seemed quite pleased by his solution to her difficulties.  We continued on to Menton and explored an open air market, where we saw fishermen arriving with their catch of the day.  We strolled along the fabulous beach and basked in the warm sun .

     The bus took us back to Monte Carlo and we had lunch at the pier next to some of the mega yachts.  We had a hard time deciding which one we liked best.  Our took us to Monaco, which seemed like a real life Disneyland, with it's pristine buildings, colorful shops and narrow alleys.  We went on a walking tour through the beautiful gardens near the palace and watched the changing of the guard.  A motorcade exited the palace and we imagined that it was the Prince of Monaco.  Our tour ended with a stop at the historic Casino de Monte Carlo.  We felt  a little out of place  among the Ferrari's and Rolls Royce's parked outside the casino.  We decided to go in and take a chance with some gambling.  It was fun to be inside the elegant casino, but we weren't able to buy a Ferrari with our winnings.  We returned to the ship and enjoyed our memories and a delicious dinner.