Luna de Miel, Day Six

Theme of the Day: McHappiness

Husband wakes up feeling mostly better. He asks if wife has ever had mono. Wife laughs and explains that, though she is not a medical professional, she can certainly rule out mononucleosis. Husband craves McNuggets. After braving Louis XV for wife the night before, wife cannot deny his request. McDonald's in Monaco has an ATM like machine where you can place your order without speaking to anyone. Both husband and wife question whether this service is available in American McDonald's as neither has patronized McD's in some time. Also, neither is sure, to this day, whether we paid for the food. Our cards simply had issues with automated payment machines in France this trip. This was the first of such instances. Either we didn't pay, or we're still paying for subsequent customer's meals. Unsure.

Husband isn't sure if McNuggets taste different in France, or if it's just been awhile since he's had one. We head out next for ice cream and to find the train station to head to Nice. Another card malfunction leads us to pay for train tickets with 13 euros worth of coins. Train ride cool as train tunnels, much like roads and highways, drilled into mountains here. It's a scenic ride to say the least.

Arrive in Nice. Husband clearly does not like Nice. He calls it gritty, which, on this trip is code for "not as clean as Monaco." Of course the only places on Earth cleaner than Monaco are Park Avenue and Epcot. Husband prefers Monaco to Nice for the same reasons he prefers new to old Yankee Stadium. "Charm," so to speak, is lost on him. He likes clean bathrooms and order. We your Vieux Ville (old town) and walk along the promenade to the Hotel Negresco where we share a drink. The hotel bar quickly turns into a retirement home social hour as the 6 or so scattered elderly regulars in the bar, the women being dressed to the nine's with matching lavender ensembles and eyeshadow, get up to dance to such standards as "Oye Como Va" performed by the world's cheesiest lounge singer at his keyboard/synthesizer. It's really priceless. We take the train back to Monaco. We want dinner at the hotel restaurant out by the pier, but the restaurant refuses to open our bottle of wine, so we think of the genius idea of simply ordering room service and eating on our balcony (not hard to get around the rules at this place, though I suppose you pay the premium for room service). After dinner we walk along the marina and admire all of the big boats. As we approach one of the largest ones, wife starts to fear that she might see a dead body thrown overboard by the burly Russians on board, and doesn't want to be a witness who meets a similar fate, so husband and wife turn back to hotel.

A couple Wikipedia articles later lead to a discussion of Prince Albert's seeming refusal to bear a legit heir and an interesting tidbit that there is one policeman for every 55 persons in Monaco. If it was possible, husband likes Monaco even more now. Wife longs to get to Paris.

Last night in Monaco and neither husband nor wife has step foot on a beach. C'est la vie.