We had to get up painfully early this morning in order to make it to the train station by 0645 for our train. Andrea was sweet and got up with, then walked us to the bus stop and told the bus driver where we were going and to make sure we got off at the right place.
The train ride to Ventrimiglia was uneventful, other than the fact that we were running late. The layover was only supposed to be 10 minutes. Because the people in the train station didn’t speak English, we’re not sure if our first train being late meant we missed the second train or if both trains were running late, but our layover turned out to be closer to an hour and a half. Of course, we waited diligently in the station the whole time.
We arrived back to Monaco around 1330. Eric called the Port Captain right away and apologized, letting him know we’d be there in a few minutes. We went to Kosmos, Eric dropped off his bag, and immediately was off to see the Port Captain. It turns out that the Port Captain thought we were waiting for a “real” spot. He was freaked out that we had been there for so long with no power and was trying to convey that no spot was going to open up in the marina anytime soon and that we needed to go somewhere else for power and water ASAP. Eric said he understood from the beginning that no other spot was going to open up and that we didn’t need power. The Port Captain gaped in shock. The idea that we didn’t need power was almost beyond comprehension for him. When Eric asked if we could stay there for a couple more days, he said it was no problem as long as we were OK on power and water. The Port Captain’s English is fairly good, but probably wasn’t good enough to have that conversation over the phone. We had to sacrifice our sightseeing in Milan over a simple misunderstanding that could have easily been cleared up over the phone if only we spoke French. But, on the flip side, we are relieved we don’t have to leave. We weren’t ready to go and it would have been less than ideal to rush out of here right away.
The rest of the afternoon was low key. We tried to use the internet. The marina has wifi to the boats, which is nice. We have forgotten to mention this, but most of the marinas in Europe have wifi to the boats. How expensive the service is and how good the speed is varies dramatically, and price has no correlation with quality. Monaco happens to be the most expensive internet we have seen yet. We bought the service on-line and logged on. The wifi connection immediately went dead. When the wifi connection came back, it told us our time had expired. It ate our money, as if it were a broken vending machine. Strike two today.
But there was never a strike three. We went over to Monte Carlo to go shopping. We both have had a fairly long list of practical items we needed to get that we have had a hard time finding around the world. We crossed everything we needed off our list. And the prices weren’t outrageous like you would expect. It was all fairly priced for the quality, however, the just under 20% tax added a big chunk to the total. We did a big stock up at the grocery store. Our freezer is now loaded to the rim with frozen dinners. Yay!
We, of course, went out to dinner. It is true that restaurants in Monaco are on the expensive side. We have found most places to charge in the same ballpark. But while the prices are similar, what you get for the money varies wildly across the board. Some places serve huge portions of high quality food, and are actually good value for the dollar er — Euro. But some other places serve tiny portions of reasonably tasty, but not great, food. And we never know what kind of place it will be until the meal actually arrives. Overall, the food has been good here, and we’d say about 50% of places fit the “good value” category. We certainly haven’t had a bad meal.
On a totally random note”¦ something that we love about Monaco is that there are electronic signs at the bus stop that tell you in exactly how many minutes each bus will arrive. Milan has them, too. They also have electronic signs at the entrance of parking garages to let you know exactly how many spots are left. Slick.
And while we are on random topics”¦ One of the things we take for granted in the United States are amenities for the handicapped like ramps, elevators, and handicapped bathrooms. Monaco is better about providing these things than any other place we have been to in Europe (actually, the whole world except Singapore), but even Monaco is not like America in that regard. In Europe, we almost never see someone is a wheel chair, and honestly, we don’t know how someone in a wheelchair could possibly function independently. In addition to the above mentioned inhibitors, there are many others, such as, the doors aren’t wide enough most places for a wheel chair to get in.
But, to be honest, the reason we have noticed at all is because we see a lot of mothers struggling. We hadn’t realized how much the handicapped amenities help mommies. Handicapped stalls make it easy to take your child potty, and elevators and ramps make it easy to get around with a stroller. In Europe, you have to carry that stroller up and down huge flights of steps. Few restaurants have high chairs, booster seats, or kid’s menus.