Monte Carlo, Monaco

In 2006, I traveled all the way to Monaco - on the border of France and Italy.  The country itself was only a couple of miles long...I actually walked across the entire country one morning ; )  It's a truly beautiful place, full of beautiful people.  The city of Monte Carlo makes up the majority of the land. Here's the horrible view from my hotel room:

My rough life

One of the coolest parts of this trip, was that I arrived in Monte Carlo via helicopter.  I flew into the Nice, France airport and enjoyed a spectacular chopper flight into Monaco.  I was able to see the entire city/country on my way in:

More of my rough life...

The city itself is built straight up from the ocean-front, so everything is very vertically oriented.

I've always wanted to visit Monte Carlo, ever since watching an early James Bond movie.  While there, I took the opportunity to walk down to the famous Casino de Monte Carlo:

Shaken, not stirred...

I didn't have enough pocket change on me to meet the table minimums.  Maybe next time. I was there to attend the Nokia Gaming Summit.  This was a conference dedicated to creating and selling games for mobile phones.  I met several interesting people, but the the city itself was the most interesting.  I love cities that I can easily explore by walking - and Monte Carlo really fit the bill. 


The harbor in Monte Carlo really tells the tale - the largest collection of super-expensive yachts you'll ever find.


I loved the trip...but again, wished my family was with me.  It's so much more fun to share with others. Perhaps next time, we'll pull up in one of these yachts ; )