The first stop on our 7-day cruise was Monte Carlo, Monaco. Monaco is part of the Province of the Maritime Alps, with Monte Carlo located at the foot of those mountains, therefore you can imagine that the land is rocky and hilly. Interesting fact... Monaco is basically half the size of Central Park in NYC. Can you imagine? That's the entire country!Monaco can be divided into six neighborhoods, the most well known being Monte Carlo (from Italian origin meaning "Mount Charles"), founded in 1866 and named to compliment the prince of Monaco at the time... Charles III. I won't go into the history, but you can click here if you're interested in learning more about the founding of Monaco. I will drop a couple of names that will likely be familiar to you... Prince Rainier III (late ruler of Monaco) and his wife Princess Grace Kelly (late American actress, formerly of Philadelphia, PA).
Monte Carlo is of course famous for its casinos, luxurious hotels and expensive yachts. It's been featured in movies and TV series and hosts the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix. Chevrolet even named one of its cars "Monte Carlo." The rich and famous flock to Monte Carlo for a variety of reasons... to gamble in poker tournaments, attend fashion shows or boxing matches or to simply enjoy the beautiful scenery.
We chose to tour this small principality ourselves rather than pay for a guided excursion. Here are some of the photos we took that day...
It was quite foggy the day we docked in Monaco. I was hoping the fog would lift so we could get a better view of the area.
Thankfully I got my wish. The fog began to lift and visibility was much improved.
Here's a little closer view of the city.
Beautiful architecture!
We climbed to the top of this and walked the grounds of a gorgeous garden. I believe the garden was a favorite project of Princess Grace, if I read the brochure correctly.
One of the marinas
The boys are ready to venture into town.
There's no excuse for not picking up after pets here! They provide both the baggies and waste receptacles. 
Looks like some kind of amphitheater, but I'm not sure.
Just one of many colorful flower beds we saw in the garden.
The landscaping was spectacular. We want their gardener!
This statue is the Virgin Mother by Damion Hirst.
My sweet hubby
Couldn't believe the number of seagulls that allowed us to get so close before flying away. Okay, so I zoomed in a little, but not that much.
Look at all the expensive boats and yachts down there! Poor, pitiful, poverty-stricken people undoubtedly reside here. Sad, isn't it?
Just a different view 
Prince's Palace of Monaco
Royal guard on duty
Fabulous view of the port in Monaco. See our cruise ship?
These gorgeous flowering vines, which I believe are bougainvillea, were plentiful in the area.
My hubby and me in Monte Carlo
The boys in Monte Carlo with our cruise ship in the background
We enjoyed strolling through the narrow streets and alleys, perusing shops and checking out the food on everyone's plates along the way.
There's no way I was going to pass up the opportunity to have some ice cream, especially when it looked as sinfully enticing as this. I had the peach-mango and it was beyond delicious.We enjoyed our day in Monte Carlo and stopped to pick up a couple of postcards and souvenirs for the boys before the day was through. Upon our return to the ship, one of the boys (no names mentioned) realized he'd lost his I.D. card, the one we had to use to get on and off the ship. He was panicked and absolutely grief-stricken! I don't know if he thought we were going to leave him behind and continue on the cruise without him or what. My hubby went to inquire as to what we needed to do in order to obtain a new card, and thankfully some nice person had found the card lying on the street, picked it up and returned it to the ship. Crisis averted and lesson learned! From that point on, all I.D. cards were given to my hubby for safe keeping.
Next stop... Livorno, Italy, where we visited Florence and Pisa. Stay tuned!
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