Trip To France: Monaco & A Royal Wedding

We just returned from a vacation in the South of France - a real treat for me, for I hadn't been beyond Paris

Monaco-Ville (Old City), Monaco

We had talked big, of renting a fancy convertible car for our week of relaxation

But ended up renting a VW Golf  :)

We daydreamed of renting a small yacht too

but found ourselves in a kayak for two :)

Fontvieille Port, Monaco

So we harnessed that little Golf

and headed to Monaco for the day -

Home to the Monaco Grand Prix, 

James Bond filming location,

the late Princess Grace Kelly,

second smallest country,

tax haven with famous casinos,

and the world's highest GDP per capita

Although clearly this area was dripping with money,

everyone we saw was just a plain Jane tourist like ourselves

And silly me, couldn't figure out why they were flying so many South African flags

The Palace Of Monaco

Am I the only one who didn't know?

There is a 2 day royal European wedding this weekend

between Prince Albert II of Monaco 

and former South African Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock

You can see the wedding itinerary here,

which includes a concert by The Eagles 

and a reception all citizens are invited to attend

HRH Prince Albert II & Miss Charlene Wittstock
[source]

We saw lots of security at the Nice airport and 

expensive cars to pick up the guests for the big day

(no famous sightings)

It was definitely a day we won't soon forget

You know I have to throw in some flag trivia...

I didn't know it was possible for two countries to share the same flag!

Even if you are not a flag nerd like me,

you have got to admit that is interesting

To be continued...

unless otherwise noted,

all photos by me

Trip To France Series

Part II: Cote d'Azur

Part III: Provence

Source: Wikipedia