France part 6: Monaco, Menton, and Ventimiglia

Back to our regularly scheduled posts about our trip to France…

On Tuesday, we decided to conquer three countries in one day. It’s not a task for the weak, but we were feeling very capable.

Of course, the day we had set aside to go country-hopping, was also the day that the trains decided not to run on schedule or just not run at all. Up until this point, the trains had been very reliable, so we were not expecting this at all. Apparently there was construction somewhere on the line, so they weren’t able to run all of their trains. This made for a lot of waiting at the stations, but we were still able to hit up all three countries!

Our first destination was Monaco, the second smallest country in the world – with the Vatican City being the smallest. We got on the train in Antibes and rode through Nice along the way. It was about an hour long trip to Monaco.

We had some beautiful views during the train ride. This is part of the coast in Nice.

This is looking towards Eze, where we would come back to visit a few days later.

Once we got to Monte Carlo, Monaco, we headed straight for the famous casino that is featured in many films – like Ocean’s Twelve, some James Bond movies, and more.

We had fun getting to have Abbi (one of Addie’s best friends from high school and study abroad roomie) with us this day! We all love Abbi!

We didn’t play any slots, but we did take a peek inside the ornate casino.

There are a few tributes to Princess Grace Kelly around the city – the American actress from the 1950s who married Prince Rainier III. She was very beloved in Monaco.

Overlooking the famous Port Hercule with its luxury super-yachts and its Formula 1 Grand Prix circuit

When we were done seeing the sights, we made our way back to the train station. Our gps took us to this beautiful staircase, but a few steps in we realized it was going to be a daunting task. It might not look so bad in the picture, but these stairs are known for their difficult climb. Thankfully we all made it up eventually. I probably needed a few more rests than the others.

Back at the Monaco train station, we had to wait awhile for our next train to arrive. We took the chance to grab some drinks and check our phones before heading on to Menton.

Menton is another beautiful city along the coast of France. It’s known for its annual lemon festival, which we were lucky enough to be there during. But first we had to take in the sights of some beautiful old buildings.

Our first McDonald’s adventure in France. At this point we just needed something quick and cheap. Plus, it’s fun checking out the different options on their French menus.

After lunch, we came across this sad but beautiful statue. It’s called “Notre Dame des Innocents” (Our Lady of the Innocents). The plaque on it says “It symbolizes maternal love for all children, especially those who were never born. Since its installation in 2019, it has become a focal point for devotion and prayer for these souls and their families.”

We eventually made it to the “Fête du Citron” (Lemon Festival). Unfortunately we didn’t get to see any of the parades, but apparently they have day and night parades with floats made of citrus. We were able to see several cool sculptures though. The theme that year was Journey to the Stars, so most of the sculptures were space-themed.

After checking out all the citrus we could handle, we decided it was time to venture on to our 3rd country of the day – Italy.

Back on the train, this was the first time we had to have our passports out and ready to show the border police as we entered Italy. Thankfully there were no issues for us, but there was one passenger who they made leave the train. Not sure if he didn’t have his passport or what, but it made me a little nervous.

We got off the train in Ventimiglia, a cute little town right inside the Italian border.

We didn’t plan our timing in Italy very well for dinner. We got there around 4:00, which meant most places we wanted to eat at were closed unfortunately. We were getting pretty tired and hungry, so we didn’t want to hang out for hours to wait for them to open. Especially with an hour and a half-ish train ride back to Antibes ahead of us, and possibly longer with the construction issues we’d been encountering that day. We eventually found this tiny restaurant that was actually open. It was fine, but not quite the authentic Italian food we were hoping for.

After our meal, we walked down to the coast to take in the sights of the town.

Unfortunately, it was a cloudy day, so the colors weren’t as bright and beautiful. But it was still a pretty sight.

We couldn’t go to Italy without having some gelato, so we stopped at a cute little gelato place before heading back to the train station.

The gelato did not disappoint!

We were glad that we could now say we’d been to Italy. Addie and Abbi had already been to several cities in Italy, but for the rest of us, it was a brand new country we could check off our list. I would love to go back someday though and explore more of the beautiful country!

By this point, we were exhausted and ready to take the train back “home.” It was a full and fun day!