Living Large in the Riviera

We rented a car to travel from Ortisei to spend a couple of days in Sanremo in the Italian Riviera (on the recommendation of our friend Luigi). The first leg of the drive down the mountain was quite harrowing but very beautiful. The scenery gradually changed to vineyards and then we reached the coast. We made a stop in beautiful Lake Garda for a walk and a delicious lunch (and I was allowed to be inside the restaurant with my humans, I LOVE Europe!).

Sanremo is a beautiful town and the views from our hotel were absolutely stunning. The weather was quite a bit warmer and it was nice to see the sea and palm trees instead of snowy mountains for a change. There was a botanical garden at the bottom of the hill from our hotel and my humans enjoyed substituting my head for the headless statues in the park (or at least attempting to). We found a lovely spot to sit and enjoy a sailboat race and waterfront view (along with free bar snacks, Italy is the BEST!).

My humans left me to chill in the room and went to dinner in the city center. Flipper seems an unfortunate name for a seafood restaurant, but the food was delicious and the heaters intense!

Before returning our rental car, we took a quick trip about 20 minutes outside of Sanremo (and a treacherous drive, Prime was really using her imaginary brake…) to an abandoned medieval town that became an artist colony, Bussana Vecchia. It was a very interesting place and there is actually a movie about the history. Most shops were closed, but still worth exploring (and there were a LOT of cats to sniff out).

Then it was once again time to board a train, leave Italy behind and head to Monaco for a few days. It was a short trip and the train station in Monte Carlo was the cleanest and best smelling station we’ve ever experienced. We took a taxi to the Fairmont since it was raining and there is no easy way to lug bags and humans up and down a city built into a mountain. The hotel staff treated me to lots of pets and compliments in French. I enjoyed the water view and checking out the Ferrari store in the lobby every time we went for a walk.

Monaco is the wealthiest country in the world and it is evident everywhere you go. The parks are pristine, there is absolutely no litter or graffiti anywhere and the whole place smells like they are pumping in some expensive perfume. Princess Grace is clearly a national treasure and the natural beauty is spectacular. We found an apartment listing for 45,000 Euros/month and the real estate is 50,000 Euros/square meter (so we won’t be retiring here). Definitely something to see, highly recommend the walk up “The Rock” to explore the royal residence and the gardens. We stopped for a drink and watched snooker on TV (snooker?!?). The casino is so very beautiful (even under construction). We did not go inside, but tuxedos are required after a certain time of day, it’s very James Bond!. Spare had a very hard time wrapping his head around the fact that there is no natural border between Monaco and France (the border runs right through the middle of the mountain) and we ended up in France on one of our walks (suddenly our surroundings weren’t quite as pristine…it was weird). The Monte Carlo Country Club that hosts a yearly tennis tournament is actually in France!

The Fairmont is a cool hotel for several reasons, one being it is situated at the bottom of a hairpin turn and built over the tunnel of the Grand Prix course. There are gardens on the roof and a walkway with golden feet (similar to the Hollywood Walk of Fame for soccer players).