The fourth day was the one that I looked forward to the most throughout the trip. I have always wanted to go to Monaco, and my family had always wanted to, as well. They were very jealous, so I did bring them a souvenir back from one of the shops.
We spent about 15 minutes on the train, where we eventually got off at an extremely clean train station with marble floors, walls and ceilings. It was a bit of a maze to get out of, but eventually, we burst through the doors into the hot, bright sun, prepared with our sunglasses and cameras for the views that we would see. We were not disappointed.
The road stretched out into an upwards pathway, which we all walked up, gazing at the blue ocean and busy traffic that sat to the left of us. It curved up the hill and there was a great palace at the top, where the royalties of Monaco live. It was incredibly swanky and very modern for a palace. The views were great from the top and the guards that surrounded the palace were so well-dressed and also very serious, marching with their guns and glum faces.
We the walked past the cathedral where Grace Kelly's grave is, as well as many other royalties from through the ages. We also walked past a park, which sloped down the side of the hill and was full of wildlife and greenery.
After a while, we reached the aquarium, where we were all handed our tickets. They had different fish or sea creatures on the back and I got one with a lot of, what I call, 'Nemo fish'. We were then let off and able to have free time for an hour and a half, which was a good amount of time to look around. There were all sorts of things, from turtles to jellyfish, starfish to lobsters. It was such a good aquarium! There was also a shark-stroking part, which was so exciting! I stroked two sharks and they were beautiful and smooth-skinned.
There was also a roof garden, where the views were so amazing and the sea was such a lovely colour. There was a climbing frame, where we took some really nice photos together. Also, there was a tortoise who lived up there and we got the chance to stroke that as well. I love tortoises, they are such funny animals!
Once we had got out of the aquarium, we took a walk back to the cathedral, where we were then let off for lunch. My friends and I went down to the park and sat by a concrete bridge overlooking the sea and the cliffs below. Our lunch was a picnic and we all shared our food, which was so nice. The weather was beautiful and we had a really nice time relaxing. We then went into the town and went to a few souvenir shops, before returning and looking in the cathedral. I lit a candle, remembering my Grandad, Granny B and everyone else who had died recently, close to me or otherwise. I was able to go and see Grace Kelly's grave, which had secretly been something that I had always wanted to do and if I hadn't of done it, I would have regretted it. It was beautiful and simple, like the rest of the cathedral.
We were then able to go on a road train, which took us on a tour around Monaco and it's capital city, Monte Carlo. We saw a lot. The F1 track, the casinos, the shops, everything. It took about 45 minutes and it was great.
Then, we went to the ice-rink. It was situated right by the sea and during the summer, it is a swimming pool. It was beautiful. The ice was a lot slippier than that of Winchester ice-rink, where I have previously been. However, after a while, I got the hang of it. Well, I thought I had until I slipped over. And again. And again. I have now got very dry hands and very bruised thighs, but it was so much fun!
We then got the train home, which was really busy and we had to stand, even though our legs were bruised and eyes were baggy!
Stay happy,
Katie xx
No comments :
Post a Comment