Monte Carlo; Saturday, 10 November, 2018

I woke up to a still grey and overcast morning, but at least the heavy rain had given way to drizzle again. After a breakfast in the aparthotel, provided by the hotel rather than having to make it myself, I headed down into Monaco and caught the bus up into the oldest part of the Principality – Monaco-Ville. Built on a rock overlooking the bay and home to the Princes Palace this is a much quieter and less glitzy part of town than the area around Monte Carlo and the casino.

I had a long wander around the streets of the old city, stopping off at a restaurant near the Princes Palace for a very pleasant lunch, overlooking Western Monaco and into France.

After lunch I wandered along the western edge of the rock, taking in the impressive gardens that flow down the side of the cliffs and long to the Oceanarium museum. I then headed back up the hill and over to the Cathedral to have a look around that.

The Cathedral is home to the tombs of the royal family, with the most famous one being Grace Kelly. I had a look round the cathedral and then headed back into the old town to have a bit more of a look round.

By now the clouds were mounting quickly and it was only by the skin of my teeth that I managed to get to the bus shelter in time before a spectacular downpour swept through, even so the splashback from the rain hitting the pavement was enough to make the bottom of my jeans quite wet.

I caught the bus back over to the hotel to dry off, and to sit out several heftier showers that passed through before the rain finally fizzled out in the early evening.

With it now dark, and dry, I headed back out over to the bus stop and caught the bus back up to Monaco-Ville to have a look around at night – taking in the gaudy lights of Monte Carlo and the, possibly, trillions of euros worth of yachts in the harbour.

I had intended on having some dinner in one of the restaurants, but most were closed, and the ones that were open had long queues, so instead I popped into a supermarket that was still open and grabbed some things for dinner before heading back to the hotel.