Okay, where was I? Okay, that’s right, the Cote d’Azur. On my second full day in Nice wasn’t actually in Nice. The night before, I was on the internet and I saw that there was an ATP tennis tournament going on in Monte Carlo, which is only a three euro train ride away from Nice. I took a look at the schedule and saw that the top three seeds were all playing second-round matches on Court Central, including Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. Trains in the area were sporadic, at best, but I thought that if I could catch a train in the morning, I would go to Monte Carlo and try to get a ticket.
The train was getting ready to take off as soon as I got to the station at 8:30 in the morning. I hurriedly got on and took a seat. During the tournament, the trains are making two stops instead of one in Monaco, the second being at the Monte Carlo Country Club, which is the site of the tournament. I got off the train there and went to the Country Club to see if they were selling tickets. (I’ve learned in my trips to other sports venues that sometimes you can’t get tickets at the stadium in Europe.) Sure enough tickets were available, but the cheapest sections were sold out. I bought the cheapest ticket available (58 Euros) and walked around the grounds. By noon, the entire Court Central was sold out, which surprised me a little bit for second-round matches on a Wednesday.
I think that it is probably fair to say that Court Central at the Monte Carlo Country Club is one of the most beautifully sited sports venues in the world. From the side that I was sitting on, we had views of multi-million dollar homes on high cliffs overlooking the beaches. To my back was the Mediterranean and some of the bluest water I have ever seen in my life. Even if there were no sports events taking place, MCCC is worth a trip just to take in the views – but then much of Monte Carlo is like that.
The first two matches of the day were quick victories by Juan-Carlos Ferrero and Novak Djokovic, the second-ranked player in the world. The third match, and the one in which I was most interested, was Rafael Nadal against a qualifier from the Netherlands. In a tournament that Nadal has won each of the last five years, it was no surprise to see him defeat the Dutchman in convincing fashion. The next match, between Andy Murray and Philipp Kohlschreiber was just as one-sided, but was more surprising because it was Andy Murray who got stomped like a roach on a bathroom floor.
There was a doubles match following the singles matches, but I didn’t stick around for that. I knew (hoped) that I was leaving the area the next day, so I wanted to take the opportunity to see a little bit of Monte Carlo while I was around. I thought that a good way to do that would be to walk to the main Monte Carlo station and catch the train there. I left the country club and walked along the beach. Unlike the previous day in Nice, the temperature was warm and people were enjoying the beaches. Also, unlike Nice, the beaches are sandy, not rocky. I saw signs pointing to Le Casino, and I figured that if I was a train station, I’d want to hang out around a casino, so I headed there.
I followed the signs to Le Casino and it was fancy. They made me take my hat off. I went in and played Baccarat. I broke the bank. I bought a café crème and a croissant and I was even. I guess it’s true that you come to the Cote d’Azur to spend money, not to make money.
Okay, I didn’t actually do any gambling, I just walked around Le Casino and went outside to the square and took some pictures of the casino and the nearby hotels. I was starting to get nervous because I still hadn’t seen a single sign for the train station and with the train strike, I knew there wouldn’t be many trains. I went back to Le Casino and asked one of the guys working the door. He gave me a map and pointed me in the right direction. I headed towards the station and I saw the first sign saying “SNCF Gare” around 15 feet in front of the escalator down to the station. Thanks, Monaco.
I hit the only train going from Monte Carlo to Nice for several hours. I felt extremely fortunate. This is a feeling I would not feel in France with respect to transportation for many days to come, but we’ll deal with that in future posts. The thesis of this one is that Monte Carlo is awesome!!!
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