Western Mediterranean Cruise Record of 9 Days and 11 Nights: Nice & Monaco

Nice

Travel dates: 2023.09.08 – 2023.09.18

Places visited: Opéra Plage, Flower Market, Fontaine du Soleil, L’Ovale, Blue Chair, Monaco Palace, Monaco Cathedral, Monte Carlo Casino, AC Hotel, COOP Mart

Western Mediterranean cruise, 9 nights and 11 days trip, Day 9

Savona

Finally, it’s the day to disembark from the cruise… we returned to Savona port.

From here, we took a tour bus to Nice! It took about 3 hours.

The blue chair visible in the distance.

I can’t believe I’m seeing this in person!

Closer photos can be found further down, haha.

Opéra Plage

Opéra Plage in Nice, France

This is the Opéra Plage beach in Nice.

The color of the sea is so beautiful…

It’s a color I’ve never seen before.

The steel obelisk I saw while walking along the beach.

It is said to be a monument commemorating the 150th anniversary of the annexation of France.

This was the meeting point, and we were given free time right away.

I took so many photos since the beach was so beautiful, hehe.

There was a restroom near the beach (which seemed to be paid).

As expected of France… the smell was so strong that I couldn’t go near it.

I decided to wait until lunchtime…

Marché Aux Fleurs Cours Saleya

Cr Saleya, 06300 Nice, France

I heard this place is famous for its flower market, although I wasn’t particularly interested, I went to check it out.

It smelled nice.

But it was so hot that I hurriedly peeked and went into a souvenir shop, hehe.

Here I considered buying a magnet and some soap as gifts.

(There were so many types, and they smelled good and were pretty.)

I just thought they might get squished in my suitcase, so I didn’t buy them.

Fontaine du Soleil

3 Pl. Massena, 06300 Nice, France

Right near is the Fontaine du Soleil.

It is close to the flower market.

There were so many people that it felt like a meeting square!

But the photo-taking spots were remarkably empty, haha.

I spotted a couple having a wedding photoshoot on the street.

It turns out that this is the city hall, and it’s a big event to register for marriage!

They take pictures in front of the city hall after completing the paperwork!

I clapped from afar.

L’Ovale

29B Rue Pastorelli, 06000 Nice, France

For lunch that day, I visited a French restaurant.

The lighting was somewhat dim.

The bread served before the meal was chewy and delicious.

This is rose pasta topped with fried fish and squid.

It was a bit greasy, so I focused on the toppings during eating, hehe.

This is the tiramisu served for dessert.

The cream tasted very rich and sweet.

The best dessert…

I thought the waffle cookie on top was nutty, but I accidentally bit into it, and it paired perfectly!

This is a fig that my companion bought at the market.

They bought a lot so they shared with me.

It was so soft that it practically crushed in the skin,

and it was much sweeter than the figs I had in Korea.

But it wasn’t the kind that made me want to eat two, though 😗

The famous blue chair of Nice.

I don’t know why it’s famous, but it does look pretty, hehe.

People were out in uniforms for some kind of game,

shouting and causing a commotion.

It didn’t seem to be soccer, but they had mentioned what game it was, though I can’t remember…

The scenery on the way to Monaco was so beautiful.

It’s a winding road, so drivers usually avoid it,

but luckily we had a friendly driver who accepted our guide’s request!

Looking down on Nice from a high place was truly stunning.

When we arrived in Monaco, it suddenly started raining heavily!

I had left the umbrella on the bus, and since there was no time to go back,

I had to decide whether to brave the rain or wait inside,

but since it was such a heavy downpour, I thought it would be a shame to miss it, so I decided to go anyway.

The palace I saw from afar while coming was the Monaco Palace.

The statue in front of the Monaco Palace.

I heard the explanation, but I can’t remember it…

There were guards standing there as well.

Since it was some special occasion, there were barriers set up.

Monaco Cathedral

4 Rue Colonel Bellando de Castro, 98000 Monaco, Monaco

On the way back to the meeting point from the palace, I saw the Monaco Cathedral.

It was a tight schedule, so I couldn’t go inside, but just looked from the outside.

Pictures taken while walking to the meeting point. Haha.

A ship passing by in the distance looked like something out of One Piece; I was amazed.

Monte Carlo Casino

Pl. du Casino, 98000 Monaco, Monaco

The casino that supports Monaco, I visited the Monte Carlo Casino.

Unfortunately, I lost about 30 euros on the slot machines, haha.

Photography was prohibited inside, so I took a picture in front of the statue at the entrance.

A large roulette game

You can move bets with large chips, haha.

Of course, this is not the actual game area.

There was a vending machine at the entrance leading to the casino.

I got quite wet from the rain and was cold, so I decided to get a warm cup of coffee.

While waiting for the bus, I noticed a lot of people who looked like delinquent teens,

so it was a bit scary, haha.

AC Hotel by Marriott Genova

C.so Europa, 1075, 16148 Genova GE, Italy

We moved to Genova to stay overnight for the next day’s itinerary.

It took about three hours from Monaco, so I had a nice sleep on the way!

The room looks like this.

It was wider than the hotel I stayed at in Milan on the first day,

but there were no slippers, and the floor was cold, so my feet were very chilly.

This is what it’s like in a country without ondol…

This is the Western-style dinner served at the hotel.

It came with pre-meal bread and some grated cheese.

There were both still and sparkling water available.

I don’t know the exact name, but it tasted like a kind of bulgogi pasta?

It had a strangely familiar taste and I liked it.

This is the main dish of beef with wedge potatoes.

I think they called it steak, but it was sliced like ham, which was odd.

The taste was… just okay.

This is the pudding served for dessert.

It was drenched in syrup and sweet, which was nice.

But it was so sweet I couldn’t finish it, haha.

Coop

C.so Europa, 1079, 16148 Genova GE, Italy

There was a late-opening supermarket near the hotel, so I came to check it out.

I thought I might need something, so I bought a mask,

and my mom also got a few cosmetics as gifts.

There was quite a long line at the checkout, so I went to the self-checkout and had to do it myself.

The machine also supports English translations, so I was able to use it more easily than I expected!

But on the way out, the door wouldn’t open, which was confusing.

It turned out that the system required me to scan the receipt’s barcode for the door to unlock.

I probably waited five minutes until it was explained, haha.

Since I wasn’t full from dinner, and I wanted to finish the cup noodles I had brought,

I had a late-night snack. Mom had cornflakes, haha.

There’s a cafeteria on the first floor where you could request hot water,

but it took about 30 minutes for them to get it to me.

As a Korean, I might have found it frustrating waiting so long…

There was hot water right in front of me at the lever, but the previous person took ages making their drink.

There was hot water right in front of me at the lever, but the previous person took ages making their drink.