The Rich and Famous

After driving four hours into France, we reached the Cote d'Azru. It is no wonder that this stretch of the Mediterranean lures the wealthiest from around the world, with it's perfectly blue sea and stretches of sand. Our first stop was Eze, a tiny town on top of the cliffs overlooking the coast below. It was another medieval village, but this time it's labyrinth stone alleyways were lined with the most upscale shops. We looked but didn't touch, grabbed a crepe and headed down to the coast.

We stopped in at the Matisse Museum in Nice, which is housed in a salmon colored building set in a city park, that was full of French families enjoying a Saturday afternoon. After reading a children's book to the kids about Matisse, the nun who cared for him and the chapel he decorated for her, it was such fun to be in his town enjoying his art.

We then headed back to Monaco to the Jardin Exotique de Monaco that the royal family designed with plants from Africa, the West Indies and South America. In my Fodors book, these exotic gardens were marked with a Fodor's choice award, but I was a little hesitant. An afternoon walking through cactuses sounded questionable, especially since we do that in Southern Utah for free. However, this spot turned out to be a favorite for all of us. The views over Monoco were breathtaking with the Azure sea and coral structures below and the multi textured and hued greenery above. Huge yachts were anchored in the sea, waiting for their billion dollar owners to return from this coveted kingdom. My little ones found a kitten to follow, which took them winding through the gardens, and the rest of us followed behind.

When the gardens closed, we made our way down to Monte Carlo and were happy to be part of the Saturday night action, at least from the outside. Jonathan kept his eye out for cars ranging in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and the girls were excited to see the Hotel d'Paris.

We stayed long enough to see the famous casino light up and then we headed to our hotel, still in awe of the life of luxury that we had been apart of for an evening.