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Interrail throughout Italy

Milan - Padua - Verona - Venice - Florence - Saint Gimignano - Sienna - Pisa - Naples - Pompei - Amalfi Coast - Capri - Assisi - Rome - Tivoli - Monaco
 
MONACO
Dispensable Worthwhile Very recommendable Marvel
 
 
 

On the way back to Spain we stopped in the afternoon in Monaco , because there was a night train coming from Italy that we wanted to take and we decided to get use of the time to visit Monaco.
Be careful if you plan to spend a day here and leave in the evening or at night if you leave your luggage in the luggage office of the train station. When we arrived in Monaco , the luggage office was closed (it was 18 h. or 19 h. o'clock). Other backpackers were very disappointed because they left their belongings here and when they came back it was closed. Besides there was no staff in the station. They couldn't imagine that the office would close so soon. I don't know how their story finished but I am afraid that they had to sleep in Monaco without any sleep bag, either in the station or in a hotel or hostel, which you can suppose not to be very cheap in the luxurious city.
Monaco is famous for two things mainly. The Grand Prix of Monaco of Formula-1, held once each year, in which the sports cars run among the streets and the harbour. It has to be spectacular, but again you need a fortune to attend it. The other attraction is the glamour, the money, and the monarchy, all together. Most of people can't afford living in this city, but nobody can avoid you to visit it. You have heard so many things about this city and the monarchy in the pink press that finally they get to make you feeling curious.

Casino of Monaco Therefore we went out from the station with our highly loaded backpacks after an Interrail across the whole Italy. The first impression of the city is luxury, because all the houses are very big and the streets are crammed with expensive cars and restaurants. It was a relief to check that the famous Casino is pretty close to the station. The Casino is the symbol and centre of the city. We spent a great time sat in a bench in front of the entrance, at the other side of the square. We were surrounded by our backpacks and bags, having some sandwiches and looking to the rich people arriving into the Casino with their sparkling cars to throw the money away.

This was a peculiar contrast. There were more backpackers doing exactly the same than us. When we were bored, we got close to the cars. Afterwards we went on walking in the surroundings and we found a viewpoint with a great panorama of the harbour and the lower city of Monaco. We stayed only for an afternoon and I don't know the city as deeply as others, but Monaco didn't attract me very much.

luxurious cars in Monaco
Monaco and the port
 For a while it is amusing but if travel in a tight budget you can't do anything and this finally makes it boring.
We returned to the station and towards Spain . Be alert in this train stretch going along the Blue Coast because the thefts are something common during the night. We kept our belongings because we were aware of this, but a group of backpackers suffered the consequences and they were stolen while sleeping.

And the last anecdote of this fantastic Interrail. When we reached Spain we went into a train in the last minute but with the hurry we thought that we could pay inside the train, and we didn't realize that we were wrong. When the ticket inspector asked for our tickets we explained him our mistake. He asked if we were coming from an Interrail, and when seeing our exhausted faces, he forgave the billet.