ASIANOVERLAND.NET WINTER EUROPEAN DAY 6/179 : PONT DU GARD TO MONTE-CARLO, MONACO

“DAY 6, 17/12/80 MONTE-CARLO

Caroline didn’t meet the bus ‘cause Gary drove too slow!!!

Princess Caroline is still free, Boys. How about it?

Have a go ya mug!!

Most checked out the casino, some won, most lost. Some too broke to play. Rosie’s Bar received strong attention, closed at 1.00am and the fun began. Some animosity arose when one of the elegant young ladies from GOLLY (MEDS) offered Gary a drink. The party raged on. Some very slow-moving people the next morning. Steve (Flex) has been yawning on the lawns of Monaco; also has been nominated as snorer of the year.”

One of Monaco’s highlights is the Grand Prix F1 circuit, so Gary and I both gave it a go in INTER but we didn’t break any records and didn’t qualify for Q3, but the chicanes, tunnel under Loew’s Casino, and marina are great fun in a speeding double decker. Our top speed was still only 80kph, even on the Grand Prix circuit.

Loew’s Casino was also a lot of fun. Corrie and I sat on the roulette table and had a LONG … run of losses, ending with 7 blacks in a row. Finally, we were on our last few francs and some reds and lucky numbers like 22 (Corrie’s birthdate), culminating in a 16 red (my lucky number)!!!!! We were celebrating so hard we didn’t take our money off the table and 16 red came up again, with our money still on it!! And AGAIN!! We left the Casino after 3 16 wins in a row (casino card pictured), and enough money to go to the le Biarritze restaurant in Monaco (pictured) and the leather shop in Florence.

Monaco is a sovereign city-state on the French Riviera, bordered by France to the north, east, west and by the Mediterranean Sea to the south. It has no income tax, is best known as a tax haven for the rich and famous, and widely regarded as one of the most expensive and wealthiest places in the world.

With an area of only 2.1 km2, it is the second smallest sovereign state in the world, after Vatican City. Monaco has a land border of 5.47 km (3.40 mi) and the world's shortest coastline of approximately 3.83 km, having a width between 1,700 and 349 m. Monaco is about 15 km from the border with Italy.

The House of Grimaldi has ruled Monaco since 1297, and the state's sovereignty was officially recognised by the Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861. Despite Monaco's independence and separate foreign policy, its defence is the responsibility of France. The principality of Monaco is governed under a constitutional monarchy, with Prince Albert II as head of state wielding immense political power.

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