Provo2Provence: Every once in a while you need to go 5 Star

Lindsey relaxes on the balcony of Columbus Hotel in MC

MONTE CARLO, Monaco - After more than two weeks on the road, most of it living out of suitcases and squatting in spare bedrooms, the girls were ready for a "5 Star" experience. The 5 Star experience is a term we made up with our traveling friends Jacquie and Sherri during our vacations together when we absolutely just need to indulge ourselves in luxury for 24 hours. So we find a nice hotel and throw the budget out the window. What better place than the most over priced city in the world - Monte Carlo!

Monte Carlo is halfway between Carla's house in Lake Como and Aix so we decided to look for a hotel deal and spend the night there on our way home. The deal was OK - a "deluxe' room at the Columbus Hotel - which is actually quite nice, albeit a bit 'chic' - kind of a higher end version of the Gansevoort - for 200 Euros. The people were real nice (except for one waiter who scoffed at Chico, who immediately responded with his patented wolf-like attack on the guy's ankles) and the room was fine - even offering a nice view of the Med and the rose garden next door, which naturally Chico christened.


Savannah walks Chico thru the Rose Garden

Monte Carlo in general is a weird place with a strange vibe and odd mix of characters. Obviously, being mega rich helps in this town and Savannah had fun counting the Ferrari's that create a constant din in the city (that, plus the ever present whirling of helicopters and an endless skyline of cranes working on construction projects). She decided she liked the yellow ones the best, but would prefer a red one when she buys her own. We also learned that there is no seat belt law in Monte Carlo because wearing one would ruin the effect of driving around in a convertible Ferrari or Lamborghini.

The girls swam in the beachfront pool (enjoying the fluffy towels), we wandered around town, and I made use of the 24-euro per-day internet connection (not even wireless) in the room to do some calls. We had fully expected a five star dining experience to go along with our high end accommodations, but when we came across an American style sports bar called Stars & Bars that featured bacon cheeseburgers and chicken wings, the girls decided they needed a break from all the great French and Italian food we had been having and get a dose of Americana. So we ate by the marina, overlooking multi-million dollar yachts, while listening to classic American rock and chowing down cheeseburgers and ice cream sodas.