Vacation Day 3

Day 3 of vacation took us to Monaco!  It was a total workout for our legs and feet.  We didn't rent a car for this trip, so we have been getting around Nice on foot. (The past two days I have logged over 20,000 steps on my Fitbit, to give you an idea!) This morning we walked to get breakfast, walked to Starbucks afterwards, and then walked another 30 minutes into Vieux Nice to catch the bus into Monaco.  We did not anticipate there being no available seats for the entirety of our bus ride.  We wound up standing for the 45 minute ride, although we couldn't complain too much, what with these views:

We arrived in Monaco and, after getting a snack, began the long ascent up to the Royal Palace.  Julia was so enchanted by the views, both on the bus ride and upon arriving in Monaco.  "That was the most beautiful view I've ever had in my LIFE!" she announced upon disembarking the bus.  While on the palace grounds, she told me, "This is the BEST vacation we've ever taken!"

We also visited Monaco's Jacques Cousteau Oceanographic Museum, which is part aquarium, part nautical history museum.  Madeleine LOVED every second of it, proclaiming, "This is a very cool aquarium!" only a few minutes after we entered.  The rest of us grew weary of so much standing and walking, so we took breaks to sit and rest, but Madeleine was too excited to slow her pace.  Beyond the aquarium, there was a recreation of a wooden ship with exhibits all above and below, including fossils if prehistoric sea creatures.

Some highlights:

And Madeleine took particular delight in showing Julia this:

There was a playground that Madeleine scampered through delightedly while the rest of us sat and drank water, then we walked through the Jardins Exotiques, finally heading to the bus.  Lo and behold, we had to stand for the entire bus ride back as well!  To give our feet a rest, we took the train back to our area instead of walking from Vieux Nice, but even the train was standing room only.  Lucky for Madeleine, I was at least able to procure her a seat for the second half of the bus ride.  You can tell her nonstop energy had run out by that point:

Soon we will all hobble off to get some dinner, but veforehands, we are all putting our feet up!!