A thoroughly unpleasant day is over. I’m not saying it was totally bad, but enough happened
Monte Carlo was nice enough. We had a lovely French dinner, and two bottles of wine at each table. (That may have been a mistake.)
Afterwards we went to the Grand Casino. I went though the motions and gambled. I hate gambling, but I felt I needed the experience. I had 25€ to spend, and I gambled it all away, winning only 10€. I’m not a lucky person, so this was expected. I kept one chip as a souvenir.
I also crept out at one point to take pictures of fancy cars and an important turn in the Formula-1 race. We left at 10:30 on the tour bus. That was an important bus to catch because a taxi back would cost 70€. One couple did stay behind to keep gambling. I hope he gets lucky.
In the financial sense of the word.
When we left, the bus driver took us along the course, acting like a Formula-1 car. (Not very well.) Peel away from the start, and do heavy shifting.
When we got back to the hotel we spent some time talking outside the entrance. Apparently too loudly. The practice here seems to be different from where I’m from. Instead of yelling at people to be quiet, you are supposed to throw water out the window (oh god, I hope it was water) followed immediately by an egg.
Did I mention we had dressed up in our finest clothing for the night?
I got the egg all over my dry-clean-only pants. My new leather shoes also smell eggy now. I have no idea how to clean leather shoes. A later volley hit the hotel manager. He was not happy.
I watched my tour guide arguing with another tour guide over compensation, but I’m not holding my breath. It’s still nice to see.
I’m just glad this day is over with. The tour is nearly done, so I’m feeling maudlin. And upset.
I shouldn’t have sunned on the beach. I spent too much time thinking. No good can come of that.