Well, thats my 26th birthday officially over. It was definitely an... experience. I should have known what to expect of the evening when I arrived at the Nice train station and saw this was the train. I was like surely a train to one of the most.. prestigious.. tourist destinations would be more well-maintained. But alas it was a quick journey and I arrived at Monte Carlo at about 3:45pm. The casino, to its merit, is breathtaking - gold everywhere, artwork on the ceiling, every bit of a James Bond movie that youd expect. I hit the blackjack tables and by dinner I was €500 ($800AUD) richer. Dinner again, was great - steak in whiskey pepper sauce. But then in walks a guy who I swear must have been in the mob. Seriously it was like a scene from a movie. He walked in, kissed some cheeks, and pointed himself to a table. The waiters looked terrified, honestly, I havent seen people react that way to a person before - and one waiter turned around and quietly motioned the manager over. They kissed, and said mobster leered in his back of the restaurant table while waiters fumbled over his requests. I didnt dare look back. Thats where I should have ended the night. I was fed, I was richer, and generally so far it had been an enjoyable experience. However I didnt - and I hit the tables again looking for more. I lost, it all, and ended up leaving poorer. But lesson learnt. So it was 11:00pm and although I lost, I had actually expected to lose DOUBLE what I did -- so I had money burning a whole in my pocket. I thought - screw that crappy train where Ill probably get mugged, Ill get driven back to Nice. I checked my wallet, and needed some more cash - so went to the ATM... and I found out Barclays has a withdrawel limit and I has reached it. PANIC MODE. Because I thought my train left in 20 minutes, I rushed outside and got the nearest taxi back to the station. I arrived and thought, wow - its pretty dark here - and walked down to the completely empty platform. Turns out, I misread my ticket and the last train left an HOUR ago. The station was closed and I was still in it. I raced back to the surface (and nearly had a heart attack because the escalators had been switched off so I had to climb a shit-tonne of stairs) and got to the taxi booth. What had me most scared was something the taxi driver when I arrived mentioned earlier today -- no taxis accept credit cards in Monaco, he said. And the trip back to Nice is about a 45min drive and I had no cash. So I called the taxi, and stressed I needed a credit card payment - but luckily they said thats fine - and a taxi arrived. Maybe because it was Monaco, but I think my taxi driver got a little more into the spirit than I would habe liked. The drive back to Nice is amazing - up through the hills of the French Riveria overlooking towns all full of lights through steep, windy roads. Beautiful. But my driver, felt the need to do this windy, steeply downhill, drive at 130km (according to his GPS). When youre going down a steep hill at 130km with warning signs of Sharp Turns ahead - its petrifying. But thankfully, we made it back to Le Negresco and I was relieved when he pulled out the eftpos machine and my payment went through. With such an epic and hectic night under my belt, feeling a little disappointed I didnt leave after dinner - I was do happy to be back in my room. To find this note ajd a plate of chocolates. This Hotel is all class, and made the whole night worth it. How many people get an adventure like that!
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 23:36:47 +0000
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