Monaco? Not our cup of tea...

Well, I thought the Princess Euro holiday would be made better by a little stop over in Monaco. The romance. The location. The mystery. I pictured myself at the roulette table sipping a martini ("shaken, not stirred"). But, starring in my own episode of "I wish I were James Bond" never happened.

Our arrival to the Riviera Marriott Hotel La Porte de Monaco began the worst part of the vacation. Combining the weather (cold and rainy), the terrible service at the hotel (so bad they refunded our entire stay after investigating my complaints), and that the Grand Prix had just finished (area was a mess!), Monaco was not something we were impressed with at all! We actually have decided to take off tomorrow morning back to Paris after lunch in Nice.

Highlight of the trip was the exclusive (and elusive) La Chocolaterie de Monaco. Since 1920, this place has been serving up chocolate worthy of consumption by the Monaco Royal Family... and a few famished tourists.



La Chocolaterie de Monaco
Place de la Visitation
BP 805
98012
Monaco
(377) 97 97 88 88

Lunch in Paris - L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon

Want to spend some money on lunch in Paris? Try L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon. I've had a few posh lunches in my life but this one very well may take the cake. Planning a cheap dinner of Chinese food, we decided to give the ala carte menu at L'Atelier a try. We started off with some left over white asparagus they just brought over for free when one of our friends inquired about its availability. That is where the food charity ended!

After some careful consideration, I ordered up the Foie Gras. It was absolutely delicious and well worth the price.

L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon
Hôtel Pont Royal
5, rue de Montalembert
75007
Paris
01 42 22 56 56

Métro: Rue du Bac

Back in Newcastle...

A night out with the boys. (CTI Guy, D-Man, G-Man, and Esby)