Europe 2018 day 10: casino royale

After a late arrival at my friends' house that they are still renovating - and falling asleep in the car - we managed to sleep in due to sheer fatigue despite the absence of any curtains in the room.  And we finally got our first glimpse of Moses, our friends' 110-kg (the last time he stepped on a scale) English Mastiff.  Hello Kitty was very, very happy...

After a late breakfast with goodies from the local boulangerie, along with the lemon cake from Mirazur, we set off for the Principality of Monaco so that Hello Kitty and I could play tourist.

We dropped by Quai des Artistes with waterfront views of Port Hercule.  It was a beautiful day out and we wanted to be outdoors while in the shade, so this place was just about perfect.

My friend ordered himself an Aperol spritz, and I decided to do the same.  This seems to be a popular drink nowadays so I thought I'd give it a try.

While I had thought about ordering the local Perles de Monaco oysters, my eyes lit up when I saw a certain item on the menu.  With apologies in advance to my friends, I jumped at the chance to have this favorite dish...

L'andouillette artisanale label AAAAA grillée - served with a minimal of greens and a big slice of pan-fried ham.  This was delicious.  And stinky.

2017 Pascal Renaud Pouilly-Fuissé - flinty, tropical stone fruit, bright and refreshing.

After lunch we continued our sightseeing.  As soon as we got out of the parking lot, we were on Boulevard Albert 1er (which, by the way, Google Maps navigation pronounces "ONE-er"...) and passed by the starting grid for the Monaco Grand Prix.  I only watch Formula One occasionally, but it was still a little surreal for us to be driving past the P1 box...

One cannot come to Monte Carlo without checking out Casino de Monte-Carlo.  Other than a Ferrari 458 Speciale, the cars parked in front were a little disappointing...

I was a little apprehensive since we were wearing shorts, but the bouncers didn't bat an eyelid.  I guess there were tons of tourists like ourselves who were going in to have a look. And Hello Kitty decided to take out her Insta360 camera to get a shot of us.  That was kinda fun.

We went to Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo right next door, where they were renovating the space for Alain Ducasse's mothership Louis XV.

We parked ourselves in Bar Americain for a drink.  True to form I chose a girlie drink... without any alcohol... but at least this one won the 1er Prix Concours Cocktail de l'été 2018...  Silencio was made with pineapple juice, passion fruit juice, lime juice, and kaffir lime syrup.

We retired back to our friends' house and watched the sunset from their terrace, with Antibes and Nice on the horizon. My friend prepared a casual and light dinner, which we washed down with a few bottles of wine...

2017 de Berne Grande Recolte Blanc - tropical stone fruit, light-bodied nice summer white.

2016 Léo de la Gaffelière - ripe and sweet.