Woke up to this view today – a whole country draped over the side of a mountain. Damn, I thought Saint Tropez had a lot of luxury mega yachts. Monte Carlo: hold my spritz. Had breakfast on our balcony this am (Anna ate toast and jam!) and watched these massive yachts come and go. Do yacht people (which I am not one of) silently judge each other’s yachts? I see your aft-deck hot tub and raise you a stern infinity pool, which is also a helicopter pad.
Anna was feeling a bit better this am, so we had high hopes. Anna was determined to set foot on Monaco terra firma. So, we ventured out into the hillside inferno (95 degrees). We made it as far as the Princess Grace Gardens. But, now I’m worried. Again. Anna was sweating profusely, white as a sheet, and looked like she was about to pass out. I got her to a bench so she could sit down. I had both of our portable fans trained on her face, but it was too late. Next: she puked all over the royal roses. Pretty sure she traumatized a gardener who had the misfortune of being near the blast radius.
Such a shame, because we had just discovered Monaco is a granita country, and treated ourselves to very expensive frozen fruit drinks.
Sidebar: If you’re ever in Monaco, getting to the Vieux Vielle (Old Town) is pretty easy. In a stroke of absolute genius, there are a series of escalators and elevators that will get you to the top. It’s a decent bit of walking, though, if it’s 95 degrees outside, and you are still trying to recover from the ick to end all icks.
Poor Anna. Too much, too soon. Waaaay too hot. Managed to cool her down with some wet paper towels to the back of her neck. Tried to get her an assist down the mountain, but I couldn’t find a taxi anywhere, and Uber/Bolt don’t operate here. So, we had to hoof it back down. It was a slow trail of hot, sweaty tears back to the boat.
We made it, though.
After a long, cool shower, Anna took a long nap, and I sat outside on our balcony in the shade, reading and watching these massive yachts come and go. Also made myself a delicious Radler from a Sprite and a Heineken I found in the mini fridge.
All of this is going to be a great story someday – but not today. Trying to stay positive, but tbh, this shit is getting old.
Come on, health gods, cut us a break tomorrow, would you??
Cheers!
Travel date: June 19, 2025
Sprite and Heineken? You just made me sick!
😂 Tell me you’re not German without telling me you’re not German. I think this is our signal to take you and Heather with us to Bavaria!
Radlers aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, and many Germans consider them a starter drink or a sports drink (German Gatorade), but I LOVE THEM!! Enough to MacGyver myself a version on a cruise ship.
Some background on Radlers:
https://theflaskhalffull.com/2025/01/11/drinks-report-salzburg-munich-🇦🇹-🇩🇪/
I’m open minded. I would try one (although it still sounds disgusting to me). But can we upgrade the Heineken to a decent beer? Heineken is the Budweiser of European beers, isn’t it?
Agreed, Heineken isn’t a beer I would normally reach for, but it magically appeared in our suite fridge every day. And I’m mixing it with Sprite, so doesn’t really require an overly decent beer. I’ll make one for you. We can try it against the pre-made Radler I get at the German grocery in Falls Church.
So terrible. I can’t imagine being that sick. It’s really hanging on! But beautiful photos!
Thanks, Mimi. And yeah, whatever strain of ick this was . . . I hope to never see it again!
I hope your daughter gets a break soon. At least she can still smile 🙂 I’m confused re the Radler. Is that what we call a shandy in the UK? Half a pint of beer or lager in a pint glass topped up with lemonade. The lemonade is nothing special. Just the cheap stuff watered down as much as the bar keeper thinks he can get away with. BTW the photos are great 🙂
Thanks, Steve. And yep, the German Radler is the same as the shandy in the UK. As much as the barkeeper thinks he can get away with – love that! 😂 European lemonade is much less sweet than American lemon-lime sodas like Sprite and 7-UP. If we could get European Fanta Lemon here, I’d be keeping them in business!!
Am keeping my fingers and toes crossed . . . truly !
Thanks, Eha!!
Ugh. Your description is so vivid that I had to pluck up courage to take my next mouthful of coffee.
Yeah, I had to have several conversations with my inner self that day . . . you are fine, you are not nauseous, you are fine. 😂
[…] go. Adding to the dearth of culturally representative drinks on this trip: when your daughter has the ick for six days, you lose out on a lot of drinks […]