Saturday, June 08, 2013

Monte-Carlo by Night *


When I returned to Hermitage Hotel from window shopping at La Metropole, B was still feeling under the weather. It was our second night in Monte-Carlo so despite feeling really lousy, my Darling braved his fever to take an evening stroll with me before dinner. Smiley

 photo 1a_zpsb9630bac.jpg
Fairmont Hairpin
 photo 2a_zps1b18a13a.jpg
The exotic Buddha Bar
 photo 3a_zps0af3426f.jpg
Billionaire Sunset Lounge
 photo 4a_zps7a08a527.jpg
Monte-Carlo living

Due to my fear of heights, you may not see as many scenic sea shots as you would like. Every time I gathered enough courage to take a shot of the deep expansive sea below from way up above where I was, I got dizzy. My hands grew shaky and I end up with a major case of butterflies in my tummy; resulting in mostly blurry photos. I was afraid to lean too much over the railing to get a great shot; imagining my Lumix would somehow weigh me down and I’d end up falling down into the deep blue sea … forever lost! Smiley  

 photo 12a_zps7026bf98.jpg
Deep Blue Sea
 photo 5a_zps5920a62e.jpg
By the sea
 photo 6a_zps67327715.jpg
Sea view
 photo 7a_zpsad32ce0e.jpg
Sick in Monte-Carlo
 photo 8a_zps76a32ac4.jpg
Pretending not to fear the deep sea below!
 photo 9a_zps52b88313.jpg
Easy breezy in Monte-Carlo
 photo 10a_zps6a9bf4f0.jpg
Flying home
 photo 11a_zps744f503c.jpg
Evening sky

By the way, did you know that there are no airports in Monaco? Apparently, it only takes merely an hour to walk the width of this very tiny country so local flights are not required. There is a helipad however, which I think is pretty cool.

 photo 13a_zpsbe992389.jpg
Helipad

Hermitage Hotel, where we stayed is a luxury resort hotel strategically located right smack in the middle of all the must-sees in Monte-Carlo. I took better day shots of our hotel surroundings the following day, which I will share next time. Tonight however, is all about my dinner date with B as we strolled hand in hand alongside other tourists who were out and about enjoying the breezy evening air as well. Smiley

 photo 14a_zps6280b286.jpg
Evening in the Gardens
 photo 15a_zps9fb8d1de.jpg
Adam and Eve
 photo 16a_zps136276b9.jpg
Somewhere near the Gardens
 photo 17a_zps942d68c8.jpg
B in Monte-Carlo

We walked everywhere that night, which was great! We tend to do a lot of walking when on vacations and that’s the only time I actually get a little exercise so I was actually enjoying my walk. Frankly, I can’t remember most of the names of the buildings or structures that we took pictures of back then so if you see any photos with vague captions here, you know what that means! ihikhik

 photo 18a_zps57b469d3.jpg
Breezy eve in Monte-Carlo
 photo 19a_zps5add05a3.jpg
Where to next?
 photo 20a_zpsbc75e7e2.jpg
Lost in Monte-Carlo
 photo 21a_zps6a669ab9.jpg
In front of the adorable police station
 
 photo 22a_zpsa4bab652.jpg
Outside the casino

Casino de Monte-Carlo is always lively, day and night. As guests of Hermitage Hotel, we enjoyed free admission to this casino. Smiley 

 photo 23a_zps4f3c4272.jpg
Casino de Monte-Carlo

Visitors are bound to notice the host of posh cars parked in front of the casino and just like me, plenty other tourists stopped to pose for pictures with some of the fancy wheels here.

 photo 24a_zpsa92ed1d7.jpg
Mariuca in Monte-Carlo
 photo 25a_zps973ce56c.jpg
My ride!
 photo 26a_zps0045f82b.jpg
What's your pick?
 
After taking in a lot of interesting sights and braving the light night drizzle, we found ourselves seated inside a lively Latino restaurant. This place was one of the few restaurants still open for business. Food-wise, the menu seemed most promising so we  decided to have dinner at Le Bistroquet Restaurant & Bar. Smiley

 photo 27a_zps5a94eb28.jpg
Café de Paris Monte-Carlo

 photo 28a_zpsb0945f20.jpg
Ready to eat!
 
Located near the Casino Square, Le Bistroquet serves mostly Italian and French cuisine. Prices are supposed to be reasonable by Monte-Carlo standards and food is served until 4am, which is great for late-night hungry tourists like us. Smiley

 photo 29a_zps666de22a.jpg
Walking toward La Bistroquet
 photo 30a_zpseca3b602.jpg
Dining out
 photo 31a_zps211a1619.jpg
Lively Latino theme
 photo 32a_zps8bae30bb.jpg
Monte-Carlo dinner

 photo 33a_zps9ad46bdf.jpg
Cheers!

 photo 34a_zpsb4e41bb7.jpg
Warm bread and butter
 
For starters, we decided to share a bowl of gratinée à l'oignon or French Onion Soup.

 photo 35a_zpsbe971573.jpg
Gratinée à l'oignon (€20)
 photo 36a_zps0ea5c162.jpg
Something soupy for B
 
Since B was ill and hasn’t been eating well, we thought it would be a good idea for him to order something that was closest to Malaysian/Asian cooking - Wok de poulet aux petit legumes, sauce soja, which was Wok of chicken with vegetables and soya sauce. It was the only Asian-sounding dish on the menu so we were both anticipating something comforting and tasty.

 photo 37a_zps0961e52d.jpg
Wok de poulet aux petit legumes, sauce soja (€20)

I decided to play it safe with a choice of pasta and settled on Spaghetti aux Palourdes (€18) or  Spaghetti with Fresh Clams. You can’t go wrong with pasta … or so I thought! Smiley

 photo 38a_zps7d3ab8a1.jpg
Spaghetti aux Palourdes (€18)
 photo 39a_zps0b885634.jpg
Smiling before tasting

Out of the three items ordered, only the French Onion Soup was to our liking. It wasn’t outstanding or anything like that but it was good enough to keep us warm after a night of exploring a strange city in the rain. Smiley


I was shocked however to taste B’s dish, which was really bland and seriously did not come close to what, an Asian like me would expect from a typical chicken + kicap + vege dish that I can easily cook at home. I gave it a 2 /10 while B gave it a 3/10. Sorry Le Bistroquet! Smiley

As for my pasta dish … well, you know how much I love pasta and I’m always keen to try out at least one pasta dish on my travels. This plate however was really disappointing. It was way too dry for my liking and once again bland. Perhaps this is the way food is mostly served in Monte-Carlo or maybe I should have ordered something else. Either way, the pasta lover in me would have definitely preferred more flavour and spices to my spaghetti. The oil-based drizzle of a sauce was just a tad and as much as I tried to enjoy it, I could only give a 4/10 for this selection of mine. merajuk 

We honestly didn’t mean to waste food but check out our leftovers! adus

 photo 40a_zps1aa3f733.jpg
B's plate
 photo 41a_zps89d611dd.jpg
I mostly had the clams
 
MARIUCA LOVES
LinkWithin Related Stories Widget for Blogs

Mariuca's Visitors