Heli Air Monaco

Heli Air Monaco

Arriving by sea into the new quay in Monte Carlo, Monaco was an eye opener. The view of the famed kingdom from the water was richer in some ways than the impression we had while walking or driving around. After several days enduring uncertain weather and overcast skies, we were concerned our sightseeing tour would be cancelled. Conveniently the sky cleared long enough for us to enjoy the day. At 9:30 a.m. sharp, a Heli Air Monaco van pulled up right in front of our vessel having deftly maneuvered through the port security staff. We were the only passengers and the drive took but a few minutes from the port to Monaco’s busy heliport.

SeaDream II – Rome to Barcelona (Europe)

SeaDream II – Rome to Barcelona (Europe)

Our week-long trip aboard the SeaDream II was reminiscent of the by-gone days of classic ship travel where passengers had an opportunity to meet each other while sharing time and space with fellow travelers and crew members. In an era fraught with time constraints our “cruise” aboard SeaDream II provided us the luxury of meeting like minded people while enjoying a leisurely and luxurious voyage along the coast from Italy to Spain in the prime of the area’s tourist season.

We thoroughly enjoyed the pluses the sailing offered such as a limited number of passengers (there were 108 of us) and high crew to passenger ratio (there were 96 crew members).

Château de la Chèvre d’or

Château de la Chèvre d’or

Though we were well fed aboard our luxury yacht while cruising from Italy to Spain, we were celebrating a special occasion and longed to find a memorable setting. We sought to book something in Monaco where our ship was moored but as luck would have it the restaurant of our choice was closed that day. After consulting several sources including the yacht’s resident gourmet (and Maitre d’Hotel ) we decided on the Chateau de la Chevre d’Or (in English, the castle of the golden goat). Thanks to very able last minute maneuvering from Chritine at our ship’s concierge desk, a most accommodating French lady, we found ourselves sipping perfectly chilled champagne on the terrace of the restaurant a scant three hours after requesting the reservations.