World Tour: Fourth stop South of France

Activity: South of France wedding with stops at Rothschild Mansion and Monte Carlo, Monaco

Rating:  5 of 5 stars

Website: Rothschild Mansion and Monte Carlo

Description:  I was very fortunate to attend a wedding in the Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France which is approximately half way between Nice and Monaco ( 20-30 minute drive from the Nice airport). The wedding guests stayed at the Hotel Royal Riviera which was walking distance to the Rothschild Mansion. Before the rehearsal dinner we walked over to see the mansion. The house itself was quite nice, but the real selling point is the garden. The garden(s) were gorgeous and included a large fountain with a water show to classical music. The entrance fee was no more than 20 Euros to be generous and I think it was worth the cost of admittance (if you can't tell from the pictures above).

On the night before the wedding we took a taxi to Monte Carlo Casino. I have been to the casino in Vegas and I have always wanted to go to the real thing. Also, Monaco counted as a country I hadn't visited and I am trying to increase the tally over 30. The casino was nice, but much smaller than I expected. I could feel the pressure trying to learn the slot machine strategy without any luck. Fortunately, my friends were luckier and came home with some extra euros.

Two thumbs up for South of France in October!

World Tour: Third stop Berlin

low:Activity: Touring Berlin- Hop on, hop off bus tour. Berlin Wall- Eastside Gallery, and Berlinische Art Gallery

Rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Website  Bus Tours,  East Side Gallery, and Berlinische Gallery

Description: Berlin was my favorite city in Germany. It is artistic, fun, and full of things to see. The first day we did another bus tour to make sure we hit all the major sites. We were able to see all of the below: 

Stop 1 - Tauentzienstrasse 16
Stop 2 - KaDeWe
Stop 3 - Potsdamer Platz
Stop 4 - Martin-Gropius-Bau (Mauerreste)
Stop 5 - Checkpoint Charlie
Stop 6 - Gendarmenmarkt
Stop 7 - Mühlendamm
Stop 8 - Alexanderplatz (Park Inn Hotel)
Stop 9 - Alexanderplatz (Alexa)
Stop 10 - Rotes Rathaus / Neptunbrunnen
Stop 11 - Lustgarten/Musemsinsel/Altes Museum
Stop 12 - Brandenburger Tor
Stop 13 - Hauptbahnhof (Washingtonplatz)
Stop 14 - Siegessäule (Großer Stern)

After the bus tour we went to the Eastside Gallery of the Berlin wall. This was one of my favorite sites to see all the famous murals.  

The next day was rainy and chilly so we went to a lovely brunch and then to the art museum (listed above). The museum was in the top 5 of Berlin art. There were more galleries near Checkpoint Charlie that were recommended as well.

We also wanted to go to the top of the Reichstag Building with a glass dome, but the lines for the same day were very long and advance tickets require time to process personal details. After the art museums we went to KaDeWe to shelter the rain and had some snacks at the fish and cheese bars.  For dinner we tried this Asian inspired burger place that was delicious--Shisho Burger.

Overall, Berlin is a must see city to add to the Bucket list!