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Churches! Castles! Museums! Historical Artifacts!
And, as I promised "yesterday," this blog is likely to be free of same. I say likely because I can't remember all my photos; maybe something un-lint-like will creep in.
Monaco!
Storied in gambling and James Bond lore, and so close to our hotel in Nice that we couldn't resist a visit. Two, in fact.
Q: Did you go to the famous casino in Monaco?
A: Yes we did. Their lobby was full of tourists like us, and we were self-herded into the capacious lobby area. No gambling was visible.
Q: Did you have lunch in Monaco?
A: Oh did we ever!
Q: I hear Formula 1 races run on the streets of Monaco. True?
A: True!
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| Here's a scene from the famous casino | Lunch was wonderful. With almost enough butter | We drove on the same streets! Here's a line over which the Formula 1 cars drive. |
Free Cappuccino and Milkshake?
If you don't have any Bitcoin*, go to the Kafka Hummus Cafe in Prague as we did, and when you receive your bill, you can pay them with the Bitcoin you don't have. Guess who had the milkshake and who had the cappuccino? Extra credit: |
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I Didn't Promise There Would Be No Historical Bridges
There is one tourist attraction in Prague that must, by law, be visited. It's the Charles Bridge, built in 1357, named after Charles IV. It is festooned with statues and historical artifacts, but, skipping over those, it hosted a couple of musicians when we walked across it, and they were still there when we returned after wandering about on the other bank. Prague has a rich musical tradition, with visitors such as Mozart and natives including Antonín Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana. One might have expected a bit of a classical music serenade while crossing the famous bridge, but as exemplified by the open violin case, this was more of a commercial enterprise. The music was beautiful and I'm so sure I recognized what they were playing that I was tempted to join them with a vocalization. I was appropriately restrained—thank you Karen—and we continued across the bridge. Which lush classical tune do I know so well that I almost burst into song? Stairway to Heaven. |
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The Great Czech Linzer Lack
An obsession of mine, shared by nobody anywhere, is testing the world's Linzer Tortes. We almost went to Vienna instead of Prague, where they are, presumably, readily available. And yet, 200 miles distant in this great European capital city, there wasn't a Linzer to be found. I stopped in every bakery along many miles (and kilometers) of Prague streets (and, with less expectation, those in Nice) and found not a single one.
My devastation was ameliorated by a stop at The Golden Praline, a Prague chocolate store where I laid in a supply of their wares. Days after returning home, it isn't yet exhausted.
* I don't personally have any actual Bitcoin, to the extent that "actual" even applies to such constructs, but that wouldn't seem to matter if the price is zero.
| © 2023 |
| Richard Factor |
NP: "Boulevard" Peter Sarstedt |
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ToTD I obtained this Jupiter Ocean & Racquet Club T-shirt, as usual, without benefit of attending the facility. I got it in the '70s, long, long predating any interest I recently developed in tennis itself. But, very uncharacteristically (for me), I remember exactly how and when and from whom I got the shirt. As far as I know, all the participants in the story are alive, so I shall forgo its telling. Speaking of tennis, did you see the Alcaraz/Medvedev US Open semifinal last night? What an amazing match! Even better than the Shelton/Djokovic match that preceded it by an hour. Wow! Both Alcaraz and Shelton are newcomers to Professional Tennis, and have a great future ahead of them. In my sports commentator opinion, of course, a subject about which I know almost nothing. (J.O.R.C is in Florida, I think it is or at least was pretty "exclusive.") |
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