Monaco!
Gooooood morning Monaco! Our trip to the most densely populated country in the world was a day trip from Nice and proved to be an exhilarating experience. When Walter and Harsh landed in Nice early Friday morning, they saw advertisements for the electric Grand Prix, E Prix. We had never heard of this before, but since we were planning on visiting Monaco anyway and tickets were 30€, it was a no-brainer.
A quick train ride from Nice and we were in the city-state of Monaco. We were wearing our richest outfits to try to fit in with the wealthy crowd. A lot of the roads were roped off for the race, so it was a bit of a maze to get to the grandstand area. Once there, we decided to explore a little before the qualifying races and tried to take a picture with one of the advert posters. Unfortunately, the view of all the posters was blocked by large walls and scaffolding, so instead we picked up some souvenirs and headed back to our seats. One of my purchases was a hat for my dad, but I definitely wore it the whole day and got my use out of it. Hope you don’t mind Dad!
We had done a lot of analysis on where to sit, and I can confidently say that K was the best one. It provided views of a major curve, a long straight section, and the yachts on the water on the other side. The qualifying was super fun to watch and we were able to walk to the first row since there weren’t that many people watching in the morning. It was a time trials-based system followed by head-to-head elimination rounds. Not being a Formula 1 fan, it was a little confusing to watch (I think qualifiers were to determine starting positions in the main race, but not 100% sure). I also found it funny that there were Mariokart-like elements to the race, such as speed boosts that temporarily increase the engine power (since the cars are electric, it’s easy to modify the engine strength).
We had grabbed food during qualifiers (pretty solid and reasonably priced, especially compared to American sporting events!), which freed up our lunch break to squeeze all of our Monaco sightseeing. We headed to Monaco’s Old Town, which involved climbing up a pretty sizeable hill. The views from the top were second to none, though, and we made sure to take lots of pictures. Funnily enough, we had a clear view of the racecourse—this might be a killer money-saving move for the actual Grand Prix! We also saw the Palace of Monaco, complete with an armed guard patrolling the front. I convinced the crew (Iris, Harsh, Walter, and Owen) to walk to the Monte Carlo casino, so we set off (after getting a quick ice cream cone).
A long, hilly walk later, we got to the casino, but there seemed to be some barrier to get in (looked like some sort of ticketing system), and the main race was about to begin. So, we admired the beautiful architecture of the Casino de Monte-Carlo from afar. Gambling and all is cool, but I was more starstruck by the fact that Monte Carlo simulations are based on this casino!
As the crow flies, we were right next to the racetrack, but because of all the barriers and scaffolding, it was another 20-minute walk to get back. At this point, we had walked across the entire country. We hustled back, navigated the train station’s weird floor numbering (floors are negative numbers, but the negative is often omitted?), and settled into our seats just a couple minutes before the race began. The announcer, albeit speaking in French, did the classic announcement of the lineup before counting off the drivers and it was so amazing to be seated in the middle of all the action. The racers began zooming down the tracks, and an underdog, Nick Cassidy, took control of the race. There were several minor wrecks, which led to several safety laps where the pacing car leads all the cars around the wreck and maintains the relative ordering of the racers. To remove the car from the track, a construction crane was used to lift up the car, which proved to be a funny sight to see: a flying car!
As the race progressed, one thing that really impressed me was how fast the acceleration and deceleration were. The top speeds weren’t too high, but they could go from 0 to 100 mph (160 kmh) almost instantaneously. Near the end, there were a lot more safety laps and the final lap was pretty anticlimactic: a safety lap. Nevertheless, the awards ceremony had all the same grandeur, complete with comically large champagne bottles being sprayed everywhere. Who knows? Maybe Formula E will be the new Formula 1 in 10 years when electric vehicles slowly take over. They are getting faster and faster…
The crowds slowly filtered out, and now being experts in navigating the Monaco train station, we were able to get to the platform relatively quickly. After trying to get past an officer who was limiting the number of people on the platform, we made it on our train and headed back to France.
After a long, arduous, and painful journey (5 minutes), we got off at Cap d’Ail: the wrong stop! But that’s a story for another time…
Takeaways
- Monaco is a beautiful city just a quick hop from Nice, but make sure you dress like you own a megayacht. Or don’t. Live your own life.
- Watching a race in Monaco is an amazing opportunity: if you can’t afford Formula 1 Grand Prix tickets, consider watching a Formula E race or trying to sneak a peep from the Old City
- Walking around the city for a day trip is a great way to rack up a cool 30,000 steps before dinner
- The casino is a historical landmark that gives you the chance to pay for the trip in just a couple quick hands
Rose-Bud-Thorn
Rose (what went well): The rose is what we came here to do: see the Formula E Grand Prix! Since it seems like a Formula 1 knock-off, I had low expectations, but it felt just as genuine. From the announcers to the cars to the grandstands, it was super exciting to just be there.
Bud (what was good but could be improved on): Because of our tight schedule and running around, we did not have a chance to try some local food spots. While the sandwich and ice cream I had were very delicious, it would have been cool to go to a sit-down place as well.
Thorn (what did not go well): I wish we could have gone into the casino and played a single hand of blackjack or something at perhaps the most famous casino in the world. Our time was limited because of the E Prix, though, which feels like a very very good reason to skip the casino.
Rohan Chhaya 