(in front of the Mediterranean, before the haze burned off)
(yachts that may be worth more than my life, docked in Monaco's harbor)
(the Monte Carlo)
(just some car parked out front... ;) )
Today I went to a whole new country and returned to France in time for dinner! Hadn’t done that before…
This morning we were up and ready to go early again. The whole group loaded the coaches to travel to our first company visit of the day, Parfumerie Fragonard, a famous French perfume company. The company’s factory and headquarters location was only about a twenty minute drive from our hotel in Nice, and since we had to go up a hill to get there, we were able to stop and take pictures of the beautiful water (and hundred thousand Euro yachts) below.
Once we made it to the perfumery, we had a short lecture on the history of perfumes, and the making and marketing of the company’s fragrances. We also were able to learn about perfumes by smelling a variety of different scents, combinations, and original Parfumerie Fragonard creations. After our classroom session, we were taken on a tour around the factory. Since this company makes the majority of their products by hand, we got an up close and personal view of the processes that are used to manufacture a variety of different products. It was really interesting to see all the work that the employees must put into each and every item, and to learn about how things that I take for granted (such as soap and perfume) are made. After our tour, we were able to smell a number of finished perfumes, as well as look around the shop and make purchases. Everyone (or maybe just the girls) was really excited because this perfume sells for around $100 in the US, but since we were at the factory, the prices were much lower, and since we brought a giant group, they gave everyone another 10% off.
Then we drove a little ways down the road to the country of Monaco! Monaco is the second smallest country in the world, after Vatican City, and it covers only 0.8 square miles of land. It also does not tax its citizens’ income, so it attracts the uber-wealthy from all over the world. First, we were able to tour the Monaco’s palace, the Place of the Prince. Sadly, I’ve seen so many palaces in the past two weeks that I actually thought this one was small and unimpressive. Strange that I thought that about a palace, but it was nowhere near Windsor Castle or Versailles. After touring the castle we were able to go off on our own for lunch. Then the whole group came together for our presentation from the Monaco Tourism Board. It was quite interesting to hear about how Monaco “markets” itself and the issues it faces with making sure that the country remains a popular vacation spot for the rich and famous, maintains its impressive level of safety, and continues to gain notoriety from the Monte Carlo casino.
After the formal presentation, our group was allowed the privilege of a tour around Monte Carlo (a world-famous casino featured in the Oceans 11 and 12 movies, and a number of James Bond movies) and access to the VIP area that is normally reserved only for the casino’s best and most frequent visitors. Since it was only about four in the afternoon, we didn’t see many people inside the casino, much less someone famous, but our host assured us that everyone we’ve ever heard of gambles at the Monte Carlo. After the tour, we would have been able to actually play some games in the casino but we would have to go back outside and pay the ten Euro cover charge to come back in. Some other girls and I decided we did not want to spend ten Euros to play one or two slot machine games, so we got coffee instead at a nearby mall.
After our full day of presentations and tours, we arrived back in Nice in time for dinner. I went out with a group of about ten students to a very yummy Italian restaurant. After dinner, even though we were stuffed, we ended up making a McDonalds run to get McFlurries (they make the with Kit Kat balls here- delicious), then headed back to the hotel.
Tonight I was able to Skype with my family for the first time which was a lot of fun. I can’t believe that today is the half-way point of our trip! I’ll be back in Texas in two more weeks!
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