After Nice, the original plan was to spend a night in Geneva, Switzerland. If you are a nerd like us, you would know this is the home for CERN, Europe's premier particle accelerator. I wasn't thrilled about spending part of my vacation learning technical things, but Justin was really excited about going and was trying to get us a private tour of the facilities (yipee). I decided to go along with it though since he willingly spent hours with me staring at Renaissance paintings and sculptures throughout Italy. I told him to take care of transportation and sleeping arrangements and did not think much about it.
After leaving Nice, we stopped in Monte Carlo, in what was originally supposed to be a quick stop before Geneva, but Justin surprised me by revealing reservations for a fancy hotel for the night in Monaco! I pretended to be sad we were not visiting CERN, but it was pretty obvious I would rather be spending my day in one of the most luxurious places in the world! Known for hosting the Formula 1 Grand Prix, this tiny country--second smallest in the world after Vatican City--is also a playground for the rich. Everything in Monaco is about showing off your wealth from pulling into port on a gigantic yacht, gambling in the Grand Monte Carlo Casino, and staying at the fancy Hotel Paris. As we are unable to partake in any of this grandeur, we mostly walked around to gawk at all the wealth.
On our first night in Monaco, June 13th, we ate dinner at a nice little restaurant near the port. Afterwards, we walked through the gardens by the Grand Monte Carlo Casino and ended up around midnight on a balcony of the Princess Grace theater overlooking the port. I attempted to take a picture of the pretty lights of the city by balancing my camera on the ledge. When I turned around, Justin suddenly pulled me close with a smile, put the ring on my finger, and asked me to marry him! I was in complete shock, but I managed to say yes ;) This will definitely be a trip we will always remember!
After such a life changing night, the next day in Monaco was mostly spent staring at my new beautiful ring, which I absolutely love! As you can see from our pictures, I am pretty obsessed with showing it off.
Thanks Justin for such an unforgettable time in Monte Carlo!
