I Have More VPPs Than You

Since George is busy SCOOPing, I was requested to make a guest blog about our recent trip to Monte Carlo. Most of this I simply copied from my own blog which is focused on our family – mainly our 14 month old son, Cooper. It’s quite long, comparatively speaking to his other posts, but believe it or not, I actually deleted quite a bit. LOL.  I have no idea what poker players are interested in as far as George’s blog nor do I keep up with the poker world (bad wifey) but I hope you find this at least mildly interesting.  If nothing else, I think you will see a different side to Jorj95. To those online players who never make it to the live tournaments, maybe some of these pictures will entice you to change your mind – it really is a great way to travel and experience the world.  So, here goes….

How cute is that? We checked into our room after 11 hours of flying with a baby (he was an angel, slept most of the time but still…..hard to sleep yourself with a wiggly baby on your lap) to this on our TV screen when we checked into our room.

This was the view from our top floor room. I guess I will take this opportunity to express how appreciative I am of PokerStars hospitality. We always have AMAZING accomodations. And, no, I am not kissing ass here.

Dustin – I don’t believe I have met you but the blue crane was a joke all week long….”You think you can call Dustin and ask him to arrange for the ugly, ginormous crane to be removed for one day so I can get a clear shot?” Monaco, being a small country, is built on the side of a cliff and it seemed like no matter where I was taking pictures from, the crane reared its ugly head.

The resort convention area where the poker tournament took place. George busted an hour into his second day of playing. Darn….now we have a week to kill in one of the most gorgeous areas of the world. Dangit.

While George was working, Cooper and I meandered around the city…

and discovered one of the many “ascensors” throughout the country. You remember I said the country was built on the side of a cliff?  Four years ago, when George and I started our first European trip together in Monte Carlo, I climbed something like 279 stairs (a friend counted) to get up to the “only” pharmacy and store that we knew of. HA! There are elevators (nine according to the guide but it sure seems like I found more) all over. Where this guide was last time I was here, I cannot tell you. Maybe I am more resourceful now, who knows? I brought an umbrella stroller with me thinking I would have to carry Cooper and the stroller up numerous stairs. Nope. There were small pockets, later on when George joined us, that required carrying the stroller, but for the most part it was smooth sailing. I sure was excited that morning to learn that I would be able to explore without needing a second pair of hands or needing to break out my powerful “guns”. LOLOL.

As it turned out, there was much to find in Monte Carlo that I certainly never saw on the last trip. Initially, I attributed this to these elevators. Then I remembered that last time, George finished 32nd (or something very close) in that tourney which meant we only had maybe 2 days top to check things out. Those were the days when I actually watched him play. Haha, not so much anymore. Mostly because Cooper cannot be in the poker rooms. But also because its not much of a spectator sport IMHO (again, bad wifey). Though it was fun to watch him during the online coverage of his final tables at last year’s WSOP.

Anyway, you hear many things like “you can walk this country in 20 minutes” or “you can do the whole country in one day” and I certainly never boasted about Monte Carlo to other people the past few years. But this time around – we spent at least 5 days trekking around and did something different each time. Perhaps traveling with a baby slowed us down enough to take it all in…

Cooper and I found a playground that first morning (make that three in all by the end of the trip, but we always seemed to end up at this one).  

Meet Jet Lag Cooper

Cooper wanted to support TeamOnline one day and wear one of his dad’s patches.

This gives you an idea how high up we were. Keep in mind that the city keeps going…probably 3 more levels at least, likely more.

I would be remiss not to include at least one pic of the upcoming annual Grand Prix. The tournament is always right before this race so we see the city as it is transforming itself.  Bleachers and guardrails go up all over.  It is the only car race that utilizes the actual city streets. They complete 78 laps around the city reaching up to 270km/hr. (I am quoting, obviously). Anyway, I have no idea how much bleacher seats are but we read that people rent out their balconies for 8000 to 140,000 euros. Say what?

Coop and I had lunch here, at the Cafe de Paris. While it only took him two days to adjust his sleeping habits, he never fully regained his appetite until the last day or so. We had spaghetti that day (and it was delicious – so simple but yet quite good) and he took exactly two bites. The next day, he started spiking fevers (with no other symptoms). Was planning on taking him to a doctor but then they mysteriously went away. I was grateful for two things….that I didn’t have to take him to a French doctor since communicating with even the English speaking French is a bit of a nightmare and also that I had brought a “sick” pack with us on our trip. It’s the first time I have needed the pack and you can bet that we will never leave without one in the future.

By now, George is back with us. These pictures were taken from the patio of a restaurant. This is Lady Moura – still here 4 years later. By far, the biggest yacht in the harbor. George remembers it from last trip and said that it had been an ongoing joke all week. I remember none of this….but I just looked at our 2008 pictures and….it is confirmed that she was, in fact, present. Will I ever be right?

Anyway, adorable restaurant with the perfect patio complete with umbrellas blocking the hot sun and overlooking the harbor. AWESOME.  And they have highchairs – SCORE. This wasn’t always the case. The French lady sweetly explained that we can sit on the balcony, order drinks and such from the light dinner menu until dinner starts at 6pm – at which point we will have to move inside to eat. Weird – personally, I want to stay out on the patio for the “full” dinner but, allright, whatever. This is how Cooper felt about that.

LOL – he looks so angry. I think jet lag was still in full effect. Or maybe he was just in video zombie mode. We always have a portable DVD player with Baby Einstein videos for when we are out to dinner. It’s like baby hypnosis. Movies or cartoons don’t hold his attention but Baby Einstein is an instant sedative. Anyway, George and I were stoked – the menu looked good and we only had less than an hour to wait. We ordered some wine and cheese, looked out at the harbor and relaxed.

After about an hour, we learn that dinner is not at 6 but at 730. And as the same conversation goes further, that time changes to 8. I guess that waiter didn’t like me very much. I wanted the sweet French lady to come back but that was not to be. We ordered off the light dinner menu and, really, it was not all that “light” anyway. George got spaghetti (of which Cooper took his customary 2 bites) and I got a cheeseburger. Disappointing all the same because the full dinner sounded amazing. Plus my burger had a fried egg on it. Is this customary? It was weird – neither good nor bad, just weird. Like mayo on french fries weird. There were many things like this. George ordered sea bass one night. He got the whole fish – eyes and all. The kids menu (if there was one at all) always had chicken fingers or minced beef. I saw a kids plate next to me with the “minced” beef – it was just a plain burger patty. Um, ew. Though she did seem to enjoy it. Oh and beef tartare. It’s just raw, marinated cut up beef. I got it one night – I was curious as it is literally on every single menu. Weird – that’s all I can say, not good, not bad…it was just plain weird.

More pictures from that night on the patio….you can see the different layers. Keep in mind there is a street in between the layers. Some serious urban planning went on in this city. Living in downtown Vancouver, I think, has given me a new appreciation for what goes into planning a city.

The day after George was done with his tournament, we took a day trip to Cannes, France. We almost did not go because this was the morning that Cooper woke up with a fever. But then, his meds kicked in, the fever broke, he was drinking fine and we figured…what’s the difference, a doctor in Cannes or a doctor in Monte Carlo?

This was a quick one hour train ride (which Cooper loved BTW). One of the best parts of Europe is their train system. We entertained the idea of trotting around Europe for a year while George plays all the EPT events. Sounds brilliant…..then we imagined the size that our apartments would be, the lack of luxury (especially bathrooms) and the expense…and that’s where that idea ended.

A fun, if touristy, city. Lots of shopping and restaurants. Reminded me of California, specifically Venice Beach.

Did he lose a bet? Is he homeless? Is he an escaped mental patient? I’ll never know.

A carnival atmosphere along the boardwalk for the kids where Coop gets his first merry go round ride . He looks thrilled, doesn’t he?

This is the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival.

Surrounding the building are handprints of various movie stars. This is George’s favorite

So, here starts the trek to find La Suquet. We came to Cannes armed with only the memory of what we read on Wiki-travel the night before. Not even a map. Per usual, we think…oh we can buy a map at the train station. Nope. And the visitors/travel agency connected to the train station was, get this…closed. Really? It’s like Wed or Thurs noonish time. Go figure. We found one eventually next to the Film Festival area. Anyway…..Wiki-travel “things to do”. Boardwalk (check), film festival (check), Notre Dame (saw from a distance, check), La Suquet…….this was described as “where the locals eat” and “definitely worth the steep climb.” I am intrigued. And since, we have basically been here two hours, ate lunch and done everything else we wanted to do, I was determined to find it. We have a map by now but its not terribly helpful. I don’t think I mentioned this before – maps of cities with overlapping elevation require some “filling in the blanks” and a lot of faith. We start out flat with some signs guiding the way….

Outside a coffee shop for a diaper change (ha, don’t get me started on European bathrooms) and a cappucino for George, we tried to name all the people on this building. We couldn’t.

BTW, our signs for La Suquet suddenly ended whereupon we find ourselves at the bottom of a “steep climb” (wicked steep, I wish I had taken pictures of it) so, thinking back to Wiki-travel, I figure (surely) this is it.

This is somewhere at the top. Where there is no La Suquet but some amazing views and we opted to stop and “let the people pass.”

Admitting defeat, we decide to descend down this alleyway of stairs – as it seems our best option. This is probably the only time on our trip where we had to carry the stroller for very long. I’m not gonna lie, it sucked. At some point, I leave George and Cooper on the stairs while I keep going to determine the best route down.

I go down some steps, turn left, go through an alleyway and what do I find? LOLOL.

What is even funnier, is that after walking down Rue de Suquet, we find ourselves at the bottom of that ridiculous “steep climb” I led us up. If we had only turned right, we would have been smack dab in the middle of it and had much less of a climb. HAHAHA. Seriously, Wiki-travel has some sense of humor. I wonder how many other people have done the exact same thing. I triple-checked – I didn’t miss a street sign.

So this is La Suquet. A windy, cobblestoned, very European alleyway lined with various restaurants. Not sure I agree that it is “where the locals eat” as it has tourist written all over it, IMO. When the menus are all on posterboards outside and with English written alongside the French – it’s for the tourists. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised seeing as how it was in a guidebook to begin with.  The food was so-so but the atmosphere could not be beat.

I don’t remember which one of these restaurants (if I even have a pic of it) that we ate at but this was the night of fish with eyes and steak tartare. I ordered Coop his own meal of chicken fingers (I think?) and he ate one and half bites. No longer blaming jet lag, now I am blaming fever. But enough of that, we all know he ended up being just fine. Just look at him…this is the second “Al Bundy” pic we have of him

OK, so it was a little late. I think we got back to our hotel at 10ish? Poor Cooper, what a trooper

This day we are on our upward trek (with the help of some elevators) to the “Jardin Exotique”. Caught some amazing views on the way as you can see..

We make it to the garden thanks to a “general” location on the map, several street signs and some luck. Well worth the trek. I suppose George may disagree but I loved it. You see…we made it to the garden only to learn that no strollers are allowed in the garden. And we also realized that we have no milk. What, you ask? I don’t know! Cooper is not the only one who tends to rely on a schedule, I guess. There was a restaurant at the garden but it was (wait…it’s a shocker) closed. Maybe I thought we would get milk there?

I gave up, temper flaring, but George convinced me to go back down to get milk, come back up and go through the garden (seeing as how that was something I was really looking forward to). So, perhaps I should thank my husband for his clear thinking and even temper. And also rephrase my earlier statement. “In the end, thanks to George” it was worth the trek. It is times like this when I recognize one of the reasons George is good at poker and why I never will be.

So, off we go back down (about the third of the way) to find milk. Now, I have taken microbiology. And I also learned in, I don’t know, third grade science, that milk is in the refrigerator for a reason. Something about microbes and a guy named Pasteur, yes? But in Europe, their third grade science teaches them to put it on the shelf… next to the peanut butter, cookies and the like. When in Elsewhere…do as the Elsewherans do. Cooper drank it. He is still with us. But I would like to point out that he did spike fevers for no apparent reason. Perhaps his body was adjusting to the microbes of unrefrigerated milk? Hmmmm…interesting. A topic for another day. And another audience. But I like to think that Cooper now has new immunities thanks to this experience. With all the places he goes, and probably will go, he should have a rock solid immune system by the time he starts school. Though in all likelihood, milk can probably be on the shelf until opened. We know how us Americans like to complicate things. Off to google….

Back up we go the last third of the way, which is, of course, the steepest part. Another diaper change – which I was happy to do because the bathroom at the garden actually had a changing table. Oh the small joys in life after a baby! I get to use a changing table, not once, but TWICE in one day. Though Cooper, who apparently recognized the table as well, turned back into Squirmy McWormy for both of these changes. Haha. He was still as could be when I had to change him on the sink (except when he could reach soap) or on the floor – the diaper bag inventor who thought to put in a changing pad was a genious, BTW. He/she surely was a fellow germophobe.

Allright, back to the garden. Unfortunately, I was playing around with my camera settings earlier that morning and forgot to put them back to normal….hence dark pictures. It was, by far, the sunniest and warmest day we had in Monte Carlo. Such a shame, these would have been some great shots. It was so sunny that when I was checking the pics as we went, the glare prevented me from realizing how dark the images were. Ergh.

Ha – this looks like a backdrop but, nope, just my accidental camera settings.

All in all, we had an amazing week. We went to the aquarium, found the zoo, checked out Prince Rainier’s collection of cars – I won’t bore you all with more play by play but I will just include some random pics from the rest our trip.

This is Cooper waiting at the airport in London during our four hour overlay.

Our return flight was during the day. We lucked out and got a whole row to ourselves. He slept the first two and the last four hours of the flight. The three hours in between were a little tough at times – he was antsy – but we managed. Cooper the Super Trooper