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12 Hornung 2023 - Monaco

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This weekend I travelled to Monaco by train (as the last several blogs have evidenced) to run my first race in that country. Well, trying to buy the ticket in Genova the TrenItalia saleswoman asked me "Monaco, Germany or Monaco, France?" Monaco has a prince like Liechtenstein and has similiarly delegated it's foreign policy to it's bigger neighbor, France. But that there was also a Monaco in Germany was news to me! Well, in Italian the city of München, which in English we often call Munich, goes by Monaco as well. One can only imagine the disappointment of Italian tourists who find themselves in the flatlands north of the Alps rather than on the Côte d'Azur. Fortunately for me I made no sure error and successfully arrived Friday night.

After hoofing it around Milano and Genova on Thursday and Friday I decided I needed a relaxing Saturday. I stayed in bed most of the morning and then spent most of the afternoon on the beach. I think I was the only one over the age of ten swimming, but the cold water and warm sunshine formed a perfect combination. Sitting on the beach reading I was taken by the beautiful medley of cultures my equipage entailed: Turkish towel, Spanish pants, Norwegian sweater, French wine, Canadian book, Hawaiian shirt, Las Vegas socks, and a new bag I got as swag from the race. Our planet is a spectacularly connected place to live!

This morning was the big event - a twelve kilometer race called the "City Trail". I think maybe they think the English word for "staircase" is "trail". We sure went up and down a lot of staircases, but we were only off of asphalt and concrete for about 100 meters on Larvotto beach. Still, it was a rewarding race I could just enjoy and not think too much about time. The stairs were certainly good training for Vesuvio. And they treated us to the local Monte Carlo Beer at the end.

Being back in this city I visited first with Maxwell and Zara, I couldn't help but think about them a lot. I had some nice texts back and forth with them both, but it's not the same as seeing them. Maybe next month we can work something out. Now I've got a day of trains ahead of me as I head back into the Alps.