We can’t say we have traveled to all places in the world but we have been to many cities on most of the continents. We remember visiting Beijing, China and seeing all the bikes there. We rode bikes in the busy streets of Tokyo, but that may not compare with what we saw in Amsterdam. This is a city that really does have the infrastructure setup to support biking as a way of getting around.

There were dedicated bike lanes, often separated from the street by more than just a painted line. At some of the intersections these bike roads had their own traffic signals. You had to be careful walking in the city to make sure you were on the pedestrian walkway and not in the bike lane.

We saw bikes being ridden by all types of people, kids, the elderly, business men and women, college students. The bikes were quite different than what you see in the US. These were not bikes made for racing, but more of a utility nature. They were kind of heavy and clunky, similar to what we used to see when we lived in Japan. But these bikes were often setup to carry things, including multiple people. Some had two passenger seats behind the drivers seat. Or as in this one, a small child up front and another behind. No one was wearing a helmet, however. Not sure how safe this type of riding is.

Here is something that we first thought was a bike truck.

But this type of bike was often used to haul kids that were placed upfront.

There are so many bikes in the city that they had this multilevel parking garage at the main train station, just for bikes.

And people were riding the bikes both day and night. It was truly an amazing bicycle city.

Categories: Photography, Travel
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Our Mediterranean Cruise offered only a single port of call in France but it was a spectacular one, maybe the most beautiful of all the places we would visit. As we we getting up in the morning we saw that the ship was approaching Villefranche and the view was breathtaking. It was a small coastal town located in the heart of the French Riviera.

This was the one port where the ship could not actually dock but had to anchor off a ways from the shore. We were then transported to the shore in ferry boats.

As the ferry boat approached the shore we were able to get a better view of this beautiful place.

We wanted to take the train to Monte Carlo so we had over an hour to wait. We walked through the back streets of Villefranche and enjoyed it’s charm.

After the 6 mile train ride we were in Monte Carlo, which belongs to the Principality of Monaco. It is known as the play-ground of the rich and famous. Our first place to visit was the Prince’s Palace, situated on top of Monaco Rock, home of Prince Rainier III.

The changing of the guard takes place every morning at 11:55am

The Cathedral below, was built in the 19th century. This is where the fairy-tale wedding of Prince Rainer and Grace Kelly took place and where Princess Grace is now buried.

The famous Monte Carlo casino was across the bay so we decided to take a water taxi over.

That provided a wonder view as we approached Monte Carlo.

After a bit of a hike, we finally made it up to the Monte Carlo Casino. This Casino was once the main source of income for Monaco. The building was built in 1878 and the domes on the building are all made of copper and can be seen from across the bay.

We saved our money and didn’t go inside, except for a peak. I doubt they would have let us gamble there anyway. You had to be dressed in business attire to even enter the Casino. The cars parked outside were as expensive as our house.

It was then a train ride back to Villefranche.

We boarded the ferry to go back to the ship. It was just starting to get dark and looking back we saw a picture postcard view.

[More Pictures of Villefranche and Monte Carlo]

Categories: Travel
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