Day 8/9/10 - Picasso, Monaco and Portofino...

So a week into this adventure I find myself waking up in Baux-de-Provence to pack and get on the road towards.... if you guessed Monaco... 2 points for you. Christine and Phillipe, the owners of the absolutely wonderful "Riboto" hotel, urged us to stop at a type of art museum down the road by the name of Cathedrale D'Images before leaving town. Our decision to check it out may well be the best decision of the trip. The Cathedrale D'Images is likely like no other art gallery I'll ever see again. A stone quarry turned art installation - this gallery was featuring the works of Picasso this year. The art projections on the walls, columns and floors were complimented with music giving a art experience like I've never had before. It's pretty amazing how you can find these amazing unique art concepts in the most remote towns in Europe.

After the great visit - it was off to Monaco to our Hotel #4 in the Hotel Tour - the Hotel Monaco - Port Palace (http://www.portpalace.com/). Although ideally located and stylish - I have to admit the hotel felt somewhat out of place in Monaco. Nevertheless - the location directly on the harbor was ideal for visiting the Monte Carlo Casino and strolling past the fortune of yachts moored just outside our window. My overall impression of Monaco was a little too commercialized with swarms of tourists everywhere looking to take pictures with the miriad of Bentley's and Ferrari's around town. Nevertheless - it was worth the visit and as quickly as we had gotten there - we were off to our next destination: Portofino, Italy.

To be clear - Portofino was not originally on the itinerary as we had planned to drive directly from Monaco to Firenze, Italy. We added Portofino last minute to breakup the drive into two days and it will likely be the best decision of the trip. I will not go into the details of Portofino - I will only say it is likely the most amazing place I have visited. Our "home" for the night was Hotel Splendido (http://www.hotelsplendido.com/) - Hotel #5 on our Hotel Tour and likely the gem of the entire trip. A 56-room property built on a lush green cliff above the "Plazzeta" of Portofino - the hotel perfect the art of casual elegance. A spectacular lunch of carpaccio and pesto spagetini was followed by a walk through town and dinner in the Plazzeta below. I have to say - it was tough leaving this amazing place but it is on the "Will Return" List without question.