Today we didn’t sleep in as late and got the boys out the door around 10. We made a quick exit and headed right to the train station which we knew would be packed.. There were hundreds of people waiting to get on the train to Monaco. We packed onto the train and then made our way through the blockaded streets to our location which was right above the track on the first straightaway after the first turn. We arrived right before the drivers’ parade and they take them around on the back of a truck and they wave to all the fans. All the stadium seats were packed, the yachts in the harbor are packed and thousands of people were crowding nearly every balcony of every apartment building and hotel that lined the track or had any view of the track. It was such an exciting energy to be there. There is only one area on a hill pretty far away actually that any nonpaying viewers can catch a glimpse of the track and there thousands of people dotting the hill and the roads which had an views of the track. It was really remarkable. Reminiscent in many ways of the SLC Olympics alongside Deer Valley, but times 1000.
The racers took a lap or two around the track before they lined up and the racers pulled out. We couldn’t see the start but we could see the first turn, which apparently in the other races earlier there had been a couple of big crashes but everyone took the first turn fairly cautiously and then they went all out right below us with full engines running and truly a roar of engines filled the air. It was really a rush to hear the roar and then the roar of the crowds. For most of the race Hamilton, who calls Monaco home but hails from Great Britain was in the lead. But there was a big crash by a 17 year old driver for Red Bull when he slammed into the car right infront of him and it sent the young driver spinning out into the barricade tearing off his front tires and colliding head on into the corner. I was standing on the balcony just 200 yards away but didn’t see it happen, but Nathan caught it. I was looking at the TV at that moment which showed the crash but when I looked out onto the balcony it was just out of sight since he really had gone flying.
The crash changed the race since the course went on Safety and were just keeping position and taking laps on the track not at full throttle, although the safety Mercedes car out there was probably going full throttle to keep just ahead of the Formula 1 cars ;) Hamilton decided to go in for new tires during this time- which takes literally about 5 seconds- it’s amazing to watch- and when he came out something happened and he lost his position, I think he thought the others were coming in for new tires but they didn’t. As a result he came out in third and when they finally lifted the safety hold there were only about 7 laps to go and he couldn’t make up his position and came in third. It was really exciting finish. When the race was over all the yachts in the harbor blew their horns. There was a cacophony of sounds echoing through the harbor and throughout Monaco. It was really awesome. The drivers hopped out of their cars and literally climbed right onto the podium where they were awarded their trophies by Prince Albert.
After the races we headed back onto the train and about an hour or so later arrived back in Nice. We walked around and down by the water and took in this beautiful city before enjoying a tasty Sushi dinner. Following dinner we hopped on an electric trike tour around town where we had a darling law student from the University in Nice, who happened to be from Poland, take us around the city. There are so many parts of Nice. We had thought we had seen all of it, but kept discovering different parts, all charming and a little different.
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