Switzerland Part1

As we alighted from the train and exited Monaco station, a cool sea breeze enveloped us, as if it were a natural welcome for returning again! Our immediate task-to figure out where the rest of the contingent was, so that we could join them and return back to Cannes, for the night. However, it was not going to be easy and the next couple of hours were filled with anxiety and mild panic.

- Surya Harikrishnan

Monaco is not a very large city by conventional metropolitan standard, though it can be a tedious task to find your way around, with no public transport, hardly any people on the streets, no mobile phone access (our European Union SIM cards did not function in Monaco for some reason), and no maps to guide us! Therefore, we decided to take a chance and walk towards the waterfront, hoping that we would see or find someone from the group. We walked down winding streets, steep stairways, and long tunnels to finally reach another yacht dock! To our pleasant surprise and glee, we learnt that we were standing right by the Formula 1 racing track of the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix!

The glamour and awe of being present at ‘Circuit de Monaco’ did not last very long. If we did not find our group on time, we would be in big trouble- there were no more trains back to Cannes that day, we had no idea of the bus timings or routes and we could not hire a taxi. To add to the panic, we could not afford to miss the shuttle, as the next morning, we were leaving for Switzerland a country outside of the European Union!