Happy Birthday Ellen! We got to sleep in today. In the afternoon, we took a trip to Monaco. After the Vatican, it is the world’s smallest sovereign state. It covers only ¾ of a square mile. It is half the size of New York City Central Park. We saw the town and fortress of the Palace. Lucky for us, the Prince was away today so the palace was open for tours. On the way to Monaco, we saw several homes of famous persons who live in the area. We saw the estate of Bill Gates and the home of Elton John. Elton was unfortunately out of wine and did not ask us in to his home even for tea. We also saw the home of Jean-Claude Van Damme which is in Monaco. He has a person spend time in his home so he can be considered a resident of Monaco which has no income taxes. It is also known as a banking haven.