Bûche de Noël

The dessert tray at Restaurant La Piazza in Monaco yesterday.  3 different flavoured Bûches de Noël, no less! My lovely friend Millie and I had the marron et chocolat. Yummy!

Sorry for the slightly blurry foreground.... blame two glasses of champagne, followed by a good Italian red!

Crystals for Christmas

To my dear friends and readers of this blog, I send you a million crystals from the lights of Nice for Christmas.  May you have a day filled with peace and love.

Jump!

We're in Nice today to visit the Christmas lights. This is my fabulous friend, Emmanuelle, jumping in front of a replica of what was once Nice's crystal casino - a pier, built over the sea and finished in 1891. The pier was closed in 1942 and stripped of its valuable metals, copper, brass, bronze and electric wiring, to be used by the German army.

Rigatoni La Voglia

Memories of a great birthday lunch on Rue Saint Francois in Nice in October.  This delicious dish is "Rigatoni La Voglia" at La Voglia.

Thank you again to Sylvie, Emma and Guillaume and Patrick and his beautiful 4L.  How lucky I am to have such wonderful friends.

A Rocky View of Monaco

Waves crash on the rocks at Cap Martin.  In the distance you see the Principality of Monaco.

Three way conversation

Three-way conversation at the seafood counter of the Café de Paris - note the replicas of old postcards running along the base. 

Singing Practice

Singing practice at Larvotto Beach.  This photo was taken at the end of June.

Kiss Curl

A dramatic look on the promenade below the casino.

Casino Monte Carlo - the Clock

One of the ornate clocks in the casino of Monte Carlo.

Casino Monte Carlo - the Blue Chairs

A luxurious corner inside Monte Carlo's casino. (not sure about the blue chairs!)

Casino Monte Carlo - the Entrance

The entrance to Monte Carlo's beautiful casino. The bronze is called 'La Fortune' and is by Daphne du Barry. 

Casino Monte Carlo - the Atrium

The stunning atrium of the Monte Carlo Casino.

A Bench with a View

This couple are enjoying the view of Monaco from the medieval village of Roquebrune.

The Mantle of Conscience by Anna Chromy

This is a new sculpture, recently installed in the gardens opposite Le Rose des Vents. 

It's called the Mantle of Conscience and is by the artist, Anna Chromy.

'Very Hungry God' by Subodh Gupta

This is a sculpture recently seen outside the Grimaldi Forum.

It's called 'Very Hungry God' by artist Subodh Gupta, who is based in New Delhi.

It's made of approximately 3,000 pieces of stainless steel kitchenware.

The Cow ready for a Swim

You'll find this cow in the gardens of the Princess Grace Hospital in Monaco.  She's called 'Elegante au Bains' and has been decorated by sculptor Anne Quemar.  In 2005 there were dozens of cows all over Monaco. They'd been created by well-known artists and scuptors in aid of charity.  This one was bought by the Baronne Brandstetter and donated to the hospital.

She marks the smoking area in the gardens.

Larvotto Beach in August

Larvotto Beach in August.  Bodies, bodies.  I wonder what those two green plastic dolphins are for? (foreground left)

Miami Plage

Miami Plage on Larvotto, before the lunchtime crowds.

Monaco from the Bateau Bus

A fun way to see Monaco is on the Bateau Bus - the solar powered electric ferry that crosses the harbour and all it costs is 1.50 euros.  An easy and cheap way to pretend you own a super yacht!

On the day I took this (end of June) - you can see ominous clouds hung low over the la Tete du Chien (Head of the Dog) with only pinponts of sunlight on the buildings.

Monaco Yacht Club - the Champagne Bar

This is the champagne bar on the top deck of the new Monaco Yacht club.   Good-looking waiter included!

Horse before Cart (Car)

Horses come before cars as they cross the street in Port Hercule.  This beauty was in Monaco last month for the Show Jumping Championships.

The NEW Monaco Yacht Club - the Pool

Looking from the top deck of the new Monaco Yacht Club, we see the pool and on the car side of Port Hercule,  a cruise ship.  The yacht club is so like a cruise ship itself that sometimes it's difficult to remember it isn't!

The NEW Monaco Yacht Club

We're at the new Monaco Yacht Club today.  There is a restaurant on this level and another on the highest level.  As you can see, it's built like an ocean liner. See this POST.

Nice, not Monaco!

Don't panic! This isn't Monte Carlo!  It's Nice yesterday where police were out in force to prevent a 'Free Palaestine' protest from entering Avenue Jean-Médecin. 

The NEW Monaco Yacht Club

The new Monaco Yacht Club is finally open.  Looks like a cruise liner, doesn't it?  It had its grand opening on the 20th June with 3,000 guests including the Princely family of course. 

It was designed by the studios of leading British architect, Lord Norman Foster, in collaboration with Monaco-born architect, Alexandre Giraldi, and is the new headquarters for the Monaco Yacht Club (YCM).

It was a grey day when I took this photo, but a few days ago, I went there for lunch and the sun shone!  Next time we'll explore the building...  

Colour at Larvotto Beach

Colour at Larvotto Beach.

Monte Carlo Daily Photo is undergoing a slight change.  It will now be published less often, probably a couple of times a week, hence the change of name to Monte Carlo Weekly Photo.  I need to organise my time better in order to work on my book about Gorbio. Hope my loyal and much appreciated Monte Carlo follows will understand.

Art Monaco - Two Fat Ladies

Two fat ladies on the forecourt of the Grimaldi Forum.  A flashback to Art Monaco and sculptures by Marina.

Left right, Left right ...

Left right, left right ...

Wisteria

A delicate wisteria in the Japanese Garden against the hard lines of the apartment building opposite.

Larvotto Beach

Larvotto  Beach. I snapped this at the very end of April so you can be sure there are many more on the beach today.

Art Monaco - 'Make Art Not War' - Evi Savvaidi

'Make Art Not War' is the name of this sculpture by Greek artist,  Evi Savvaidi.

Art Monaco - Parfum Revolte by Yves Hayat

The 'perfume of revolution' by Yves Hayat was exhibited at Art Monaco.

Art Monaco - Benedicte Blanc-Fontenille

Benedicte Blanc-Fontenille is a French-born artist exhibiting at the Art Monaco exhibition which was held in in April.  I commented on how well it looked against a black background but Benedicte told me it looks even better against a white background as the falling figures catch the light.

She writes:

"Life is nothing but motion. This movement is the fragility of the humans being.
That's the buried thing and the visible one, the folds that need to be unfold to access the knowledge, to achieve.
In my work, the texture evokes this fragility by playing with transparency and opacity. The colors I am using are inspired by the mineral, to translate the rebirth, the revival, perpetual motion of the cosmos.
The silhouettes of humans are appearing like a shadow caught in a snapshot whose movement is developing in the eyes of the spectator."

Art Monaco - Chinwe and Jennifer

We're back at Art Monaco today and a photo of a beautiful girl, Chinwe, who was visiting the show with her friend, Jennifer.  They came from London.  Two lovely girls happy to pose for the photographers.

Comfort or Mode

I know which pair I'd be wearing ...

Window dressing

Fancy meeting you here ...

Postcards from Monaco

Of course you can buy the usual picture postcard views of Monaco - but perhaps one of these has more appeal?

Eze Village - Auberge

Don't you love this old sign? I hope they never change this lovely old wall.

Eze Village - Cables and climbers

Cables and climbers decorate this old window in Eze village.

Eze Village - Tomato Temptation

Bunches of small tomatoes form part of the floral decorations at the Mas Provençal in Eze.

Eze Village - Cheers!

Cheers! Aperitifs at the Mas Provençal in Eze.

Eze Village - the Golden Lion

One of the Chateau de la Chevre d'Or's golden lions making his presence felt in the gardens of this beautiful hotel.

Eze Village - Pool with a View ...

We are by the pool of the Chateau de la Chevre d'Or looking towards Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.