Eze Village - The Waiter

As you walk the streets of Eze village, you'll sometimes bump into staff who work in one of the two hotels. This waiter would have just served a guest whose room is perhaps across the street or down an alleyway. As the hotels expanded in this tiny medieval hill village, they couldn't build upwards or even outwards, they had to expand by buying up other properties in the village and using them for extra accommodation.

Theme Day: Waiting - the Waiter Waits

The terrace of the Café de Paris on Casino Square. A waiter is waiting for his order.

To see how others in the City Daily Photo community have interpreted today's theme please click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Casino Square - the Waiter

Another snippet of life in Monaco - a waiter on the terrace of the Café de Paris.

A great place to sit, watch the world go by and enjoy a noisette and croissant.

The Tablecloth

Watching a waiter prepare the tables for lunch is fascinating. He is working on the terrace of the Salle Empire in the Hôtel de Paris. He threw the cloth into the air at least four or five times before he was satisfied at the way it landed.

Miami Plage

Miami Plage, Larvotto Beach 

Goodness! How many glasses does that waiter have in his arms?

Time for Tea

These stuffed animals are presumably waiting for a waiter to bring them tea whilst they people watch outside this café on the walking street of Monaco.

Café de Paris - the Seafood Servery

Outside the Café de Paris. The waiter stands outside the window from which seafood is served - lobsters, langoustines, oysters, sea urchins, prawns etc. The people you see sitting are taking simply a coffee or a cold drink.

Lunch is served either inside the restaurant with its beautiful Art Nouveau panels or in an area along from here and much further back.

These are a few of the many good 'people-watching' tables - one of the pleasures of taking a coffee in Monaco.

A night out in Monte Carlo - 6

We've had our champers and nibbly-bits in the American Bar, the ladies visited the loo, now we go to Le Grill for dinner. We cross that beautiful lobby and take a lift that goes only to the restaurant on the 8th floor. I couldn't take photographs in the restaurant but I can tell you it's decorated in dark blue - tables are wide apart - and it was full of The Beautiful People. There is a central roof that opens to the sky - in fact, the roof was opened whilst we were dining, but the edges of the Mistral were hitting Monaco, and the wind whipped the tablecloths, so it was quickly closed again. The views from Le Grill over Casino Square are wonderful but all the doors to the terraces were closed and whilst I did take one photograph through the windows, it's not good enough as the flash caught the glass.

Le Grill has one Michelin star. The waiter almost apologised that they didn't have more. The Louis XV downstairs has three. I've only ever eaten in two Michelin one-star restaurants in my life and this is the second, so I wasn't complaining and I'm glad my menu didn't show the prices. My companion told me I could have anything except the caviare from Iran. We had poached eggs with white truffles to begin - the freshest eggs imaginable and perfectly cooked (I think they must keep chickens in the basement along with all that amazing brandy) - then I had a grilled sole with steamed vegetables and my companion had Lobster Thermidor. We drank a bottle of Le Bellet, which is a really good Côte de Provence from the Nice region. It's the oldest wine of the area and has a faintly floral fragrance much sought-after by connoisseurs (I copied this from the Internet!) - it was good tho and very different to the usual Provence wines that I often drink.

And look how good I was! I hid one of the chocolates, that came with coffee, in my bag so I could photograph it for you on my terrace table.

Tomorrow will be the last day of our Night out in Monte Carlo, when we leave the Hôtel de Paris and take a look at the Casino by night.

A Monte Carlo Summer - Le Louis XV

One day I'm going to rob a bank and eat here...

Alain Ducasse's Le Louis XV restaurant in the Hôtel de Paris on Casino Square is Monaco's most famous restaurant - 3 Michelin Stars. Mortgage your house to eat there. Drool, drool....

Click on the link and take the virtual tour. Don't forget the ceiling.

I'm told they have a camera hidden in the ceiling above each table so the waiters can see (from afar) when service is needed and the chefs know when to start preparing the next course. And anyway, don't you just hate a hovering waiter?

The Waiter, the Accordion Player and the Kiss

Mid-morning. Time for an espresso at Monaco's market on Place d'Armes.

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!

Sass' Cafe

Sass' Cafe on Avenue Princess Grace. We saw it from the outside yesterday.  It's always packed and if you are walking along the street you have to pass through this narrow passage and hope you don't crash into a waiter.

The small photo shows one of the long tables before service.