Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - the Kiss

'Happiness is like a kiss - it feels best when you give it to someone else.'

~Author Unknown

Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - Hot Lips & the King

It's hot work being a dancing girl - look at this pretty girl's top lip.

In the smaller photo you see the King and Queen. 'U Sciaratu' (All Fools Day) in olden times, was the day when men dressed as women and vice versa, a pauper dressed as the King and the 'Lord of Misrule' presided over it all.

I've got a feeling the dancing girls are a modern touch!

Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - Strapped Up and Pushed In

And of course there are the beautiful girls...but goodness, this can't be easy. Look at the weight they have to carry, all those straps and that metal frame. And they probably need to make sure their breast plates (or whatever they are called) don't have a dent in them!

Not that anyone noticed...

Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - Soap Bubbles

'I wonder how much it would take to buy a soap bubble, if there were only one in the world.'~ Mark Twain

Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - the Bubble Driver

If you drive the bubble, then you wear makeup. Click to enlarge the small photo and you'll see the driver (or rather his head) in the centre. It's hot and humid inside the bubble - not easy for dancers or driver.

Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - the Bubble

The theme of the carnival is the sea and this bubble contains two dancers writhing around seaweed-like plants with bubbles filling the space - magical and beautiful.

Tomorrow, we'll meet the driver - somewhere in all this, there is a driver...

Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - the Terrified & Terrifying Bushes

These two bushes - you couldn't tell they weren't real when they bent down and stood perfectly still alongside a genuine tree or bush. They performed in the tiny streets of le rocher, trying to get from the safety of a real bush to another - if they saw a little dog, for instance, they'd act terrified and when someone walked past, they'd jump out and frighten them.

I was laughing so much I could hardly keep my camera still.

Port Hercule

It's Theme Day once again and today's theme is 'postcard-worthy.' There are so many iconic views in Monaco - the port for starters.

The smaller photo of the Principality was taken en route to La Turbie one day recently. I was standing just below the Vista Palace Hotel.

Please click to see how others around the world have interpreted today's theme.

Tomorrow: back to the Carnival!

Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - Walking the Tightrope

There was an area at the side of the cathedral where children could get a taste of what it's like to be a circus performer - and what child doesn't want to do that?

Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - Ciboulette and Oscar

This little car plus an entertaining ventriloquist and her dummy (Ciboulette and Oscar) chugged around the streets of le rocher entertaining the children - and a few adults too.

Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - the Dragon and the Sentry

You don't really expect to see a dragon in front of the Palais Princier, do you? Glad to see the sentry is amused and hasn't hauled him off to the Princely dungeons...

And for the unbelievable...click on this link to read about and see photos of the woman who crashed her Bentley into a Ferrari, an Aston Martin, a Mercedes Benz and a Porsche causing $1.1 million damage. All this happened outside the casino yesterday.

Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - the Flying Elephant

In the olden days, there used to be a festival in Monaco where the world turned upsidedown for a day. It was called 'U Sciaratu' (All Fools Day) where men dressed as women and vice versa, a pauper dressed as the King and the 'Lord of Misrule' presided over it all.

This festival hasn't been seen in Monaco for twenty years but last Saturday it came back to Monaco Ville (le rocher).

So, come with me and enjoy a modern day 'U Sciaratu' - we'll see parades, watch amazing creatures writhing in a bubble, be surprised by bushes that move. There are men - 9 feet tall - with elongated necks. The children can learn to walk on a tight-rope, spin a plate, balance on a ball. There is face-painting, balloon twisting and of course there are near naked women walking the streets. There's music and dancing and a lot more not mentioned - but everyone has the best fun. I loved every minute of it. A great day for kids and grown-up kids like me. And you...

To read about this festival dating back to olden times do click on THIS LINK.

More tomorrow...

Watersports

As you can see, you don't need a megayacht such as the one we saw yesterday to have fun on the water.

There are many more photos to show you of Cap Ferrat and along the coast but they will have to wait for another time.

Tomorrow we go back to Monaco as it's Carnival time on le rocher! - and it's the best fun.

Paul Allen's Octopus

There were so many yachts on the water but none as big as Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's megayacht Octopus. In the top photo you see one of his helicopters taking off.

The 414ft Octopus, has eight levels, a crew of 60 including former U.S. Navy Seals, two helicopters, seven boats, a remote-controlled vehicle that crawls across the ocean floor, a swimming pool, a recording studio. a basketball court and two submarines.

According to the Daily Mail, the Octopus was the world's biggest when Paul Allen bought it in 2003, costs £12 million a year to keep up and £483,000 for a full tank of fuel.

The Cap Ferrat Villas

One of the fun things to do out when you are lazing about on a boat is to look at the houses on Cap Ferrat.

The Cap Ferrat Walk - Walk or Swim

As you see, you can either walk around Cap Ferrat or you can swim from the rocks.

The Cap Ferrat Walk

You can walk from Beaulieu-sur-Mer all the way around the point of Cap Ferrat - isn't it lovely? Despite properties on Cap Ferrat being some of the most expensive on the Côte d'Azur, the pathway is always open to the public.

Paloma Beach - the Beach Taxi

We're in the bay of Paloma Beach at Saint Jean Cap Ferrat. If you fancy lunch at the restaurant on the beach then this water taxi whizzes out to get you. Yacht owners, who need this service, call the phone number displayed on the wall of the restaurant in the smaller photo.

The Oceanographic Museum and Barnabas

The Oceanographic Museum on le rocher is impressive from any angle but is seen at its most glorious from the sea.

In the last photo, you see the 33-metre schooner, the Barnabas, motoring past.

Yesterday, friends invited me for a day on the water at Saint Jean Cap Ferrat and these photos were taken en route from Menton. Note the slightly choppy sea, so the stabilizer in my camera did fairly well.

Come back tomorrow and over the next few days for more shots and even grander yachts...

Makin' whoopee....

As you see Princess Charlene is not the only bride in Monaco. This wedding - a far more relaxed and casual affair - took place outside at the Mairie on le rocher just a few days before the the wedding of Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock.

Long life and happiness to the bride and groom.

'Another bride
Another groom
Another sunny
Honeymoon;
Another season,
Another reason
For makin' whoopee.'