A Monte Carlo Summer - the Fireworks Competition

Each year Monaco holds its Concours International de Feux d'Artifice Pyromélodiques. 4 or 5 'firework and music nights' are held throughout the summer and for each one, Monte Carlo is packed to the gills. You can't park, you can't get a meal in a restaurant unless you've booked well in advance. The festival has been running since 1966 and a win in Monaco is enormously prestigious. The five judges consider the style of the display, the quality of the colours, the quantity and effects and also that the fireworks synchonise with the music.

This year the contestents were Great Britain, Poland, Austria and Denmark - you see part of their presentation in these photo. Notice the lady's hand in the lower photograph.

When the fireworks start, all the lights around the harbour are extinquished - there's quiet and then suddenly - it all begins -it really is exciting.

And the winner? Austria who presented their display on the 11th August. They take away a cheque for 100,000 euros although the displays probably cost not much less than that.

You can see the photograph from last year's competition by clicking on the link.

A Monte Carlo Summer - the Bathrobe

No, you don't often see a gentleman walking about Monte Carlo in a bathrobe. He's probably been to the Thermes Marin de Monte Carlo - the Monte Carlo Spa - which is a fabulous gym/pool/everything for health and well-being - and is connected to the Hotel Hermitage, and I think, to the Hotel de Paris too, by an underground tunnel. He is about to cross the road at the level crossing you see to his left - this would lead to the Hermitage. So doubtless he decided to take the above-street route today.

A Monte Carlo Summer - August

Monte Carlo in August - A Ferrari, yachts and lots of visitors. Not that you don't see Ferraris and yachts all the year round - you do. More tourists though in July and August.

A Monte Carlo Summer - Black and White

For one second, I thought these three were real. They sit on a wall above the Park Palace shopping centre which is opposite the Casino Gardens.

A Monte Carlo Summer - la Gare

Monaco has a fairly new railway station. You can enter from various levels. Here is the view as you come down the escalator from the highest level - we are looking at the harbour from the St. Devote corner.

To get up or down involves escalators and lifts and happily, views like this. I look this standing on the moving escalator so am surprised the view remained pretty much in focus.

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?

A Monte Carlo Summer - Silver

Take a stroll around the port - yes, it's opulent, big yachts, speedboats, trendy restaurants, you get the feel of wealth - but there is wonder just in the reflections on the water.

This silver sea took my breath away.

A Monte Carlo Summer - Hot Dogs

The young man had been carrying the girl around on his shoulders - he lowered her onto a plant stand by the port. She jumped off and immediately threw her arms around him - a flower above their heads.

Hot dogs in front of a hot dog stand!

To see The Barack Obama Dog please click on the live link to Riviera Dogs.

A Monte Carlo Summer - the Beach Cleaner

Monaco's beaches are not pristine by luck. Here you see one of the clean-up guys. It's early morning, already people are taking a dip but for this man, it's a working day on Larvotto Beach.

A Monte Carlo Summer - the Palm Fronds

If you tire of the beaches, you can always find peace and beauty in one of the many gardens in the Principality. Here we are in the Casino Gardens. These palm fronds entranced me. (Click on the small photo to see the palm)

I believe this is called Erythea Armata, a palm from California and sometimes known as the Blue Palm. If not, I hope the knowledgeable-on-all-things-horticultural, Tog of Coral Gables Daily Photo will correct me.

A Monte Carlo Summer - the Funfair - Boating

Are they practicing for the day they'll have a boat like Daddy's?

A Monte Carlo Summer - the Pool Man

Early morning and the young man is putting out the umbrellas ready for another hot day. We are at the swimming pool in Port Hercule.

This one is for you, Sally from Sydney Daily Photo. Sally swam in this pool when she and her family visited in June this year.

A Monte Carlo Summer - the Funfair - Waiting

These children are watching the bungee jumpers at the funfair on the port. Perhaps waiting their turn, perhaps just dreaming. What a mixture of faces and expressions. And how beautiful is that little boy on the left?

A Monte Carlo Summer - the Conversation

It's just gone 8 in the morning. These two guys are sitting, deep in conversation, at La Note Bleue, which is a jazz lounge, beach restaurant on Larvotto Beach.

A Monte Carlo Summer - the Opera House

A view of the Casino (in fact the back of it - ie the Opera House) taken from the far side of Port Hercule, which is way way below. This shot shows Monaco's setting in the hillside.

A Monte Carlo Summer - the Riva

A canvas cover on the boat and its reflection. A Riva speedboat. Probably the most prestigious speedboat of all. Click on the link. Once into the website, it's worth looking at the 'Historical' link to see some lovely old boats.

You'll see quite a few Riva yachts in the harbour of Monaco.

A Monte Carlo Summer - the Dragon

This fearsome chap peers out from the vegetation by one of the pools in the Casino Gardens.

"It's hard to stop Muggles from noticing us if we're keeping dragons in the back garden - anyway, you can't tame dragons, it's dangerous."
- Ron Weasley

"We're our own dragons as well as our own heroes, and we have to rescue ourselves from ourselves."
- Tom Robbins

A Monte Carlo Summer - the Funfair - Boo Hoo

It's late afternoon at the Funfair in the port - these kids have had ENOUGH ALREADY!

A Monte Carlo Summer - Le Mas Provençal

The medieval village of Eze is on the Moyenne Corniche and very near to Monaco. Climb the village to the cactus gardens and you'll find views to die for. You'll find galleries and workshops galore as you climb the steep cobbled streets. Eze is known for its little art shops.

At the foot of the village you find the Fragonard perfume factory (which also operates in Grasse) and just along from there, you'll find what is probably the prettiest restaurant on the Côte d'Azur - it's called Le Mas Provençal and is decorated with thousands of fresh tropical flowers. Specialities are milk-fed suckling pig, roast lamb - and also a great risotto served in a hollowed out parmesan cheese. It's not cheap tho. I've eaten there a couple times in the past. Yesterday, it was closed for lunch, but I peered in through the wrought-iron gates to take these photos.

Later, walking back to my car, I passed Jude Law getting out of his - waiting for a lady to get out her side. I didn't like to invade his privacy and ask for a photo - perhaps I'm too English! - would you have done so? He's too gorgeous...sigh...

A Monte Carlo Summer - the Crew

Head down, legs up - sorting out the engine. One of the many guys who work as crew on the yachts in Port Hercule. Well, actually, he could be the owner...nice legs regardless.

A Monte Carlo Summer - the Ferrari Ride

You'll always find a Ferrari or ten in Monaco but the other day, driving around, I seemed to be seeing far more than usual - and here's why.

These people are queuing for a ride around the Grand Prix circuit in a Ferrari 360 F1 Spider. This you can drive yourself - cost is 85 euros for the driver and 45 euros for your passenger. If you want to be driven around you can hire a 430 CH with driver.

To read more, click on THIS LINK and don't forget to have the volume loud. You won't want to miss that engine roar - or, should I say, purr.

A Monte Carlo Summer - the Diving Helmet

This is a U.S. Navy Diving Helmet from the 1940s. The photograph was a possible choice for yesterday's Theme Day.

It's on display in a shop (see the smaller photo) that sells equipment for the many yachts moored in Port Hecule.

Theme Day: Metal

The first of the month so it's Theme Day and this month's Theme is Metal. Here you see part of a gate frame to the Casino Gardens with the largest of the fountains behind it. Beyond the fountain is the Casino of Monte Carlo - an iconic view of Monaco.

It's hot and humid in Monaco at the moment. The ozone level is not far off critical - people with breathing problems are told to stay indoors and the speed limit has been reduced on all motorways in the Alpes-Maritimes.

There are 184 City Daily Photo bloggers from all around the world taking part in today's Theme. Do visit some of them and and see what 'metal' they have found in their city to delight you. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

A Monte Carlo Summer - the Werewolf

You can't turn a corner in Monaco without seeing a sculpture. It's rich, rich, rich in beautiful art, often by famous sculptors. And not just outside. You'll find work inside hotels and shopping centres too. The Metropole Centre always has an exhibition throughout its various levels. This summer the featured artist is the ceramicist, Jacky Colville.

This piece is called Banc 'Loup Garou' - banc is French for bench. A Loup Garou is a werewolf.

At first, I cropped this photograph to eliminate the background but somehow it shows itself off better with a bit of space around it - and anyway, look at the beautiful marble floor.

A Monte Carlo Summer - Morning Light

It's nine in the morning - you see Cap Martin, the hills of Menton. Italy is just beyond. We are in the main port of Monaco - Port Hercule. The sun is already quite hot.

On the larger yachts, crew members are busy cleaning. The fishermen have brought in their catch. Visitors are still sleeping or perhaps breakfasting on their terraces.

Monaco is waking up.

A Monte Carlo Summer - the Baguette

They teach 'em to love baguettes young in France.

The mother of this little one runs one of the stalls at the Funfair on the port. Baby sat outside happily chewing on his bread.

A Monte Carlo Summer - the Fishing Boat

With all the boats and super-yachts in Port Hercule in Monte Carlo, it's sometimes hard to remember there are fishing boats too. This was taken at 9 in the morning - the catch is in and now the fisherman (click to enlarge) is sorting his nets.








The Fish - by William Butler Yeats

Although you hide in the ebb and flow

Of the pale tide when the moon has set,
The people of coming days will know
About the casting out of my net,
And how you have leaped times out of mind
Over the little silver cords,

And think that you were hard and unkind,
And blame you with many bitter words.

A Monte Carlo Summer - I Love Fashion TV

It's dusk, hence the poor light. Soon the yachts will be lit and Monte Carlo will resonate with the sounds of summer nightlife. Here you see the I Love Fashion TV boat.

A Monte Carlo Summer - the Funfair - Bungee!

Each year you'll find the Bungee bouncers at the Funfair on the port of Monaco. This year tho, it's in a different place to last year so in these photographs you see le rocher (the Rock) in the background.

Last year, they bounced with a backdrop of the yachts in the harbour. Click on the link to see who was having fun then.

There's still time to enter the competition posted on Menton Daily Photo yesterday. No one, so far, has come up with the correct answer - so do have a go.

A Monte Carlo Summer - the Funfair - Pride

Each summer, on the esplanade in front of Port Hercule, you'll find all the fun of the fair.

In the main photograph, the little boy has just finished swinging from one platform to another. He's so proud of himself. I watched him for a while whilst he was waiting his turn - very serious, watching those in front of him, obviously rather daunted. The small photo shows him before the adventure - just as he's about to move off the platform.

There's a competition today on Menton Daily Photo. Do take a look and see if you know the answer. A postcard of Menton will go to the winner.

A Monte Carlo Summer - the Clean-up Man

Not the sharpest photograph in the world, but I wanted you to meet one of the men who clean up Larvotto Beach. It's just gone 8 in the morning and he whizzes along the jellyfish nets, checking for any damage. He also picks up any flotsam and jetsam in the sea.

Larvotto Beach has had its publicity problems lately. Analyses of the water have shown a toxic algae called 'Ostreopsis Ovata' which has been menacing Larvotto Beach in particular. In fact all the beaches in Monaco are now under high surveillance.

This algae, which has colonized parts the northern edge of the Mediterranean during the last few years, is a one-cell microscopic organism. Because it contains chlorophyll it's called an algae, but it's also a sort of plancton. Its natural habitat is on underwater rocks where it attaches itself to the rocks in the form of a brown mousse. The problem arises when this mousse detaches from the rocks and floats to the surface. In contact with the sun it gives off a toxic gas.

Two years ago, in Italy - at Genoa - 200 people were intoxicated and hospitalised with respiratory problems.

At the moment, the authorities say there is no danger in Monaco but the problem is being continually observed and tested by the zoological station in Villefranche, a laboratory at the University of Nice and the biology department attached to the Office of the Environment in Monaco.

They say, 'We are not in a situation of alert, but we are in a siuation of enforced vigilance.'

Meanwhile, as you see, people swim.

A Monte Carlo Summer - the Jellyfish Net

Larvotto Beach is protected from jellyfish by this net - well two nets in fact, one either side of the central breakwater. In total there are 320 metres of protection.

And what do you do if you are stung by jellyfish? I remember when I lived in Cairns in Queensland, Australia, there were always bottles of vinegar available on the beach.

Nice-Matin, the other day, tells us that if you can't find immediate help from the Lifeguards (and you will in Monaco) - this is what you must do:

1. Don't move the affected limb or limbs and whatever you do don't rub the skin. It will make it worse.

2. Remove the tentacles with tweezers or with gloved hands (in fact two sets of gloves, it says).

3. Then cover with dry sand or flour or talcum powder or even shaving mousse - which will trap the remaining cells that cause the rash.

4. Then you can then gently rub the affected area with a rigid piece of cardboard or a plastic credit card to remove these remaining cells - unusual use of a credit card!

5. Next you must wash the affected area with hot water (the heat apparently destroys the jellyfish poison).

6. Then you put salt on for 30 minutes.

7. Finally, you must take an aspirin.

A Monte Carlo Summer - Jellyfish!

Jellyfish! Lots of jellyfish! This sign is to be seen on Larvotto Beach. Tomorrow, we'll find out what they do about them.

Prince Rainier III

This sculpture stands outside the chapiteau (the circus tent) in Fontvieille. It was sculpted by Marcus Marin in 2006 and needs to be seen from a distance to properly see the face of the late Prince Rainier of Monaco.

Black

Shiny, immaculate yacht. Smart fenders. This boat is moored in the port of Fontvieille.

Parc Sacha Guitry - 2

Parc Sacha Guitry is a beautiful and peaceful park in Cap d'Ail - the town bordering Monaco - with its many stunning Belle Epoque buildings and wondrous views. It's a place too with a real village/community feel to it.

Rampoldi's

Rampoldi's is a trendy restaurant just around the corner from the Café de Paris in the Place de Casino. This is what a recent Frommer's review had to say about it:

"More than any other restaurant in Monte Carlo, Rampoldi is linked to the charming but somewhat dated interpretation of La Dolce Vita. Opened in the 1950s at the edge of the Casino Gardens and staffed with a mix of old and new, it's more Italian than French in spirit. It also serves some of the best cuisine in Monte Carlo. Menu items include an array pastas, such as tortelloni with cream and white truffle sauce; sea bass roasted in a salt crust; ravioli stuffed with crayfish; and veal kidneys in Madeira sauce. Crêpes suzette makes a spectacular finish."

I'd go along with that. I've been lucky enough to eat here a few times in the past, but happily when someone else was paying. It's not cheap but it's very good. Great place to watch the 'beautiful people' if you can tear your eyes away from the food, that is.