Top Marques - the Little Cars

Here we are with the little cars - the Mini, the Brabus and the Atomik. I thought the last one was a Fiat which shows how much I know!

Top Marques - the $52,000 Golf Cart

This is Garia's Soleil de Minuit and is advertised as 'the most expensive golf car ever made by a manufacturer.' It's made at Valmet Automotive in Finland, which is where the Porsche Cayman, Porsche Boxster and Think City are made.

Aside from the pedigree, the golf car features a built-in refrigerator, a carbon roof, two-colored hand-stitched luxury seats, alcantara roof lining and an exclusive personalization program where you can have the Garia painted in your favorite color or matched to your other car or cars.

The cost $52,000 or 39,000 euros. Let's hope your golf is as good as the cart!

Top Marques - the Decorative Lady

Helmut Hartung in Andorra built this rather strange car that goes really fast (300 km/h). The seats he got from a wrecked Boeing! Helmut is the owner of a German company famous for its high quality motor cycle helmets.

He had the right idea tho in promoting his dream: two pretty girls draped over the car all day which meant it was constantly surrounded by photographers.

Top Marques - the Fingerprint Scanner

Notice the fingerprint scanner - the small photo shows it more clearly. That's what you have to use to get this Territo Ayrton S to start.

The Ayrton S is completely built by hand. With 627 hp and 1050 kg the maximum speed is over 330 km/h and acceleration from 0 to 100km/h is just 3 seconds. Very much a collector's car. Cost: 352,000 euros.

Top Marques - the Bentley Salesman

Today I promised something for the ladies...so how about the beautiful Bentley you see below.

Oh, did you think I meant this seriously delicious gentleman? Well of course I did! Meet Stephane who is a salesman at Bentley Motors in Monaco. Frankly, he could sell me a Bentley any day! Pity I don't have the 250,000 to 350,000 euro price tag.

Top Marques - the Pagani

Sparkling and attracting a lot of attention is this Pagani. Here's a quote from the catalogue:

'Pagani Automobili spa is a specialist manufacturer based in Modena, Italy that established itself as a world leader in the use of carbon fibre technology. The Zonda Cinque is its maximum expression of a search for technical aesthetic and functional detail. Provocative in its design, it becomes the magnificent dream for all customers who buy a personal toy with extraordinary technical performances.'

Petrol heads can click on the smaller photo - or the main one - both will enlarge. This car will cost you around 500,000 euros.

Tomorrow, something for the ladies...

Top Marques - Making an entrance: Yamaha V Max

This couple made quite an entrance as they turned off Avenue Princess Grace onto the forecourt of the Grimaldi Forum, where their Yamaha V Max went on display.

In the photo below, you see a reflection of an apartment building in the glass of the Grimaldi Forum.

Top Marques - Trying it on for Size: the Gumpert Apollo

Here's the Gumpert Apollo which this gentleman is trying on for size. This is what the catalogue has to say:

'The GUMPERT Sportwagenmanufaktur GmbH is a manufacturer of exclusive super sports cars based in Germany. In 2001 there was a vision of a new super sports car: A car, which combined the highest dynamics with unmatched driving capabilities. A street-legal car, ready for the race track: the Gumpert apollo.

The apollo provides superior driving abilities beyond all imagination: 650 bhp, up to 224 mph (360 km/h) maximum speed and a breathtaking acceleration from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in just 3 seconds. This super sports car offers unlimited fun on the road and serious competition in motor sports. A weapon on four wheels.'

Top Marques - the Veritas RS III

'Top Marques' - Monaco's fabulous exhibition of super cars started yesterday at the Grimaldi Forum. Here you'll find all the amazing concept cars of the world and that's not all. Before you enter the building you are faced with an airplane and a ship on the forecourt of this exhibition centre. Just to one side is the Veritas RS III. Planes, boats and cars - Monaco doesn't do anything by halves!

Come back over the next days and enjoy the cars, the people and the jewels and drool over what we can't afford.

'Tenacious' in Port Hercule

Moored a few yards from the luxury yachts in Monaco's Port Hercule is 'Tenacious' a pioneering tall ship - but a tall ship with a big difference. Tenacious, along with her sister ship, Lord Nelson, is owned and operated by the Jubilee Sailing Trust (JST), a registered charity in the UK. They are the only two Class A square-rigged tall ships in the world to be purpose-designed and built to enable people of all physical abilities to sail side-by-side on equal terms.

Although the term 'tall ship' may evoke an image of a ship from a bygone era, both Lord Nelson and Tenacious are equipped with modern communication systems and navigational aids, as well as a host of additional features such as flat, wide decks which facilitate access for wheelchair users, lifts between decks for those with limited mobility and a speaking compass to enable blind and visually impaired crew to take the helm. Eight wheelchair users are welcomed on each voyage. These ships are a reminder of how important simple design changes can be to making an environment inclusive.

In the photograph below, meet Captain Simon Catterson who'll tell you that whilst '50% of the crew may be physically disabled, 100% are actively involved.'

You can read a more detailed article on 'Tenacious' by clicking HERE.

Monaco Dog Show - Shelties with Friend

It's not easy photographing dogs - or anything else - in the circus tent in Fontvieille. It's dark with the odd bright light. A friend suggested I try the camera at a much higher ISO. This shot of two Shelties and a Pyrenean Mountain Dog was taken at 2000 ISO and personally I like the graininess and the feel of it. Do you?

Monte Carlo Tennis and the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel

If you get bored with the tennis and I'm sure you won't, turn around and you have a view of the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel.

In the smaller photo - and furthest away - you can see the centre court stands where the biggest matches take place.

Monte Carlo Tennis - Perfection on Clay

When the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters is on, the clay courts must be perfect. Here the older man shows the younger man how it is done.

Tennis Balls!

Casino Square is full of tennis balls!

Yesterday was the first day of the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters. Rafael Nadal is defending his title - a title he's won 5 times already. Djokovic is here. Andy Murray has a wild card. As always it should be great tennis in a fabulous setting.

Monaco Dog Show - Cigarette Break

The Monaco International Dog show takes place each year in the circus tent in Fontvieille. It's a two-day event and this year 170 breeds were on display with exhibitors coming from 15 different countries. This exhibitor has a long wait before entering the ring - time for a cigarette.

To see more dogs exhibited at the show take a look at Riviera Dogs.

'To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring - it was peace.'

~Milan Kundera

Moon over Grace

This sculpture of Princess Grace stands in a small garden at the western end of Larvotto beach. It was given in 2004 by the Belgian community of Monaco to Prince Rainier - an hommage to Princess Grace. The sculptors are Livia Canestraro and her husband, Stephaan Depuydt.

Note the moon - an early morning shot.

Morning Run

This promenade, starting at the western end of Larvotto Beach runs right around the Grimaldi Forum. A good place for an early morning run.

Café de Paris - the Interior

Here you see the interior of this iconic brasserie in Monte Carlo. Note the beautiful Art Nouveau screens that decorate the windows. Yesterday's represented Cancer. Today - in the smaller photo - is Capricorn.

Café de Paris - the Screen

One of the divine Art Nouveau screens that line the walls of the Café de Paris. Each one represents a sign of the zodiac. This one is Cancer - the Crab.

Rocks Remember

The rock face of le rocher in the port of Fontvieille. Above you'll find the Cathedral, the Palace and the Oceanographic Museum.

'Geologists have a saying - rocks remember.' ~ Neil Armstrong

Grand Prix Preparations - Where are the Super Yachts?!

More and more steel goes up each day. The stand in the main photo is the one that overlooks the swimming pool - and behind it - you can just see the masts of some of the yachts.

In the small photo, one of the construction guys has dropped - and is picking up - a plan showing how each piece of metal fits into the next - something you see more clearly in the last photo. It's fascinating to watch - like a ginormous jigsaw puzzle as Monaco gets ready to show off to the world. Two races this year - the Historique and the F.1.

Grand Prix Preparations - Ismel and Wladimir

Each day more and more steel is erected around the track. These smiling guys are part of the massive construction team that work on the many stands around the port and elsewhere in the Principality. And as soon as the race is over, it all comes down again.

In the last photo - we are on part of the track that runs around the swimming pool - you see piles of steel waiting to be used. Visitors to Monaco have to thread their way thru the barriers but you can feel the excitement building. More tomorrow...

Damien Hirst - The Virgin Mother

Another view of Damien Hirst's The Virgin Mother, currently stopping people in their tracks at the end of the jetty in the port of Fontvieille.

Through her legs we see the Oceanographic Museum which is where you'll find the exhibition which opens to the public today. The museum is expecting 400,000 visitors to view this artist's 60 fascinating and often controversial works of art, including the massive shark weighing 33 tonnes and called 'The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living' - see yesterday's post for more.

The Virgin Mother

Tomorrow, the Damien Hirst exhibition opens at the Oceanographic Museum on le rocher. This coincides with the centenary of the museum, which has undergone extensive renovation for the occasion. However, more than normal renovation was needed as one of Damien Hirst's 60 pieces is a massive shark weighing 33 tonnes - called 'The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living.' The fish, in its tank of formaldehyde, has been flown from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to Monaco. To accommodate it on the first floor of the museum, aluminium reinforced beams were installed - iron doesn't support the promimity of water in the nearby aquarium. It took 21 hours to unload the piece and install it.

Here you see his famous sculpture - The Virgin Mother. She stands at the end of the jetty in the port of Fontvieille. In the main photo, you see the cathedral behind her - in the smaller photo the Oceanographic Museum. Such is her value, she is being guarded 24 hours a day. More tomorrow...come back for the photo I like best.

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