On the first of January each year, bloggers in the City Daily Photo community post their favourite photo of the previous 12 months. Here's mine - a shot of the magnificent Oceanographic Museum, seen through the legs of Damien Hirst's enormous sculpture 'The Virgin Mother.'
All decked out for the holidays - the side entrance to the Café de Paris.
A Christmas candle is a lovely thing;
You'll find these in the Metropole centre.
We're inside the Café de Paris building looking towards the small casino that houses some gaming machines. This is not the real casino of course - that's the beautiful Belle Epoque building across the square. I've seen day tourists from the cruise liners walk in here thinking it's the real deal.
Wonder how banks have reindeer climbing the railings? This is Barclays Bank on Boulevard des Moulins.
A new and beautifully designed shop in the Metropole Centre. L. Guilo sells handmade patinated shoes to the well-dressed Monaco man.
We're at the Hermitage Hotel on the Grande Corniche in Eze. Our long lazy lunch is over. Each year a group of us - around 20 - British, Irish, Australian, French, Italian, American, Scandinavian, South African - get together for a Christmas lunch. Normally we choose a different restaurant each year but last year we came here and loved it so we are back! Super environment, ambiance, food, service and a crowd of friends who have created our own 'family' in the south of France.
Helicopters take off and land all day long in Monaco. It's a great way to arrive from Nice airport. And there's always a bird (a real one) to fly along with you.
This is the Place de la Liberation in Beausoleil and the building, dripping Christmas lights, is the Mairie (Town Hall).
This sculpture is called The Fisherman and stands by La Rose des Vents on Avenue Princesse Grace on the western end of Larvotto Beach. It was created by the French sculptor, Gustave Dussart (1875 - 1952).
Above, the Princess as she was about to leave the party. I'd changed the lens on my camera but stupidly (grrrr) forgotten to change the settings on the camera so it's far too grainy.
A couple of evenings ago my wonderful friend, Nathalie (Avignon in Photos) invited me to meet her at the Princess Grace Hospital in Monaco to witness the graduation from the nursing school of her friend's daughter. It's the day the nurses receive their official badges from S.A.S. la Princesse Caroline. S.A.S stands for Son Altesse Sérénissime, which translates as Her Serene Highness.
No Finish Line is a charity run in Monaco which takes place over 8 days each November. During that time you walk, jog or run as often as you want. Here you see one of the participants checking the screen to see how many kilometres she has run and how much time she has left. Each year No Finish Line raises thousands of euros for children's charities. You can read more in yesterday's post.
