Halte MCCC - Monaco's hidden railway station

This rather boring photo is to show you Monaco's hidden railway station.  In fact, it's in France - Roquebrune -  and is open once a year for the Monte Carlo Tennis Masters. 

The station is below the Monte Carlo Country Club, hence its name, Halte MCCC.  To find it you walk on the road, below the tennis, past all the television trucks and the Monte Carlo Beach Hotel, which is below you and onward for about 600 metres.  Turn up a narrow path and eventually you find it ...

As you can see it's pretty primitive and anyone with dodgy knees would find it difficult to get up into the train as the platform is on ground level, not raised.  But for people going to the tennis, of course it's brilliant.

Short Shorts

Short shorts seems to be the way to go this year.  And if I had legs like that, I'd be wearing them too!

This couple are on the promenade that runs from Portier to the beginning of Larvotto Beach, which you see in the distance.

A Plethora of Parasols

Cheek-by-jowl parasols on Larvotto Beach.

Shower

One of the new showers on Larvotto Beach ... if you can tear your eyes away from the dishy guy with the long hair, that is ...

Attitude

Monte Carlo ladies have a certain attitude, don't they?  A certain confidence, I suppose.  Of course beauty helps. 

Street Food

There's a sign, high above one of the charming streets in Monaco Ville (le rocher) that says 'Street Food.' (see small photo) Here you'll find cafés and bars and pizzerias where you can buy snacks and reasonably priced meals. A busy street, thronging with tourists.

So - 'street food' calls for 'street photography' ...

Conversation Corner

Away from the crowds and in the shade - a conversation corner at the end of Larvotto Beach.

Night Out in Monaco

Coral seems to be the going colour this year.

These ladies are ready for a night out in Monte Carlo.  They are walking across the forecourt in front of the Grimaldi Forum on Avenue Princesse Grace. 

Dance of Colour

Colour dances in the pool at the Japanese Gardens.

Nall's Pansy

To get to the Grimaldi Forum's theatre you go down, down via escalators into the depths. And there high up on a wall, just before the theatre entrance is this enormous pansy.  Click to enlarge and you'll see this is made entirely in mosaic, in fact Opio mosaic.  Opio is a village not far from Monaco famous for its glass.

Artist, Nall has two installations in the Grimaldi Forum, "Pensee Sunrise" and "Pensee Sunset" - I'm not sure which this is.  Each meausre 6 yards by 6 yards and you can buy postage stamps of the works in any Monaco post office.

Alabama-born Nall lives and works in Vence. Click on the link to read about him and his work.

Yacht Watch

A couple of yachts framed by trees in the Japanese Gardens.

Toned Beauty

Don't you love how the soft salmon colour of this lady's dress tones so beautifully with her gorgeous hair.  Note the shoe colour too.

She's walking towards Larvotto Beach and looking towards Cap Martin.

Summer on Larvotto Beach

Let's go to the beach ...

Monte Carlo Beach Hotel - the Pool

The pool of the renovated Monte Carlo Beach Hotel. This was taken in April. No doubt those sunbeds will have bodies on them today.

An Insect from Jupiter?

You do see the strangest things in Monaco.  This looks a bit like a large insect, doesn't it?  Perhaps from a distant planet?

In fact it's an electric motorbike make by a Swiss company - with rain protection thrown in. You see many electric vehicles in Monaco. The Principality is keen on promoting a green environment.

Miami Plage on Larvotto

Grab a towel and head for the beach ...

Chihuahua amongst the Cheeses

I'm not sure of the law in Monaco but probably 'dogs are not allowed' in the Carrefour supermarket.  This doesn't seem to stop some shoppers putting their little dogs in their trolley.

You often see a chihuahua amongst the cheeses ...

 Photo taken on the escalator that goes down to the car park of the shopping complex in Fontvieille.

Les Thermes Marin de Monte Carlo - Windows

The massively tall windows at the Thermes Marin de Monte Carlo.

Ignore the sky - today it's a perfect Mediterranean blue and going to be hot again.

Les Thermes Marin de Monte Carlo

Les Thermes Marin de Monte Carlo is a beautiful spa, gym, pool and restaurant with stunning views over the port of Monaco. This is the entrance.

The Realtor's Office

A pretty corner in Fontvieille. This is a realtor's office whose windows reflect one the restaurants that line the port.

Botero's Fat Foot

Maybe we can put our feet up for the weekend?  This foot is from Botero's wonderful Woman Smoking a Cigarette which you'll find in the Park Paysager de Fontvieille.

Walking the dog ...

Walking the dog in Fontvieille - small boats set against the magnificent backdrop of the rockface that is le rocher.  Look way up and you'll see the cathedral.  

Balance at the Beach

Larvotto Beach: whilst the adults take lunch, the kids skateboard.

Lunch with Extras

Ain't love grand ... Wonder if they've ordered lunch yet.

Place François Bosio

There's a tiny square, Place François Bosio, opposite Le Pinocchio which is packed with tables that surround what appears to be a well.

At the back of the square is a bronze of François Bosio, a famous sculptor born in Monaco. Click on the link to read about him. 

When you see photos of hundreds of apartments surrounding the port, it's easy to forget these little gems.

Learning to eat well ...

Doubtless one of the reasons French and Italian childen (and Monegasque too of course) grow up to so love their food is because they start young.

Le Pinocchio

If you are on le rocher, Le Pinocchio (note his image on the wall) is a good Italian restaurant for lunch. Always busy. Good food. Friendly waiters. I had a truly excellent clam risotto - and later realised I should have taken a photograph before eating it!

Larvotto Beach - Parasols

Larvotto Beach - looks like summer's finally arrived ...

Red, not Dead

After Marc Quinn's exhibition at the Oceanographic Museum of skeletons, dead people fornicating over fire and a head made of his blood ... let's look at a live red-blooded Monte Carlo lady.

Marc Quinn at the Oceanographic Museum - Self

"Self" is a frozen sculpture of the artist's head made from 4.5 litres of his own blood, taken from his body over a period of 5 months. Described by Marc Quinn as a ‘frozen moment on life-support’, the work is carefully maintained in a refrigeration unit, reminding the viewer of the fragility of existence. The artist makes a new version of Self every five years, each of which documents Quinn’s own physical transformation and deterioration.


In 1999, all of Marc Quinn's ‘blood head’ self portraits were exhibited together. Each portrait is a documentation of the artist’s head, as it ages every five years, and so represents a portrait of the artist over a fifteen year period.

Marc Quinn at the Oceanographic Museum - Zombie Boy (Rick)

Marc Quinn's sculptures are disquieting but beautiful at the same time. Some - many - are scary - at least I found them so. 

This piece is called Zombie Boy (Rick) Cu Pb NnFe Mg Si.  It's made of orbital-sanded flap-wheeled lacquered bronze and was created in 2011.

Just click on either photo to see the detail which is extraordinary.  As I walked past Zombie Boy I felt his eyes following me - in fact I had the strong feeling that perhaps he wasn't a sculpture at all but one of those street people who don't move and then suddenly spring to life.

He is astonishingly beautiful. 

Thanks to Philippe who informed me that Zombie Boy is a real person, with real tattoos - do take a look at the link. 

Marc Quinn at the Oceanographic Museum - Fire!

As I said yesterday, this area of the exhibition is forbidden to children unless accompanied by an adult. Whether it's because of the subject matter of the sculptures or because an unaccompanied child and fire could be dangerous, I don't know.

This piece is called Matter into Light: the Discovery of Fire (2011).  It's made of hand-treated cobalt-plated bronze, concrete, stainless steel, cement board, ceramic and bioethanol liquid.  This is one of a series of burning sculptures which thanks to new technology, can burn with real fire inside the museum without a flue.

Marc Quinn at the Oceanographic Museum - the Guard

Screens surround the entrance to this space, the Salle de la Baleine, with a notice saying that children may not enter without an accompanying adult. Here you'll find an interesting mix of skeletons that belong to the museum and skeletons created by Marc Quinn, for instance Another Angel.  You'll also find a fornicating couple on a bed of fire which I suppose is the reason for the notice.  More tomorrow ...

This photo shows the guard on duty bathed in light - I couldn't resist snapping the scene.