Beauty in the detail - part of the chain fence you saw in yesterday's post.
30 July 2007
29 July 2007
Place du Palais
This is part of the Place du Palais. On our right, but way out of view, is the Palace. (see yesterday's post). Behind us and a long way below is the Port of Monaco.
28 July 2007
Home to a Prince
Here's the right-hand corner of the Grimaldi Palace, home to Prince Albert. The Palace dates from the 16th and 17th centuries but still preserves its medieval towers, built by the Genoese in 1215. Francesco Grimaldi took possession of the fortress in 1297, and his successors enlarged it.
27 July 2007
26 July 2007
On guard - 1
One of the immaculate Palace guards marching up and down. He'll soon go back into his little hut and stand guard.
25 July 2007
Tourism
24 July 2007
Lucky baby!
23 July 2007
Where's the Chef?
It's around 11 in the morning and this young chef hurries back, through one of the tiny streets on the Rock, to the restaurant where he works.
22 July 2007
Postes
Here's the post office on Le Rocher. Apart from the poubelle (rubbish bin) it's rather nice, isn't it? In Monaco you buy a Monaco stamp. French stamps are not accepted. And whilst mailboxes in France are yellow, in Monaco they red - remember the Daily Photo Theme Day: a Public Mail Box.
21 July 2007
Bashful, Happy and Sneezy on the Rock
Down a narrow road leading off the Place du Palais, I peered through an old wrought-iron gate and spied Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Not what I expected in Monte Carlo!
20 July 2007
Monaco Open Air Cinema
This is new Open Air Summer Cinema, just along from the Oceanographic Museum. It advertises as starting at 9.45 at night but normally it's 10 p.m. or later. You can buy a glass of wine, you can sit in lounges or chairs. The films are in English with French subtitles - and it's a great place to meet up with friends. Why not come tomorrow - they are showing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix? It's rather magical setting I think you'll agree. Click on the website of the Summer Cinema, scroll down, and you'll see a map of exactly where this is on the Rock.
19 July 2007
Les Années Grace Kelly, Princesse de Monaco
This year, for the first time, Monaco is holding an International-scale exhibition in tribute to the late Princess Grace. Held at the Grimaldi Forum and open from July to September it's called 'Les Années Grace Kelly, Princesse de Monaco' and is organised in close collaboration with the Prince's Palace, which has unveiled never before seen items (letters, dresses, jewels, fashion accessories, film, photos...), this exhibition retraces all the periods and facets of her life, from Grace Kelly, Hollywood star, to Princess of Monaco.
At the same time, you'll find many beautiful photographs of the Princess displayed on the streets. The one above, taken in 1970, show Princess Grace taking Princess Stephanie to school, Rue Compte Félix Gastaldi.
18 July 2007
Cannon balls!
What do you do when you've got a load of spare cannon balls? Here's the answer!
This is the Place du Palais (see yesterday's post) and is where you'll find rows of benches (with cannon ball support) under the shady trees.
This is the Place du Palais (see yesterday's post) and is where you'll find rows of benches (with cannon ball support) under the shady trees.
17 July 2007
Cannon!
Amidst the cannon and the cannon balls, visitors look down from the Rock, onto the port of Fontvieille. The palace is behind me - and to the left you can look down over the main port of Monaco. Tomorrow, I'll show you another use for cannonballs.
16 July 2007
Musée Oceanographique
This is the back of the Oceanographic Museum and Aquarium. I'll show you a photograph of the front another day. Founded by Prince Albert 1, it was inaugurated in 1910. This is an amazing museum of marine sciences and not to be missed if you are visiting Monaco. The building rises majestically from the sea to a height of 279 feet and took 11 years to build, using 100,000 tons of stone from La Turbie, a village high above Monte Carlo. Part of the museum is dedicated to Albert 1, who was a major navigator. Here you'll find his laboratory ships and collections of marine fauna including a skeleton from a 66-foot whale.
In the basement, you will find the world-famous aquarium with its extraordinary show of marine flora and fauna. With 4,000 species of fish and over 200 families of invertebrates, the aquarium is now an authority on the presentation of the Mediterranean and tropical marine ecosystem.
15 July 2007
Invitation
This sculpture called Invitation, by the Dutch artist and sculptor, Kees Verkade, stands in the Jardin Saint-Martin on Le Rocher. You see many sculptures by this Monaco resident around the Principality and can read more at this link. He specialises in the human form with emphasis on movement and emotion.
The gull dropped in for the photograph.
The gull dropped in for the photograph.
14 July 2007
Brass and Bougainvillea
This brass plaque, peering out from the bougainvillea, tells us that here, on the Rock, you'll find the offices of the Minister of State - you can see the building below. The bougainvillea is for Isabella of Naples Daily Photo who loves this plant - see this link.
13 July 2007
Jardin Saint-Martin
The St. Martin Gardens are on the opposite side of Le Rocher to the main port of Monaco - see yesterday's posting. Here we are, high up on the Rock, looking down to the sea from one of the many beautiful walks through this early 19th century garden. From this position, if you turned your head to the right, you'd see the Port of Fontvieille.
12 July 2007
Digue
The Port of Monaco taken from Le Rocher (see yesterday's post). Monaco has only fairly recently been able to accommodate cruise liners as large as this, due to the new digue (floating dock). The largest in the world, it was built in Spain and towed to Monaco in 2002. The voyage took 13 days. You can read more at this link. I couldn't see the name of this enormous cruise ship when I took the photograph but driving home past the port, I saw it and by the time I got home had forgotten it - but it started with West...then something or other so if anyone knows? I'd like to know where she came from.
This morning I called a friend who lives opposite the port, and asked her to get out her binoculars but she said this ship left yesterday and today there is a new one in port, just as big, but with a white hull this time.
Note: Thanks to my friend Laura who tells me this is the MS.Westerdam - read more at this link.
This morning I called a friend who lives opposite the port, and asked her to get out her binoculars but she said this ship left yesterday and today there is a new one in port, just as big, but with a white hull this time.
Note: Thanks to my friend Laura who tells me this is the MS.Westerdam - read more at this link.
11 July 2007
Lunch break
We're on the Rock today. Le Rocher is the oldest part of Monaco and it's where you'll find the Palace, the Cathedral, the wonderful Oceanographic Museum and much more besides. Here is one of the tiny streets at lunch time.
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