Miss Moneypenny

Just over a week ago, Lois Maxwell, who played Miss Moneypenny in 14 of the James Bond films died in Australia aged 80, so this is a small tribute to her. Lois Maxwell was the definitive Miss Moneypenny, secretary to M, who was 007's boss, of course.

Old Monaco

This old photograph was for sale in the Vide Grenier at the Fête de la Branda in Gorbio last Sunday. The seller told me it was taken in Avenue de Grande Bretagne in Monaco.

Doriana - 3

Life on a yacht - well, if you are one of the workers, there's scrubbing and polishing and sorting the ropes and goodness knows what else? Can't be bad, come to think of it! This is the beautiful Doriana - see and read more HERE and HERE.

Open Air Cinema

The Open Air Cinema on Le Rocher has now closed for the season. I took this photo in the summer. You can sit on the normal white chairs, or, if you don't mind paying just a little more you take one of the soft green loungers - well worth it except, with the wine you can buy, you could possibly fall asleep. Best of all, though, as you watch the film, glance up to your left and you see the Oceanographic Museum rising up in all its shadowy glory.

You can see a clearer view of the cinema, looking down from above, HERE.

Hanging flowers

Hanging baskets in rue Princesse Caroline, which is the pedestrian street running from the port to rue Grimaldi.

Eglantine

This shot probably shows reasonably well how the cemetery of Monaco is constructed on many different levels - in fact, many more than you see here. And each level is named after a plant or flower, making it easier for visitors to find a particular grave.

Josephine Baker 1906 - 1975

Above, you see part of the grave of the Josephine Baker, which she shares with her fourth husband, the orchestra director, Jo Bouillon. Singer, entertainer, civil rights activist, humanitarian, Josephine Baker was easily the most successful black woman of her time . Born Freda Carson into poverty in St. Louis, Missouri, her ticket out was her comedic and dance abilities, which powered her rise to early American fame on Broadway. Tiring of performing in demeaning minstrel reviews, she jumped at the chance of a career in Paris where the Jazz Age fuelled heady interest in the then sensual and exotic African-American culture. She was known as the girl 'who danced her way through the 20s and 30s dressed in bananas.' (Click on THIS LINK to see a YouTube performance).

Josephine Baker was very close to the Principality of Monaco. After she was bankrupted, following the badly handled management of her well-known estate in the Dordogne, where her 'Rainbow Tribe, the 12 multi-ethnic children she had adopted, used to live. She sought to prove that children of different ethnicities and religions could be brothers. She was helped by Princess Grace of Monaco, who offered her a life-long accommodation in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin and invited her on several occasions to take part in charity performances. A moving anecdote from the artist's life in 1974: at the opening of the Sporting Monte Carlo, Josephine Baker stood in for Sammy Davis Junior, who'd been taken ill at the last minute. He should have been the star performer at the Monegasque Red Cross Gala. Retired from the stage, the artist rose to the challenge and made an unexpected comeback, amazing the audience who gave her an incredible ovation. The following year, during a final Parisian revue based on her life, she suffered a stroke following her final performance and died three days later. You can read more about this amazing woman at THIS LINK.

Sergeant Louis Prouven

Why this young man has a blackened face, I don't know. I noticed several statues in the cemetery suffering this affliction - pollution, perhaps?

Louis Prouven died in the Battle of Verdon, at Fleury in the Meuse in August 1916. I don't know why, but graves from the Great War, that terrible war (as if all wars aren't terrible) affect me greatly. You can see another at Menton Daily Photo HERE.

His Excellency, le Baron Edouard Imberty

Prepare for a few days more at the cemetery - I'm on a roll...

This imposing sepulchre is in honour of the Baron Edouard Imberty, who was born in Menton in 1806 and died in Monaco in 1874. He was the Governor General of the Principality of Monaco and the ex-President of the Tribunal and had many honours bestowed on him by Turkey and Tunisia, amongst others as well as the Legion of Honour. There is a Rue Imberty in Monaco, presumably named after him.

Daily Photo Theme Day: Cemeteries/Tombstones

Monaco's cemetery is situated just below the Princess Grace Hospital. Not the greatest placement of a hospital, I'd venture to say. Perhaps there was no choice - the Principality of Monaco, after all, is very small. So there you are, sick in your hospital bed - you look out of the window and there before you is the glorious Mediterranean, but look down and you realise you are staring at descending terraces of graves. Several famous people are buried in the graveyard: Josephine Baker, the entertainer and Leo Ferré, the designer amongst them. This grave belongs to the Famille Ange Giordino. I'll post more photos from this beautiful cemetery over the coming days.

Today, being the 1st of the month, is Daily Photo Theme Day. Do please take time to visit the other cities in the Daily Photo family taking part in today's theme:

St. Louis (MO), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - New York City (NY), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Mainz, Germany - Hyde, UK - Arlington (VA), USA - Cape Town, South Africa - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Toulouse, France - Arradon, France - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - Joplin (MO), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Seattle (WA), USA - Baziège, France - Baltimore (MD), USA - Chandler (AZ), USA - Sequim (WA), USA - Stayton (OR), USA - Stockholm, Sweden - Austin (TX), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Greenville (SC), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Nashville (TN), USA - Tenerife, Spain - Manila, Philippines - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Jacksonville (FL), USA - River Falls (WI), USA - Chateaubriant, France - Quincy (MA), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Inverness (IL), usa - Lubbock (TX), USA - Phoenix (AZ), USA - Moscow, Russia - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - Crepy-en-Valois, France - Minneapolis (MN), USA - New Orleans (LA), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Toruń, Poland - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Christchurch, New Zealand - London, England - Paderborn, Germany - The Hague, Netherlands - Selma (AL), USA - Sunderland, UK - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Stavanger, Norway - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - Weston (FL), USA - Portland (OR), USA - Forks (WA), USA - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Boston (MA), USA - Sydney, Australia - Wellington, New Zealand - Montpellier, France - Jackson (MS), USA - Wailea (HI), USA - Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Evry, France - Saarbrücken, Germany - New York City (NY), USA - Santa Fe (NM), USA - North Bay (ON), Canada - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Cypress (TX), USA - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Paris, France - San Diego (CA), USA - Wichita (Ks), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Prague, Czech Republic - Zurich, Switzerland - Budapest, Hungary - Paris, France - Saigon, Vietnam

Japanese Garden - 6: Humidity

Somehow this reminds me of exotic climes, humidity, maybe a humming bird or a parrot will fly out of a bush. Perhaps we are in Naples, Florida with Isabella? But no, we are in the Japanese Garden on Avenue Princesse Grace in Monte Carlo.

Cathedral

The Cathedral of Monaco, situated on Le Rocher, was built in 1875 using white stone from La Turbie. It stands on the site of a 13th century church dedicated to Saint Nicolas and houses the tombs of the former Princes of Monaco. It is also the final resting place of Monaco's much-loved Princess Grace and her husband, Prince Rainier, who died in 2005.

Place d'Armes

This is the Place d'Armes in Monaco, where the market is held each day. Here you see it without the market stalls. The colour of the shutters, the decoration and the ironwork is typical of many buildings in Monaco and the south of France. So pretty, don't you think?

Monaco Yacht Show - 7

Beautiful girls and Big Boys' Toys seems to go together! At the Monaco Yacht Show, girls (and guys too) are employed to show potential buyers around the yachts. Note: I really don't know the status of this pretty lady.

The daughter of a friend of mine was working on one of the biggest of the massive super yachts and she explained that not 'anyone' can get aboard for a guided tour. Interested parties have first to make an appointment, at which time - presumably - their credentials are checked out.

Monaco Yacht Show - 6

Visitors are ferried from one side of the Monaco Yacht Show to another. There are several hop on and hop off points for this.

Monaco Yacht Show - 5

Champers, anyone?

Monaco Yacht Show - 4

Not the Monaco Yacht Show, as such, but a photo showing you many yachts who had to relinquish their regular moorings in Port Hercules for the duration of the show. This is a view of Monaco from Roquebrune, taken on my way to the show. You can see the port with its gleaming white yachts. Below you see the Lady Moura, also away from her regular berth.

Monaco Yacht Show - 3

Count the shoes and you know how many people are on board. Potential clients perhaps? All the yachts had baskets ready to receive footware - some looked like dog baskets to me but I didn't see any dogs sitting in them.

Monaco Yacht Show - 2

Boats, blue skies, crowds, colour, buzz - but most of all - money, money, money.

Monaco Yacht Show - 1

Monte Carlo is big-time busy at the moment. Not a car park place to be had in the whole of the Principality, everything centres around the main port, Port Hercule, for the prestigious Monaco Yacht Show. So prepare yourself for a few days of beautiful boats and beautiful people watching. Here you see, on the right, the Wind, all 193 feet (59 metres) of super yacht. Cost to enter the show is 50 euros, half of which goes to a Monaco charity.

This photo was taken from below the casino area looking out beyond the Princess Grace Theatre and overlooking the port. The vertical wires are from a massive crane. Tomorrow and tomorrow - come back, I've much to show you from the red carpet.