The Rowing Regatta - Ready to Race

Last day of the regatta as the boats make their way to the open sea - including the boat you just see in the smaller photo - after the rower had retrieved his dropped oar, that is!

The boats make their way through the entrance to the harbour - ahead is Cap Martin and beyond is Menton. And then Italy.

There's still time to enter the Caption Competition - results on Tuesday. A postcard of Monaco to the winner.

The Rowing Regatta - Smiles and a Baby

The guys are from the Cannes-Mandelieu rowing club and ready to roll - well, ready to row.

And baby came too...

The Rowing Regatta - Talking Tactics

Some people sit around and talk tactics, whilst others launch a boat.

The Rowing Regatta - Caption Competition!

Caption this photograph! A postcard of Monte Carlo to the winner!

Cast your eyes down and you'll see the girl on the left has blood running down her hand. What is she saying to the two guys? These are all part of the Trieste team by the way. Winner will be chosen by a committee of three - me and my two dogs, Beau and Mia. In the case of a disagreement, Beau gets the final vote. Woof! (Winner announced on Tuesday)

And if you like caption competitions do visit The F-Stops Here...where Janet Kincaid of Ferney-Voltaire in France not only shows us beautiful photos but presents a caption contest each Monday.

The Rowing Regatta - Colour

Don't you love the colour on the water. The teams are ready and soon will out on the open sea to compete in the various categories.

But before we do that, tomorrow there will be a caption competition on Monte Carlo Daily Photo - do come back and see what it's all about...winner gets a postcard from Monaco.

The Rowing Regatta

Yesterday, as you see was a glorious day - well until early afternoon when we lost the sun. It was the second day of a rowing regatta - the 6th edition of the Prince Albert II Challenge and this year teams have come from as far as Australia, Ukraine and Sweden.

Note the Palace which you can see top left hand corner.

Here you see some of the early preparations - come back tomorrow for more fun on the water.

A Bird for Abe

This dove - I 'think' it's a Eurasian Collared Dove - posed on a branch in the Saint Martin Gardens on le rocher. This is in homage to a real bird photographer, Abraham Lincoln (yes, he really is a descendant of THAT Abe) and is the most amazing bird photographer. Take a look at his My Birds Blog.

Walking the Dog...

Walking the dog...? Well, perhaps not, unless you have a chihuahua that gets walked in a handbag. If you can't resist these shoes, you'll find them available at the Philipp Plein shop in the Metropole Centre.

Ficus Repens

Ficus repens - the pretty creeping ivy that decorates the balustrades of this wall just below the Hôtel de Paris.

A Joyous Update: Thanks to Kim of Seattle Daily Photo for the great news that photo blogger Amir Sadeghi of Tehran 24 and Tehran Live has been freed from Evin prison in Tehran. Amir is free. What fabulous news!

The Monk

A trompe l'oeil artist has taken a break from his creation on the side wall of a building opposite the Palace. Looks like it's going to be really good, doesn't it?

The narrow street is called rue du Comte Felix Gastald. He was a descendant of one of the oldest families installed in Monaco before the XIIIth century. Comte Felix built the Chapel Saint-Laurent which was replaced in 1883 by the Eglise Saint-Charles.

The Glance

A sideways glance into Chanel's windows on Casino Square.

'I went window shopping today! I bought four windows.'

~ Tommy Cooper

Entrance to the Palace Museum

More artillery here - this time outside the Palace museum. Note the pebbles laid to create patterns on the ground. This is a beautiful area of the Rock - sun shines through the trees creating interesting light and shade.

Cannon

Aimed at those dastardly French, the cannon is displayed on le rocher, near to the Palace. In the smaller photo you see a clever way of displaying cannon balls.

Demure

This young girl stands in a recess near the lower entrance to the Residence Metropole.

Everytime I look at these two sculptures my arms and shoulders ache...

Fontvieille - 2

Here's a wide shot showing yesterday's plant growing out of the wall. We are looking further to the right than the wide shot of two days ago.

Life in the Wall

This plant grows out of the wall overlooking Fontvieille and its harbour - taken from a slightly different place to yesterday's wide shot. Plants can live in almost nothing...

Fontvieille

We're standing on le rocher near the Palace and looking down on the small and peaceful harbour of Fontvieille. All the buildings you see are built on land that once was sea. Quite incredible, don't you think? You can see the four points of the circus tent and beyond we see tall buildings - all are luxurious apartments. Beyond those buildings is Cap d'Ail, which is in France.

The Spirit of Ecstasy

Yesterday a Monte Carlo lady, today a Monte Carlo car - a Rolls Royce Corniche parked outside the Hôtel de Paris on Casino Square.

The famous Spirit of Ecstasy mascot you see on a Rolls Royce was the work of Charles Robinson Sykes. But who was his beautiful subject?

Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, a pioneer of the automobile movement, and editor of The Car magazine from 1902, had a secret love, Eleanor Velasco Thornton and she was the model for the emblem. Their love was to remain hidden for more than a decade. The reason for the secrecy was Eleanor's impoverished social and economic status, which was an obstacle to their love. Eventually Lord Montagu, succumbing to family pressures, married Lady Cecil Victoria Constance, but the secret love affair continued and Eleanore bore him a child. It seems Lady Montagu condoned the affair and even befriended Eleanor.

Eleanor died on 30 December 1915, going down with the SS Persia, when the ship was torpedoed off Crete by a German submarine. Eleanore had accompanied Lord Montagu on his journey to India, just four years after she had been immortalized as the Silver Lady. Lord Montagu survived, by clinging to an upturned life boat for 36 hours, Eleanor went down with the ship. Her body was never recovered.

Look out for Lord Attenborough's new film, due out next year and called The Silver Ghost, starring Christian Bale and based on this story. To read more detail about Eleanore and Lord Montague, click HERE.

These Boots are Meant for Walking?

Don't you love this Monte Carlo lady's high-heeled boots?

We're in the Saint Martin's Gardens which is below the cathedral. The building you see ahead is the Oceanographic Museum.

Her Own World

We're at the eastern end of Larvotto Beach - children play off to the left and beyond that is a busy beach restaurant. Here, in her own little world, a woman watches the sea hitting the breakwater.

Thanks so much for 3rd birthday wishes yesterday - so much appreciated.