The Oceanographic Museum and Barnabas

The Oceanographic Museum on le rocher is impressive from any angle but is seen at its most glorious from the sea.

In the last photo, you see the 33-metre schooner, the Barnabas, motoring past.

Yesterday, friends invited me for a day on the water at Saint Jean Cap Ferrat and these photos were taken en route from Menton. Note the slightly choppy sea, so the stabilizer in my camera did fairly well.

Come back tomorrow and over the next few days for more shots and even grander yachts...

Makin' whoopee....

As you see Princess Charlene is not the only bride in Monaco. This wedding - a far more relaxed and casual affair - took place outside at the Mairie on le rocher just a few days before the the wedding of Prince Albert and Charlene Wittstock.

Long life and happiness to the bride and groom.

'Another bride
Another groom
Another sunny
Honeymoon;
Another season,
Another reason
For makin' whoopee.'

Roof Gardens in Fontvieille

No shortage of roof gardens in Monaco. Here are a few in Fontvieille, which is the area of Monaco built on land reclaimed from the sea.

Chanel temptations

Do you suppose he's thinking about buying his wife something from the Chanel shop?

The man in the smaller photo isn't...

Sainte Dévote's window

Sainte Devote is of course the patron saint of Monaco. The pretty little church, built in her honour, stands set back from one corner of the port and is where Princess Charlene recently laid her bouquet - a tradition with brides in the Princely family.

The original chapel dates back to before 1070, when it first appears in archived documents. It was restored and most probably enlarged in the 16^th century. In 1870, the façade was rebuilt, then extended in 1891 in a composite '18^th century Neo-Greek' style. The steeple, 15 metres high, dates from 1870.The work was carried out from 1885 to 1891. The chapel became the parish church in 1887.

The glazier, Nicolas Lorin from Chartres, was entrusted with the stained glass windows. Some were recuperated including those from the former Saint Charles School, established in the past on the Rocher by Monseigneur Theuret, the first Bishop of Monaco, and reassembled here. These windows, destroyed during the bombing of Monaco in August 1944, were restored or repaired, as for example this stained glass window of Saint Dévote made by Fassi Cadet of Nice in 1948. Click on the link to read the history of Saint Dévote herself and more information on the church.

Emerging Continents by Blake

In 2007 I photographed - badly - Blake's Emerging Continents and it's time to show it to you again.

It stands just outside the Princess Grace Rose Garden in Fontvieille and almost opposite the entrance to the Columbus Hotel.

'Emerging Continents was created in 1990 and inspired by global events of 1989 in divided Germany; in barricaded Tiannamen Square, China; in Africa and Asia. These events fired Blake’s compassion into imagination and action, producing this representation of these emerging Continents. They are emerging from, or trapped by, the stone that represents their history and echoes their future. Their portraits depict repression and rebellion and the work plays on the distinction between treason and revolution.'

Artist Blake was born in Canada, studied figurative sculpture in Paris and in 1991 moved to Monaco where he opened his Monte-Carlo studio.

The smaller photos show the detail of each figure, the larger one shows the entire sculpture.

I love how the olive tree has grown since I first photographed this beautiful sculpture and now seems to shield or protect the figure as he emerges into life.

Blonde Beauty

A beautiful blonde outside the Hôtel de Paris.

Juxtaposition

A flag hangs from a window in honour of the recent Princely wedding - a floor cloth is drying alongside.

Roof Cladding

This building doesn't just have a pool on top but a garden with mature trees. Imagine the weight on that roof...

This is in Fontvieille - the part of Monaco that was reclaimed from the sea.

Hidden Streets...

One of the tiny back streets on le rocher - a street most of the tourists probably never find.

Girl on a Motorcycle

This pretty girl is balancing her bike on one high heel as she waits to pull out near Casino Square.

Remember the 1968 film 'Girl on a Motorcycle' with Alain Delon and Marianne Faithful....? (click on the video below)

Renovation

The narrow pavement doesn't leave much room for this builder to work on le rocher. This street leads into the Place du Palais.

Paint Job for the Wedding

These photos might be a little more interesting if a pretty girl leaned against one mail box and perhaps a cute little Monte Carlo dog peed against the other... no matter.

They are to show you that Monaco's plain red mailboxes are no more - they were all painted red and white, to match the national flag, for the recent Princely wedding.

White amongst the Cannonballs

Monaco was filled with white flowers for the wedding. Here, on le rocher, a contrast betweenhite Agapanthus and the cannonballs of a bygone era.

Agapanthus, a bulb from South Africa and therefore fitting for South African Princess Charlene, comes in white or blue - take a look at my garden - HERE.

Eddie Jordan

If you are a Formula One/Grand Prix fan (which I am) you'll know who this man is and if you are not you'll be saying 'Why is Jilly showing us this slightly blurry photo?'

On the night of the Jean-Michel Jarre concert, he was dining at the same restaurant as me - the Quai des Artistes, on the edge of Port Hercule and he kindly let me take his photo.

Eddie Jordan, originally a driver, later founded the Jordan racing team and was the first to employ Michael Schumacher. Now he is best known as a pundit, who always says it like it is - which I love - for BBC 1's excellent coverage of Formula One alongside David Coulthard and Jake Humphrey. He's also crazy about music and plays in a band called 'Eddie and the Robbers.'

You can read his complete bio by clicking on the Eddie Jordan website.

Thanks for the photo, Eddie.

The Red and White Train

Reflected in Anish Kapoor's Sky Mirror on Casino Square here's the red and white train that takes tourists around the Principality.

The Wedding - Music, Lights, Fireworks!

Not my photography today but I really wanted you to see how fabulous the Jean Michel Jarre concert was. I was dining at a restaurant on the side of the port and not in a position to take photos myself (yes, I should have left the table I know but that would have been rude to my host).

Our guest photographer is Sylvie Mathieu who lives in Menton. I haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting Sylvie face-to-face but have met her via a great Facebook photography group of 120 mostly local photographers to which we both contribute a daily photo.

I saw some of these great shots on that Facebook page and Sylvie agreed to my reproducing them here. They show so well the talent of Jean Michel Jarre - the colours, the lasers, the fireworks.

Thanks Sylvie - I look forward to meeting you in person shortly. Click on the link above to see Sylvie's travel blog.

The Wedding - Flags

Well, it's all over bar the gossip. The flags still fly and Monaco is slowly getting back to normal. If you'd like to see a little of the wedding reception and part of Prince Albert's speech, please click HERE.

The Wedding - the Jean Michel Jarre concert

These strange structures appeared on Port Hercule a few days before the wedding and of course they were for the Jean Michel Jarre concert - a gift to anyone who wanted to come to Monaco to hear it.

It was absolutely fabulous and so beautiful incorporating magical music, colour (such colour!) images of Prince Albert and Princess Charlene and towards the end, delicate fireworks - stars cascading down amidst unimaginable rays of laser colours.

The short video below gives you an idea of what it was all about.

The Wedding - Monaco has a new Princess!

Monaco has a new Princess! Yesterday saw the Civil Ceremony which took place in the Throne Room of the Palace and was watched by thousands on giant screens around the Principality.

Do click on the video below. It shows highlights of the whole day and is a beautifully-made video.

The wedding had it all, a beautiful bride dressed in Chanel by Karl Lagerfeld, Princess Stephanie who cried and the crowds who loved it all.

Today we have the religious ceremony - a much bigger affair and later in the day the Princely couple will drive to the tiny church of St. Devote where the bride will place her bouquet. You can just see a corner of St. Devote Church in the photo below.