02 August 2011
Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - the Terrified & Terrifying Bushes
These two bushes - you couldn't tell they weren't real when they bent down and stood perfectly still alongside a genuine tree or bush. They performed in the tiny streets of le rocher, trying to get from the safety of a real bush to another - if they saw a little dog, for instance, they'd act terrified and when someone walked past, they'd jump out and frighten them.
I was laughing so much I could hardly keep my camera still.
01 August 2011
Port Hercule
It's Theme Day once again and today's theme is 'postcard-worthy.' There are so many iconic views in Monaco - the port for starters.
The smaller photo of the Principality was taken en route to La Turbie one day recently. I was standing just below the Vista Palace Hotel.
Please click to see how others around the world have interpreted today's theme.
Tomorrow: back to the Carnival!
31 July 2011
Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - Walking the Tightrope
30 July 2011
Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - Ciboulette and Oscar
This little car plus an entertaining ventriloquist and her dummy (Ciboulette and Oscar) chugged around the streets of le rocher entertaining the children - and a few adults too.
29 July 2011
Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - the Dragon and the Sentry
You don't really expect to see a dragon in front of the Palais Princier, do you? Glad to see the sentry is amused and hasn't hauled him off to the Princely dungeons...
And for the unbelievable...click on this link to read about and see photos of the woman who crashed her Bentley into a Ferrari, an Aston Martin, a Mercedes Benz and a Porsche causing $1.1 million damage. All this happened outside the casino yesterday.
28 July 2011
Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - the Flying Elephant
In the olden days, there used to be a festival in Monaco where the world turned upsidedown for a day. It was called 'U Sciaratu' (All Fools Day) where men dressed as women and vice versa, a pauper dressed as the King and the 'Lord of Misrule' presided over it all.
This festival hasn't been seen in Monaco for twenty years but last Saturday it came back to Monaco Ville (le rocher).
So, come with me and enjoy a modern day 'U Sciaratu' - we'll see parades, watch amazing creatures writhing in a bubble, be surprised by bushes that move. There are men - 9 feet tall - with elongated necks. The children can learn to walk on a tight-rope, spin a plate, balance on a ball. There is face-painting, balloon twisting and of course there are near naked women walking the streets. There's music and dancing and a lot more not mentioned - but everyone has the best fun. I loved every minute of it. A great day for kids and grown-up kids like me. And you...
To read about this festival dating back to olden times do click on THIS LINK.
More tomorrow...
27 July 2011
Watersports
As you can see, you don't need a megayacht such as the one we saw yesterday to have fun on the water.
There are many more photos to show you of Cap Ferrat and along the coast but they will have to wait for another time.
Tomorrow we go back to Monaco as it's Carnival time on le rocher! - and it's the best fun.
26 July 2011
Paul Allen's Octopus
There were so many yachts on the water but none as big as Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's megayacht Octopus. In the top photo you see one of his helicopters taking off.
The 414ft Octopus, has eight levels, a crew of 60 including former U.S. Navy Seals, two helicopters, seven boats, a remote-controlled vehicle that crawls across the ocean floor, a swimming pool, a recording studio. a basketball court and two submarines.
According to the Daily Mail, the Octopus was the world's biggest when Paul Allen bought it in 2003, costs £12 million a year to keep up and £483,000 for a full tank of fuel.
25 July 2011
24 July 2011
23 July 2011
The Cap Ferrat Walk
22 July 2011
Paloma Beach - the Beach Taxi
21 July 2011
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...
20 July 2011
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.'
Another groom
Another sunny
Honeymoon;
Another season,
Another reason
For makin' whoopee.'
19 July 2011
Roof Gardens in Fontvieille
18 July 2011
Chanel temptations
17 July 2011
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 16th century. In 1870, the façade was rebuilt, then extended in 1891 in a composite '18th 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.
16 July 2011
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.
15 July 2011
14 July 2011
Juxtaposition
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