Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - Face Painting

First choose your face, sit back, enjoy and then check yourself out in the mirror.

I wish there'd been Face Painting when I was a kid...

Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - the Fairy

'The fairies went from the world, dear,
Because men's hearts grew cold:
And only the eyes of children see
What is hidden from the old...

~Kathleen Foyle

Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - the Medusas

These helium-filled méduses (jelly fish) were beautiful. Several young girls, clad in blue and green, led them around the square in front of the palace and every now and then one would dip in the breeze, its tendrils caressing your face. Children would give it chase, but too late, it was up and away again...

Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - the Big Brôzeurs 2

Scary when you look out of your first floor window and see this face...

Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - the Big Brôzeurs

These guys - the 'Big Brôzeurs' - had me laughing out loud. They are 2.5 metres tall - 3 metres when they extend their telescopic necks - and slightly scary at times.

Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - the Kiss

'Happiness is like a kiss - it feels best when you give it to someone else.'

~Author Unknown

Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - Hot Lips & the King

It's hot work being a dancing girl - look at this pretty girl's top lip.

In the smaller photo you see the King and Queen. 'U Sciaratu' (All Fools Day) in olden times, was the day when men dressed as women and vice versa, a pauper dressed as the King and the 'Lord of Misrule' presided over it all.

I've got a feeling the dancing girls are a modern touch!

Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - Strapped Up and Pushed In

And of course there are the beautiful girls...but goodness, this can't be easy. Look at the weight they have to carry, all those straps and that metal frame. And they probably need to make sure their breast plates (or whatever they are called) don't have a dent in them!

Not that anyone noticed...

Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - Soap Bubbles

'I wonder how much it would take to buy a soap bubble, if there were only one in the world.'~ Mark Twain

Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - the Bubble Driver

If you drive the bubble, then you wear makeup. Click to enlarge the small photo and you'll see the driver (or rather his head) in the centre. It's hot and humid inside the bubble - not easy for dancers or driver.

Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - the Bubble

The theme of the carnival is the sea and this bubble contains two dancers writhing around seaweed-like plants with bubbles filling the space - magical and beautiful.

Tomorrow, we'll meet the driver - somewhere in all this, there is a driver...

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.

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!

Carnival 'U Sciaratu' - Walking the Tightrope

There was an area at the side of the cathedral where children could get a taste of what it's like to be a circus performer - and what child doesn't want to do that?

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

The Cap Ferrat Villas

One of the fun things to do out when you are lazing about on a boat is to look at the houses on Cap Ferrat.