Monaco 2011

As always, Monaco's beautiful!  Check out the start of the race:

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We watched the race from a different balcony this year and the view was fantastic, as was the food.

Grand Prix of Barcelona, May 2011

Circuit de Catalunya outside Barcelona, Spain.  Whatahelluva great track.  Enough said, take a look:

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Carnaval Ends

The Nice Carnaval ended on Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras).  Next year's theme was announced:  The King of Sport.  Next year's king will probably represent the local people's favorite sports, so we expect a king in a football jersey (OGC Nice, of course) and riding a bicycle. 

At the end of Carnaval, an effigy of the King was burned offshore and they did one helluva fireworks display, set to music.  The firework were postponed from Tuesday until Thursday due to rough seas...the display was launched from seven barges and two boats.

Le Roi de Mediterranee e mort, vivre Le Roi de Sport!

 

The Raisin-Roll Eating Tour of Aix-en-Provence and Avignon, France

 We took a short trip to Aix and Avignon.  Most people would take the train to visit these cities, but when the letters "TGV" are included in a train itinerary, it means "Tickets Cost a Lot".  Fortunately, while walking past the last remaining portion of the bus station (it's being torn down, to be replaced by a garden), we noticed that there's bus service.  So, being the adverturers that we are, we took the bus.  The first leg of the trip took us via the Autoroute to Aix.  Aix-en-Provence was a watering hole on the road to Rome, and thus is full of ancient fountains, along with private mansions, monuments, and of course, churches and convents.  Aix's other claims to fame are several sites associated with its most famous resident, the artist Paul Cezanne.  We're not Cezanne fans, so we left those visits to others.  Raisin Rolls were found at a bakery down the street.  Both mornings. 


La Rotonde, built in 1860

The Four Dolphins Fountain, built in 1667




The clock tower, once the town belfry, has an astronomical clock (1661) on which statues representing the four seasons appear in turn







































A typical Aix street.  Mansions on the right, stables on the left, church in sight



The next leg of the journey took us to Avignon.  Home to the Pontiffs during the 14th Century, Avignon sits on the bank of the Rhone River and is surrounded by several miles of intact wall.  The Pope's Palace dominates the skyline no matter where you stand. 

After sampling raisin rolls from the local Carrefour Market's bakery, we walked across the bridge over the Rhone to Villeneuve Lez Avignon.  Equally medievel, this "new city" surrounds Fort St. Andre which was built to either protect the Popes from the French people or the French people from the Popes...we're not certain which.  The fort is very well preserved and its perch at the top of the hill provides some great views.

Fort St. Andre


 




















View of Avignon from the fort




















Returning to the Avignon side, we wandered through the Pope's gardens and looked back at Villeneuve Lez Avignon.

The next morning, before catching the bus home, raisin rolls were sampled at a nearby bakery, and we strolled through the Pope's backyard.

The bus trip home took the whistle-stop route, passing through vinyards (Cotes de Provence wines) and fields that are just now beginning to sprout with lavender plants.  It was a long bus trip, but well worth the time for the view of the countryside.



Carnaval Parade - "Big Heads"

Here's a sample of the Corso Carnavalesque with its Grosses Tetes ("Big Heads").  The Carnaval has 60 floats, 30 of which are Grosses Tetes.  It has 150 other animated features, 80,000 to 100,000 locally grown flowers, 1,800 employees, 1,500 street artists, and makes between 30 and 35 million Euros for the city.

Fire Breathing Sea Serpent!

Check out the dog!

Carnaval Nice!

 February 18 marked the beginning of the 2011 Carnaval de Nice.  The 127th Nice Carnaval, this year's theme is Roi de la Mediterranee, and here he is.  OK, this funny squid is all over town, but he's the mascot, not the king.  The King, Queen, and her court were installed at the foot of the Place Massena two nights ago with great pomp and ceremony.  These benevolent rulers will remain on their thrones throughout the Carnaval, which continues until Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) March 8.

 

Pictured here, the Royals stand about five stories high and are lighted and guarded 24/7.

 
Carnaval in Nice is, apparently, a lot like Rio!

 
 
The Flower Parade participants had fun with the Mediterranean theme.  We especially enjoyed the array of inflatable sea creatures. 

Kids of all ages are having a great time. We were confetti'd and string'd at least twice yesterday, and apparently the flowers on the floats from the parade are up for grabs at some point, because just about everyone walking by our window later had flowers of some sort.


It's a rainy Sunday today, so the next parade will have to go on without us, but we'll be back into the mix tomorrow.  Right after laundry and shopping. 

Monaco Historic Rally 2011

It's Tuesday, February 1.  On January 26, the participating autos left from five locations: Marrakech, Glasgow, Warsaw, Barcelona, and Reims.  They've been through the Alps and all over southern France, and now they're arriving in Monaco for a brief rest before their final segment which begins at 8:30 p.m. tonight.  They'll arrive back in Monaco sometime between midnight and the wee hours, and those who have enough energy left will attend the gala awards ceremony tomorrow night ("gala", in Monaco terms, means "the Prince is gonna be there, so dress up").

Pati always cheers for the real Mini Coopers.  This one is a 1964 Austin Mini Cooper S.

       This little Fiat 650 TR2 from 1968 won our Cutest In Show award.

Wait...wait!

                                                                   Wiener dog!!

And, as always, the Comas Historic Racing team made a large showing with their fleet of Renault Alpines.  These cars can be rented from Erik Comas, a former Formula 1 driver, and driven in historic racing events.  Comas provides transportation, automobile, mechanics, etc.  All for a price that's within reason...if you don't have to ask the price.  For some reason, we took no pictures of the Comas gang, but it's an impressive operation.  Another impressive group is shown below...some of the large number of Citroens that also compete.

We enjoyed our day in Monaco, and were a bit nostalgic, thinking about good times at the apartment we used to occupy.  The building is shown here, just above the maroon-and-pink Citroen, which was piloted by two ladies, dressed to match their car, who served champagne to their friends upon arrival.

For more information about the Historic Rally, see the Automobile Club of Monaco's website:  http://www.acm.mc/