MONTE CARLO AND MONACO

Since departure from Livorno, our ship set various westerly courses in the Lingurian Sea passing Corse to port at a distance 25 nautical miles. Early in the morning, the Grand Princess will approach Cannes from the south-east before embarking the local pilot, then approach the anchorage from the south. Once the anchor is brought up and tenders and pontoons are rigged, a continuous passenger tender service to shore will commence. Thus it is at 7.00 am the ship docks in Cannes.

When we docked at Cannes on Wednesday 28th May we all feel excited at the prospect of seeing this city made famous for its international film festivals known as "Cannes Film Festival" where famous and popular actors and actresses of the silver screen congregate to be seen at the film awards annually. Thus movie stars, motor yacht, the rush of paparazzi on La Criosette - are one’s images of Cannes and the legendary film festival. But this gracious city with its palm-lined boulevard dividing divine beaches from chic cafes and nightclubs is also our gateway to Monaco and Monte Carlo, Nice and St. Tropez, all of which except for Monaco are all in France which has a population of 60,876,136 and land area of 220,668 square miles. The Capital remains Paris of course, and the languages spoken besides French being the official language are Breton, Alsatian German, Flemish, Latlian, Basque and Catalan.

Cannes itself had been a sleepy hollow for centuries until in 1834 a British Lord Chancellor interrupted his travels to Italy to take shelter from a cholera outbreak. He fell in love with the stunning coast, built a villa and two centuries later the town is synonymous with glamour, luxury and a sybaritic lifestyle of today. It is amazing what a single visit of a foreign dignitary can transform a town into something quite out of the ordinary. But such happenings are not strange .Time and again we read of similar happenings elsewhere in the history of the world.

Our group’s visit for the day includes these three cities. We have a brief ride and glimpse of Cannes on our way out to Monte Carlo and Monaco but it is obvious Cannes can only impress the visitors at night time with its city lights on the various night spots which unfortunately during daylight hours remain very ordinary as far as we are concerned. Thus we can only lavish ourselves with the thoughts and imaginations of its happenings during those film festivals that it is famous for.

Our journey to Monte Carlo and Monaco takes over an hour over very scenic views of the mountains and sea that seem endless all the way through the winding journey. Indeed eventually when we reach the principals of both Monte Carlo and Monaco, we are appalled by the very narrow road access and passage that takes us into these famous cities.Whilst Monte Carlo is nothing impressive apart from its reputation as the casino city of Europe, and indeed we have occasion to visit one of its famous casinos, it nevertheless remains as just one of those common city we are used to visit in our past travels.

What fascinates us is its very close proximity to Monaco , the country of the famous Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly and their romantic story. Monaco is only two miles long and 500 metres wide with buildings and cobbled roads as its town and dwellings, making it a very interesting ,unique and quaint place to visit. The King’s palace is sited on top of a plateau overlooking Monaco and Monte Carlo and at a glance it almost fills up the whole place !

What we learn is that although less than a square mile in size, Monaco is a sovereign State. In 1308, Genoa sold this tiny principality to the Grimaldi family, (of which Price Rainier is a descendent of it) which still rules it . Whilst its early history was quite turbulent, Monaco toady is the picture of peace and stability. The first gambling casino was built here in 1856 by Prince Charles III, who was perpetually short of money. A few years later the casino was moved to its present site in Monte Carlo which is just around the corner of Monaco anyway ! In fact what strikes us all is we cannot distinguish where each city begins and ends. It looks like a twin city and yet not identical in its governance. Very unique indeed.

Of noteworthy is the current prince Rainier III, ( eldest son of Prince Rainier ) has diversified the economy by building up tourism and some light manufacturing . Prince Rainier met Grace Kelly at the Cannes Film Festival in 1955. Their storybook wedding a year later captured the hearts of the world, and put Monaco solidly on the tourist map. It is no surprise that after the wedding, the number of annual visors doubled. We are privileged to visit St. Nicholas Cathedral, built in the 13th century, which is the site of the royal tombs. Both Princess Grace and Prince Rainier are interred in this cathedral, which is located in the heart of the city. We witness bunches of fresh flowers on her grave stone placed there by visitors both local and foreign. Princess Grace remains popular and well remembered for her generosity , social and public affairs contributions to her people , until today and such is the impression that we get when we leave this beautiful city state later on.

Back to, our ship, it is a night of fun and frolic again. After an exquisite fine dining at Michaelangelo, we rush off to secure good seats for the Celebrity Showtime starring Brandi Chapman the singing sensation from Broadway, Branson, Nashville and Vegas. With the musical backing by John and the Grand Princess Orchestra , it is another night to remember. This young lady has wonderful voice and showmanship and full of poise too. Later we get to see her again and again at other show time performances at the same Princess Theatre. She is really a versatile performer .

Of noteworthy for the night is when Rahim decides to watch a late night movie " Atonement" an Oscar Winning film starring George Clooney as its main actor , at the same place at 10.30 p.m. I am always gullible for any good movie and thinking that this should be one great movie to watch, I decide to be with Rahim. Ainul decides to have an early night whilst the rest are not even seen, If at all, Dr. Bahari and his wife are seated somewhere behind us. Apparently he is game for good films.

So there I am with Rahim at a very comfortably located seats in full view of the movie screen over at the front stage of the Princess theatre. The movie starts very impressive until I vision nothing more after that only to find out later on upon realization, my companion Rahim is fast asleep. Thinking that I should not awaken him I continue to watch the movie and when my vision of it disappears, I am amazed to find Rahim fully awake for the continuing episode. All in all it is a night of awakening and sleeping " adventure " as far as I am concerned and relief comes when the movie ends later in the night. It has been a long movie. But of worth noting is how Rahim tries to recall the story line by asking me questions of happenings in the story line. I can only give my special versions of the story based on the intermittent periods of sleep and awake with the resulting effect that it only creates more confusion to Rahim ! Fortunately for him, Dr. Bahari later on provides him with the true line of the story which upon listening to it, I am myself puzzled by its story line which is almost the opposite of what I have comprehended ! After this movie incidence, Rahim never again asks me to see a movie with him !

It has been a long day for all of us.

( TO BE CONTINUED )