Getting to Monaco for the Grand Prix involves a huge amount of detailed and explicit planning…or dumb luck.
In our case it was the latter.
Stella and I go to the Netherlands regularly, to visit her family (which is only natural as she is a Dutch national). During our recent stay we ventured a bit afield from the land of windmills and wooden shoes…and decided to stop by Monaco, one of the small European countries that we had not yet visited. Of course I wore my racing shirt (as my step-daughter was a prize-winning BMW racer in Holland, this was pre-requisite) and pulled into Monaco on May 24th. As we approached via southern France, I idly wondered when the Grand Prix was going to be held this year. As we entered town a large sign informed us that it was this weekend! Too late to turn back. As we entered town Stella noticed an underground parking garage. The third spot on the right was empty. Sensing a trap we made sure there were no reserved signs or not parking notifications. We had immediately scored a parking spot in the centre of the city (more dumb luck) and exited our car to start our tour of Monte Carlo on Grand Prix weekend.
So much for the planning phase of this stopover. We headed down through a lovely tropical garden, “Jardin de la Petite Afrique”, towards the Casino Square and had a chance to admire the customized Formula 1 race cars displayed within the elegant Casino of Monte Carlo. The course was all laid out for Sunday’s competition but it being a Friday evening we were able to pace out the track while admiring the sights of this tiny country. The nearby Fairmont Hotel has a hairpin curve named for it and guests in the right rooms could watch the race from their balconies. We stood in front of the hotel and saw more red Ferrari’s than I thought existed on the planet, trying out the track.
Continuing our walk we ambled farther down to the Mediterranean where we were able admire the huge super-yachts moored in the harbour for the event. Across the water lay the posh hilltop palace of the Albert II, the current Prince of Monaco. We all know the fairy tale story of how Prince Rainier III of Monaco married American actress, Grace Kelly. Albert was their only son.
Strewn around the town centre, like the scattered toy cars of a spoiled little boy, were Ferrari’s, Rolls Royce’s, Lamborghini’s, Bentley’s and myriads of other cars for the wealthy. I idly wondered what I could purchase with my life’s savings, a thought quickly quashed by my sensible wife
A bit further on we came across the Tag Heuer store, a shop dedicated to the high end Swiss watch brand most favoured by car racers. The manager showed us a watch specially made for this race and available only from that specific store in a limited edition of 50 timepieces. At almost 20 k USD each it was becoming abundantly clear why Monaco was a haven mostly for the ultra-wealthy.
Of course there wasn’t a hotel room to be had in town but before we headed back on the road late that evening we decided to splurge big and dine at the historic “Cafe de Paris”. We didn’t have reservations but the solicitous maitre d’ escorted us to a choice table. I had noticed a few people taking my picture earlier and wondered why. The only thing we can figure is the shirt made me look like I was part of a race team which probably explains how we got the restaurant table.
Since one picture is worth a thousand words, I will leave the excellent photos taken by my wife, Stella, to fill out our adventure. However I will add one more detail. That evening we had to drive half way across Italy to find a hotel room as everything was booked for the Grand Prix for 200 miles around. Well after dark we pulled into a seaside town and after a bit of begging, scored the last room in the hotel. I think the night clerk took pity on us.
I will just end with the old saying: “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”
Click images for large sizes and to start a slide show.
Don’t be like us and rely on dumb luck to visit Monte Carlo on Grand Prix weekend. Plan well in advance (see link below)… or not.
Photo Credits
All photos by Stella van der Lugt
Please Share Your Thoughts - Leave A Comment!