LE TOUR 2009: Monaco Style & Grace

[Stage 1] Le Grand Depart















Stage 1 of ‘Le Tour de France’ commenced in Monaco this year. Home of the late ‘Princess Grace’, the Monte Carlo Grand Prix and beautiful cliff-side vistas. This tiny principality evokes images of style and grandeur, casinos, million dollar yachts and million dollar views!
















Here is a kaleidoscope of images I have collected for you to enjoy. A few ‘Postcards’ representing Monaco!






















Grace Kelly - speedboat


























6_2
















1 Monte carlo 1




























4































8
















monte carlo 2














































9
















monte-carlo2
















untitled
















hotel-de-paris1
















monaco-from-air
















monaco-grand-prix































larvotto beach - monte carlo 3








I was fortunate enough to spend a day in Monaco back in 1993. Not time enough to truly take in this tiny, yet pretty principality. I remember two things only; going to the casino [non eventful], and taking a stroll through the side streets leading to the harbour. We came across a ‘hole in the wall’ cafe and stopped for refreshment of the body and spirit!! I always prefer these travel moments, more than the normal touristy agenda.



















IMAGES: [these are not my travel pics, just some lovely images I found on google. The black & whites are from LIFE Magazine Archival Images]































and
















back to the boys on tour
















after all it is their show


























PELISSIER_Francis &Henri































Standings After Stage 1
















standings - 2009-07-04






























































If you enjoyed this stage, I hope you come back for more. The next stage takes us to the French Rivieria and along to Brignoles in southern France. And just in case you want more, below are links to previous posts in this series.















‘Le Tour’ Post Archives:





04-07-2009: [L'histoire] And So It Begins




05-07-2009: [Stage 1] Monaco Style & Grace















18 comments:

Unknown said...

Fab post! I absolutely love Grace Kelly and have visited Monaco lots of times....it's only 17 mins by train from where we spend our summer hols.....so we visit for the day and then return to the quiet and beauty of our little French beach!

These are great shots - love the ones of the Museum of Oceanography from the sea - we have been there twice with the children, it's an amazing building with some great exhibits.

The summer before last when we visited I believe it was the 25th anniversary of the death of Princess Grace and there was a wonderful exhibition of her life in Monte Carlo.....brilliantly done, it had many of her clothes, her car, her Kelly bags (wow!), her wedding dress - it was really fantastic and a huge success....a friend of mine saw it later when it moved to New York.

Some of my favourite ever films are "High Society" and "To Catch a Thief"......she was stunningly beautiful.....as are her children -and grandchildren.

Thanks for a great post, loved reading this this morning :)

Unknown said...

PS Love the shot of the family in the boat.....I was wondering who the boy was on Prince Rainier's lap....until I realised it was Princess Stephanie! :)

Anonymous said...

I don't know Grace Kelly very well, she died when I was only 1,5 years of age. I saw a documentary on her life, though, a couple of days ago. It showed her life as an actress and later as a princess. Her life might have seem very glamourous, but the documentary makers said she wasn't always happy living in a golden cage...

The images you show here do look beautiful, though. Must think about visiting Monaco some time!

Linda@ Lime in the Coconut said...

Monaco is such a beautiful place. I was there while in college!

And the tour de France....well...no words!

Thanks for the updates. Fun!

Mammabellarte Rita Reade said...

Grace Kelly, yes I was born when she died...bella donna. I use to follow Le Tour de France with my Papa' in Sicily and soccer too. I miss that. I am glad you liked the sign, I am working on another one in Italiano. Ciao

Jacqueline @ HOME said...

Grace Kelly was so beautiful, wasn't she? I always think how strange it was that Princess Diana died under similar circumstances.Very sad. It just shows you that with money still comes tradegy.Sorry, I'm being really miserable. You have found really smashing pictues of such a beautiful area. XXXX

Anonymous said...

These are so beautiful! I love the first one, she looks so beautiful in To Catch a Thief and I can't get enough of the French Rivera, it's so beautiful in that movie.

Carole said...

I went to Monoco twice. Once with my mother while she was living in Nice and another on a tour with 30 other people. What I mostly remember is the color of the buildings and roofs. Salmony pink!!!! so pretty!
Weird the things you remember!
Carole

Exquisite Accessories said...

Ohhh memories of Monoco, when I used to go in my twentys, many moons ago (he) I visited Grace Kelly's place of rest, such tragic events for one family to endure, but on a lighter note, thanks so much Julie for finding some lovley images of Monoco, enjoy the next stage of 'Le Tour de France' & I look forward to the next post Elaine :)

simon said...

stumbled on your blog via le petit cabinet!

love the photos, with france being a favorite of mine as too the tour.

one old photo I saw was of the riders having pints of ale at the end of each stage outside a brasserie:o)

no doping there!

Elaine said...

Lucky you! I would love to spend even one day there. Maybe some day! Such breathtaking views.

I used to follow Le Tour (my ex-boyfriend was into cycling). It's quite the interesting event.

Great post.

beachvintage.com said...

Grace Kelly is just purely stunning.

flax and spindle said...

Oh my gosh the pictures of the castles absolutely breath taking. I can stare at them and just imagine....and Grace Kelly..stunning

Maya said...

This is so neat... the Tour. I have been to Monaco too, it's just so chic and what I love about it too (and other areas such as Nice for example) is that the beaches are just so pristine. And can you imagine nobody pays taxes there! The Rainiers know how to rule their little speck of precious land.

sarah said...

oh Julie, I nearly cried when I looked through these photos, I've had many trips to Monaco, with my family and before when I was an 18 yr old fresh outta school...sigh, I really think you cannot beat the place, even if it costs you a bomb to have a cup of coffee, oh but what sensational coffee.

oh and yep my camera is surely a Canon, how did you know, but it is 4 years old, dearly loved but I would like to dabble in an upgrade...

Sarah

Millie said...

Haven't been, but so enjoyed this post. GK's wedding dress still remains my absolute favourite of all time & her teeny-tiny waist, just amazing.
Millie ^_^

Kellie Collis said...

Oh your talk of the tour speaks to my husband's heart!!

Dumbwit Tellher said...

You made my week ~ those photos are too spectacular for words. My husband just went to work for a co. that has an office in Monaco. We laugh (& dream) about the "what if's"? I adore Grace Kelly & I'm in love with Monaco. Thanks for the visual holiday :D