Footprints in my mind

I really can't believe that it was four years ago when I took this photo one morning in Monaco as the sun shone over the Mediterranean Sea.  Not exactly sunrise, but close. 

Shortly afterwards I went for a walk along the sea front and came across the Champions Promenade.  Footprints of the stars, I supposed, judging by the little logo on the right.

I didn't know what it was at first because I had obviously approached from the wrong direction.  What I first saw were footprints, named footprints.

In fact, there were rows of footprints, all named but these were the only ones which had a name I recognised.  George Best.  A fallen star, if ever there was one.  So sad.

Updated after YTSL's question:  The Champions' Promenade is the place where the winners of the Golden Foot Award have their footprints displayed.  Each year ten footballers (soccer players) are nominated for their athletic achievements and personality and the winner is chosen by an online poll.  The player must be still active and over 29 years.

Later that same day there was a beautiful sunset with a moon but no stars.

The evening sun makes Cap Martin glow in the remains of the light.

"The day is done, and the darkness,
Falls from the wings of Night,
As a feather is wafted downward,
From an eagle in his flight"
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

A two-in-one post for the Photo Hunts. 

Sparkle

I think I prefer the sparkle of light on water to any other type and besides, I find other sparkles very hard to capture. 

The two above show light sparkling on the Mediterranean Sea.  In fact both were taken at much the same time but they look quite different.

Then we have two fountains, the top one in Monte Carlo and the second in Albi in the south west of France.

Finally, I suppose this is the ultimate in sparkle, the best of both worlds, another fountain but this time from Versailles.  Personally I prefer the more natural look of the light playing on the sea.

If you'd like to join in the PhotoHunt and find other players, pay a visit to TNchick's site where you can find out more.

PhotoHunt: sports

Sport: to play or frolic.  Two children having good sport jumping over waves.  This was the south of France two days ago - lovely and warm but occasional heavy clouds.

Sport: an active pastime or recreation.  I first spotted a number of classic cars going through a service area on a motorway in the south of France.  I eventually caught up with them two days later.  They were taking part in a rally which follows famous routes - Sulle Tracce dei Famosi.  In this case they were to follow the route taken by James Bond in Golden Eye, down the Moyenne Corniche and then to the Casino in Monte Carlo.

Sport: an organism that shows a marked change from the parent.  This picture was taken in the Camargue two days ago. I was very taken with the contrast between the few grey flamingos and the mass of pink.

Yes, I know that young flamingos don't really count as sports because they all start off grey and don't turn pink for a while, but I'm hoping you'll be good sports and let that pass.

If you'd like to join in and find other other players, go and visit TNchick's site. 

Monte Carlo or bust

I first saw Monaco in 1979.  I've been back a number of times but never really paid a great deal of attention to my surroundings.  During my recent holiday I had the opportunity to visit again, so I looked with fresh eyes -  and took some photographs.  This post, I'm afraid, will be very picture-heavy.  If you click on any of them, you will be able to see a larger version.

 

A classic shot of the area, La Condamine, and the harbour which has recently been enlarged to allow cruise liners to dock.  They used to have to anchor out in the bay.

A view back over Monte Carlo residential area and up the cloud covered mountains behind.  Monaco's border doesn't extend far so many of the buildings you can see will be in France.  Beausoleil is directly behind Monaco.

This area of Monaco is Fontvieille, a new area completely reclaimed from the sea.  The football stadium at the upper right marks the border with France.  You can see the roof-top gardens on many of the buildings.  Not visible here, but one or two even have a separate house or cabin on top.

The three pictures above were taken from the old town, Monaco-ville, which is probably the most interesting part of all.

This is the cathedral, built on the site of the first parish church which dated from 1252.  The church was demolished in 1874 to allow the construction of the cathedral, using stone from La Turbie, which cleans itself and whitens in the rain.

The Oceanographic Museum, which used to be directed by Jacques Cousteau, currently running an exhibition about the polar regions and their vulnerability.  Inside the rooms are ornate and beautiful.  The aquarium was visually stunning but some of the tanks seemed small.  There was one tank, a featureless column, filled with silver sea bass, all swimming in the same direction.  I suppose it's no worse than fish-farming but I felt uncomfortable that it was there for effect and entertainment.

The Saint Martin Gardens surround the Oceanographic Museum.  There are sculptures everywhere in all the gardens I saw, all beautiful.

The Casino, everyone knows the Casino.  Taken close up because the view from further away was restricted.  You'll see why later.

The Café de Paris entrance to the Casino.  The Brasserie is next door.

A fountain, with a reflective disc showing the casino, in the Boulingrins Gardens.  Apparently "boulingrins" is a distortion of "bowling green", one of those bits of trivia that appeal to me for some reason.  And here you see the reason many of my photos are from odd angles.  In the background are the stands for the upcoming Grand Prix.  Barriers, cranes, stands and scaffolding were everywhere.  Something of a contrast, I thought, with the concern for the environment expressed in the Oceanographic Museum.  Money talks.

Another sculpture in the gardens, another odd angle.

Boulevard d'Italie - the older style buildings with the modern in the background.

The beach, recently reclaimed land, with the Sporting Club in the background.

A fountain near the beach.

Two ships, one a cruise ship, the other privately owned, anchored in the bay at night to leave room in the harbour for a large cruise liner.  The blue lights allow for night-time swimming.  To me they seem to illustrate the romance of a different lifestyle.

If you're here for Canucklehead's Scavenger Hunt, I'm saying nothing.

Monaco 1979

Continuing down memory lane...

In 1979 we had the opportunity to go to a business conference in Monte Carlo, or rather my husband did, I just tagged along.

The Principality of Monaco is made up of five areas:
Monaco-ville
Monte Carlo
Condamine
Moneghetti
Fontvieille

We stayed in Monte Carlo itself, in what was then called the Loews Monte Carlo and is now the Monte Carlo Grand Hotel. It was wonderful.

As you can see from our picture taken at the time, it is built on stilts over the sea. The F1 Grand Prix circuit goes through the tunnel under the hotel.

The other side of the hotel in the distance and a view of part of the port. These days there is nearly always a huge cruise ship somewhere offshore, resulting in sudden and large influxes of tourists.

Old Monaco-ville above, showing the Grimaldi Palace.

A street scene, not especially fascinating except for showing some of the typical architecture, and a young man in seventies style clothes.

Again, not an especially inspiring picture in itself, and I've no idea why it was taken, unless it was some sort of premonition. That road on the left hand side leads to the place where one of our sons now works, and the other son's apartment is in the picture too.

These days of course we visit rather more often, so we rarely take any photos, but now that I have unearthed these old ones, it would be fun to take the up-to-date equivalents. There have been a lot of changes.

Claudie has lots of photos of modern Monaco, including an up-to-date version of my one overlooking the port. It looks remarkably similar after almost 30 years.