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MONACO ADVENTURE 2005
ARRIVAL IN NICE: It was late afternoon before
we finally arrived in France after a long and gruelling overnight flight.
We were exhausted. As we staggered out of customs looking for a
place to curl up and die we quickly spotted our driver who was holding up his identifying
sign up, just as advertised.
Mr. Chatty was very nice, and keen to tell us about his adopted city, but
unfortunately we were far too tired to share in his enthusiasm. Our 4-star hotel fronted 3-star rooms, but
what our suite may have lacked in luxury more than made up for with its central location and the splendid view from its courtyard terrace. The biggest complaint that I had was that all of the TV
stations were in French. A
torrential downpour prevented us from doing any serious exploring our first
night, but donned in our disposable rain ponchos we found a quaint little café
just down the street from our hotel where we enjoyed a quiet and romantic
dinner. THE RENTAL CAR: Considering that it was our first
night, we had a surprisingly restful sleep and woke up the next morning with a keen sense of purpose.
Our mission: To drive the Monaco circuit. Step one was to pick up our rental car that I had reserved
over the Internet before leaving home. A
friend of mine in the UK, (who was going to be there too) had talked me out of my original plan to hire a
scooter. "Have you seen the
way they drive over there?!" he had asked.
"Are you mental? You'll want
at least some protection for when you get hit," he advised, thus I
eventually came to my senses and opted for the car.
The rental place was located near the Station Gare (or "train
station" as we Anglos like to call it), which was not too far from our
hotel. I will admit that I was
somewhat
apprehensive at first about driving a foreign car in a foreign land where
drivers have the right-of-way at crosswalks, and my friend’s little warnings
didn’t help much either, but after my baptism of fire I felt a little more
confident. At the very moment I was
handed the keys I was forced into action as someone was waiting for my parking MONACO: Unlike Nice the day before, Monaco welcomed our arrival with glorious sunshine: an absolutely perfect day. Lush, but well-groomed gardens lapped up the late morning sun. Vibrant... Wait a minute. That will have to wait. First we have a lap of Monaco to do... OUR
LAP(S) OF MONACO: “Bumper to bumper stop and
go traffic prevents shifting out of first gear down the
“For some strange reason
the traffic starts to thin here as you negotiate the two turns that lead “Approaching the chicane
while heading downhill you shift down to second, and then back to first,
before THE PRINCIPALITY OF MONACO: Ok… where was I again? Oh yeah, Monaco - right…
For an exclusively urban setting, the principality is clean and as
well kept as Singapore. Comprised
of less than 2 square kilometres Monaco is also small, but EAGER FOR MORNING: Still
flaunting my navigational skills I purposely missed our exit
from the highway on the return drive to Nice just to show that I could
also find my way back the long…er way.
What? You don't believe me either? We
went to bed that night eager for morning with our newfound
appreciation of the Monaco circuit.
No matter how many times you’ve watched the race on TV; no
matter how many laps of the Cote D’Azur you’ve raced on your
PlayStation; no matter how many pictures of it you’ve seen …
nothing can prepare you for the real
life experience. Being
there and seeing it with our own eyes added a whole new dimension.
Turns are tighter, the track is narrower, elevations are enhanced
– the run up Beau Rivage is incredibly steep and the turn through the
tunnel is much sharper than I had ever imagined.
They go how fast through there?
Tomorrow we’ll find out… THE BEAUTIFUL COTE D'AZURE: Thursday
morning: Practice day and we couldn’t wait to see the Formula One cars
scream through the city streets for the first time – from the Café De
Paris! After a bit of
breakfast we boarded our bus anxious to get a move on so we wouldn’t
miss any of the action. Actually
it was more than just a bus; it was one of those fancy-schmancy
air-conditioned coaches complete with table trays and a washroom like
the ones they use to transport people free up to Casino Rama so they
can rape them of their money. We
knew in advance that the Café De Paris would be one of the highlights
of our trip, but we never expected Quaint
little villages were nestled below against the backdrop of
the We
couldn’t take enough pictures as our bus driver raced on covering the
20 km distance in record time. Then all of a sudden just a few
kilometres from our destination we hit a traffic jam, which in addition
to completely destroying his hot lap also started to make us worry if we
would make first practice. Our anticipation grew with every
passing foot as the bus struggled to keep pace with pedestrians outside.
We were about to start a revolt until the doors opened up and that sweet
F1 music poured inside. Reverberating sound collected in pockets
within the surrounding buildings as we briskly walked the final stretch,
which included over a bridge that took us across the track. CAFE DE PARIS: We
weren’t sure what to expect, but with a sophisticated name like “Café
De Paris” we had figured it would be stuffy. Through its elegant
dining room we passed waiters
After the first practice lunch was served: A fine buffet that featured quality dishes of exquisite roast beef and delectable salmon. With our bellies full we decided after lunch to head out for some race shirts and souvenirs knowing from experience that it’s wise to do so sooner rather than later to avoid missing out. By the time second practice had started we had made our way all the way up to the Prince’s Palace, which from its lofty location provided a panoramic perspective of the circuit below. ‘Lofty’ became a reoccurring and valued theme for us in Monaco both in the physical sense and in terms of how our own status felt elevated from being treated to such grandeur. But this was only the start, after all this was just practice and the best was yet to come. HEARTS CAPTURED: Friday
was our free practice day – free to do what we wanted since there was
no on-track action in Monaco. We decided to stay in Nice to view Vieux Nice and I also
wanted to go for a swim in the OLD TOWN: En
route to the old town we happened upon an outdoor market vibrant with
fresh cut flowers and local produce.
Merchants offered everything from fruits and vegetables to
olives, spices and fresh fish. Some
MEDITERRANEAN
DIP: We
had walked up a pretty good appetite by midday and stopped for lunch at
an outdoor café. Paninis
and French fries (what else) were the perfect pick to
quench our hunger while people-watching from
our shaded table in the sun. Ahhhhh... Yes, I'm pretty sure I could get
use to this. How 'bout you honey? With topped-up fuel tanks
we headed back down to the water's edge to go for a We would have another opportunity to
enjoy the beach and the sea on our last day when we went to visit the medieval village of
Éze. We had just missed the bus that would have taken us from the
train station up the The climb up to the wonderful world of Éze was a steep one to say the least. Our ears popped several times as the bus weaved its way back and forth up the side of the mountain. Twenty minutes later we arrived up top ... well, almost - we had to walk the rest of the way up. We wandered leisurely through the maze of narrow stone pathways that meandered through the village shaded by stonewalls on either side. Beautiful roses spilled from ancient terraces which were characterized by wrought iron railings and wooden shutters. Cutouts in the perimeter walls framed the picturesque view below. Although Éze had been meticulously restored to it's ancient glory, the effect was ruined by the numerous stores and restaurants littered throughout the village. While I'm pretty sure the shops of the day didn't take Visa or MasterCard, I'm certain they didn't accept Diners Club. TERRACE
VIEW: The next morning we decided to make our own way into Monaco for Saturday’s qualifying session in lieu of the executive coach service which was provided. Ten minutes to the station, fifteen minutes on the train and a ten minute walk to the building where our exclusive viewing terrace was: it only took us about an hour to get there. "Exclusive viewing terrace," you ask? That’s right! Monaco is the only place in the world where they race on the streets of the city … errrrr, country … errr - principality, so we weren’t about to miss out on a once in a lifetime opportunity by sitting in the grandstands. That would be like going to the Louvre and skipping the Mona Lisa ! Even if you are not a fan of the sport how could we go wrong with on a terrace in the sunshine overlooking the Mediterranean and the most famous harbour in the world while being treated to corporate style hospitality. But we are fans. And we were on cloud nine. The
view in real life was even better than the pictures (which I realize is
usually always the case, but these were really good pictures).
From 7 floors up we overlooked the first turn at Ste Devote and
had a bird’s eye
view of the steep climb up Beau Rivage. Through the trees we could
also see the stretch back in front of the ON-TRACK ACTION: The
on-track action started with the Porsches: a physical affair in which
Nascar-style bumps and rear bumper police take-out moves were perfectly
legal passing techniques. Like a smash-up derby the winner of Sunday
May 22, 2005: Race Day! We were pumped and even more so than The cars look and sounded awesome screaming up Beau Rivage, which appeared much steeper from our balcony perspective as compared to when we drove it. Many were able to catch a draft* (a racing term used to describe the phenomenon of being pulled by the slipstream of the car in front) as they screamed their way up at more than 160 mph and darted back and forth, but passing there is impossible. (We couldn’t even catch a puff when we drove up there – mind you we were only doing aro. 20 mph.). Kimi Raikkenen led from start to finish en route to his second consecutive victory (he had won the previous race in Spain). It was the first time in five years of travelling the globe together that someone other than Schumacher won the race. Rejoice! WE WILL RETURN: If you've made it this far you must know how much we enjoyed our vacation to the South of France. It was truly the trip of a lifetime. We will return one day at least for a visit, or at best to live in a villa by the seaside. I never imagined that a place could inspire so much passion or evoke such strong emotions as the Côte d'Azur did for us, of course, the experience and the memories would be all but meaningless without the one you love to share it with. I consider myself very fortunate to have found my soul mate: Together forever in our quest for love, life … and Formula One.
© DRB JUNE 2005 |
Not so Nice had greeted us with chilly temps, brisk winds and overcast
skies, but we started to perk up with our first glimpse of the Mediterranean’s
turquoise
blue water.
spot.
main straight, which
takes you past the pits and
onto Ste. Devote.
preventing you
from gaining any momentum for the steep climb up Beau
Rivage.
into
the tunnel.
applying the brakes
for the confusion building at the harbour chicane.
you check out the Enzo’s
and 911’s parked around the swimming pool area.
what it
lacks in horizontal space is made up for by vertical real estate.
abound no space is wasted not even by plants
as thorny cactuses somehow
manage
to sprout from rocky crevices.
was their garage … errrrrm
….. and perhaps a couple of other companies as well.
the bus ride there to be so as well.
sparkling Mediterranean while lavish estates were perched high in
isolation on rocky escarpments.
casino to our left and the fountain in front of us the cars raced from
left to right through our field of vision and then down towards us on
our right hand side. Like that little old lady who refused to sell
when they were building the highway it was like the circuit had been
forced to detour just to get around us. As we stood is awe
watching the cars negotiate their way through the Casino complex some
guy across the way at the Hotel De Paris was reading a newspaper on his
balcony. The most technically advanced road racing machines on the
planet - all 900+ HP of them! … are screaming through the streets
below and this guy is flipping through the business section as if it
happened every day. Priceless. 
Mediterranean after
having tested it with my toe the day before.
offered samples as enticement and
when I asked this one guy about a particular spread/paste, which looked
like caviar to me he smiled and winked with a suggestive glance and
said, “Boom-Boom!” while simulating a pounding motion in the
air with his clenched fist.
swim (after
waiting the obligatory hour to avoid getting cramps, mom).
mountain to where Éze is perched 500 m
up in the sky so we decided to take a stroll down to the beach while waiting for the next one.
Colourful floral bouquet’s adorned our path down to the water along with aloe
plants so huge they looked like something out of the dinosaur age.
All of the
beaches in Nice were comprised of rocks and pebbles rounded and smoothed
after eons of water erosion. This one was no different except for
one thing: we
had it all to ourselves. 
description quota earlier in this memoir I won't go into further detail
other than to say that paradise does exist, and it's located in the
south of France
harbour from the Nouvelle Chicane to Tabac.
the
Supercup event was the one whose car still moved at the end of the
allotted time. After lunch the big boys came out for qualifying.
Jacques Villeneuve energised us, the Canadian contingent, when he bested
Michael Schumacher’s time to earn the front slot of row five for
Sunday’s race. The other Schumacher spiced things up even more
by bringing out the red flag after crashing at Tabac, which we saw
through the trees. I darted inside to catch the replay on the
closed circuit monitor while my honey stayed outside to watch it on the big
Diamond Vision screen. There was no shortage of action that day,
at least half of which I spent watching through the lens of my camera so
as not to miss a shot. 
usual
before a race. But this was no ordinary race … mais non – we
were in Monaco, and we had the best seats in the house. After
another luscious lunch, this time of exquisitely baked salmon, roasted
potatoes and spring salad our anticipation continued to heighten.
Less than an hour to go … come on, COME ON! And then finally we
heard an engine fire up, and then another… We held our
collective breath through the parade lap in anticipation of the start of
the race. We watched on the big screen as the cars took their
places on the grid. One light; two lights; three … The
revs go up… louder, louder… camera ready … here they come!
As they roared past amazingly all 18 cars made it through the first turn
cleanly. Villeneuve wasted his ninth-place qualifying spot by
losing several places off the start 
and ended up behind his teammate,
Felipe Massa, who had started from eleventh. He tried to make up
for it later in the race with a desperate passing attempt at Ste. Devote
(right in front of us!), but crashed into the wall when Lucy moved the
football. Some said it was a foolish move, but we gave him points
for trying.