Sketches from Monte Carlo, Part Deux

This time of year is cool to cold even on the French Riviera, but the sun warms you quickly and the vast hordes of tourists are all at home. We spent over a week there, visiting Monaco for the International Circus Festival, but spent some time in Nice and elsewhere too. Although Monaco is very small (less than a square mile) it is a dazzling jewel on the shore of the Mediterranean. The streets are decidedly narrow and the residents crowded into glittering high rises in the area around the harbor, the surrounding French towns retain the charm of the centuries. We rented a villa in Roqueville St Martin, only a mile or so from the famous city-state.

Left is a sketch of a square in the old town, Monaco-Ville, atop the high peninsula known as Le Rocher (the Rock) that juts into the Mediterranean. This particular day the normally sunny square was grey from the overcast skies. This promontory is the home of the ruling Grimaldi family, famous in this country as home to the American actress Grace Kelly, who married the late Prince Ranier in the 1950s at the height of her fame and became a princess. The town shares the top with the Prince's Palace, the oldest part of which dates to the 12th century. Originally it was a Genoese fortress but has been occupied by the Grimaldi princes since the late 13th. This time of year the town is quiet and uncrowded and we had a lovely time wandering its streets and museums. As a bonus we had several delightful lunches there, including the restaurant in the right side of the sketch. Much of Monaco-Ville is free of motor vehicles, owing to the narrow streets.


The sketch to the right is a view from the terrace of the villa, which is situated about halfway up a mountainside overlooking the sea. Most days while we were there hang gliders launched from the top, finding uplifting thermals as they soared. Sometimes as many as ten were aloft at once. The tiled terrace outside boasted bougainvillea, palms of several varieties, and all manner of flowering plants, still thriving in spite of the winter. The villa itself was (necessarily) a multi-level affair that reminded me of those cliff-hanging dwellings you see in California. The front door was at the top level and the villa rambled downslope from there, with sun-washed terraces at each level, all with sprawling views of the sea far below.



Below is another view from another terrace at the villa, again showing the ubiquitous hang gliders and the signature Italian cypress trees (beloved by van Gogh) of the Mediterranean coast. Although these trees are associated with grief and loss in writings of classical antiquity, for those of us in the less temperate areas of the world they always represent joy and warmth and life. It was lovely to see their spires aimed skyward.


When travelling, sketching is not only a way for me to keep working but can also serve as a way to keep in touch with friends, albeit in an old-fashioned, slower way. These are all postcard-sized watercolors that were sent home to friends and colleagues. I mailed them from the post office in Monaco-Ville, and was delighted that the stamps were local commemoratives of the Monte Carlo International Festival. The festival is an international competition of circus acts that included performers from all over the globe. My niece and her husband (The Owl and the Pussycat) won a Bronze. Warmest congratulations to Adrienne and Paul!