Category: Europe
Top Things to do in Monte-Carlo, Monaco
Go to Monaco for the Formula 1 Grand Prix. Stay for the gob-smacking glitz of Monte-Carlo’s Michelin-starred restaurants, chic shops, and palatial hotels.
Small but perfectly formed, Monaco measures less than one square mile and is the most densely populated—and arguably the most glamorous—country in the world. In this coastal kingdom, synonymous with the dazzling municipality of Monte-Carlo, Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Porsches prowl the streets, and multi-million dollar yachts jockey for space in a pair of posh ports.
Port Hercules, Monte Carlo, Monaco
Impeccably-coiffed women in sunglasses and stilettos stalk the shop-lined Cercle d’Or. Bronzed beauties bask at exclusive beach clubs, and high rollers try their luck in the legendary Casino de Monte-Carlo, surrounded by crystal chandeliers and gold-flecked mosaics.
The casino by night.
Royal-watchers climb to the hilltop Palace of Monaco to see the changing of the guard. In such a small country, it’s not uncommon to even catch a glimpse of Prince Albert II and his wife, Princess Charlene, whizzing by in a motorcade.
The changing of the guard at the Prince’s Palace of Monaco.
And every May, of course, racing enthusiasts rock up for the high-octane adrenaline rush of the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix. Some fans shell out thousands to watch competitors speed through city streets from a prime position on the harbor’s edge, with pit lane access and an open bar.
Credit danfador Pixabay
WHERE TO EAT
The cars may be fast, but the food is not. One doesn’t make a pilgrimage to Monaco for McDonald’s, now does one? No, indeed. One comes to snarf at a constellation of Michelin-starred culinary institutions.
Bloomin’ Beautiful: Egerton House Hotel Blossoms for RHS Chelsea Flower Show
For a taste of London’s famous RHS Chelsea Flower Show–without the tickets–head to The Egerton House Hotel. The well-heeled clientele of this intimate Knightsbridge townhouse will feel right at home in their wellies this May, thanks to a whimsical garden created by Jane Wadham, whose floral fancies are favoured by the likes of Victoria Beckham and the organisers of the Chelsea Flower Show. (more…)
Five Facts You Never Knew About Pompeii, Italy
You wouldn’t expect a city that was buried in 20 feet of ash and pumice nearly 2000 years ago to be making headlines today, but Pompeii has proven that it still has a few surprises waiting to be unearthed.
Thanks to what must rank as the world’s oldest TripAdvisor review–“I had a great meal”—scrawled on the wall of an ancient Italian villa in October 79 AD, we now know that the volcanic explosion that destroyed Pompeii took place two months later than historians have always thought. The graffiti was recently unearthed during new excavations in the ill-fated city, where an estimated 16,000 people perished when Mt. Vesuvius blew its lid.
Previously, the cataclysmic eruption was dated to August 24, 79 AD, according to a letter written by a witness named Pliny the Younger (which would actually make a great name for a rapper). Experts are now chalking the discrepancy up to medieval monks (who were notoriously fond of their mead) who transcribed Lil’ Pliny’s letter. Apparently, they didn’t know their August from their October. Whoops!
Here are five more facts about Pompeii–touching on everything from phallic signposts to quirky personal hygiene–which your high school textbook never revealed…
Every year, 2.5 million tourists make the pilgrimage to Pompeii, to walk among the ruins and tread the same cobbled streets as this city’s ancient denizens. They come to touch the two-thousand year-old bricks and marvel at the wealth of recovered artifacts, including casts of many of the volcano’s victims, frozen in time as they drew their last breaths.
The man who made the city come to life for me is Salvatore Spano, a guide who has been leading tours of Pompeii for more than 40 years. He’s a walking Wikipedia, a master of historical minutia, but I’ve boiled down his wealth of knowledge to a wee list of “Top Five Entertaining Facts,” which you can whip out at your next cocktail party to amaze and delight your friends…or bore them into a hasty retreat if they overstay their welcome and threaten to empty your liquor cabinet.
I’ll let you be the judge. Read on. (more…)