Grande Prix day

Yesterday we had an experience I may not ever have again. We watched the Grande Prix in Monaco from the 20th floor of a building with a birds eye view of the track. It was amazing.   The track the cars drive makes a U-turn exactly where we were right by the edge of the water, with the yachts in the distance.  The view was great and the crowd was almost as great.  Italian nobility, Turkish bankers and Monacan natives (very rare) mixed and mingled with free flowing champagne. 

  Our viewing appetite was satisfied by the sights and sounds of the cars racing by below -it felt like we were on top of the road and on top of the Mediteranean Sea.  Im not that even into car racing but it was so exciting to hear and watch them racing by and anticipate who would win.  It was a British man driving the Mclaren.  There were a fair share of Italians who were disappointed that Ferarri didnt win.  But it didnt matter who won because the cars racing by against the background of the sea, rocks and yachts was so inspirational that we all enjoyed the event.

I can see why people might pay over a thousand dollars, or 700 euros to attend such an event. A friend told me thats the going rate for an invitation to a terrace like the one we were on, with such a view of the race.  We were lucky enough to get an invite from the host Francesca who we met at Nikki Beach the night before.  The invite was actually through a mutual friend. 

Getting to the place was pretty interesting in and of itself, we had to get a special pass to her apartment and show police at the borders of the country and later the guards at her building both the passes and a hand written note saying that she had personally invited us to watch the event at her home.   The country is pretty picky about who they let in.