After the wedding comes the honeymoon. Usually a romantic secluded destination where the newly married couple can settle into the next phase of life...but in our case, we chose to spend our honeymoon at the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix. Crowded, noisy, unpredictable weather. Attending this race had been on Mei's 'To Do' list for many years, as she was quite addicted by the Formula 1 atmosphere after working at four Melbourne Grand Prix's during her university days. It was an amazing, unforgettable experience that we have tried to re-live in this blog entry.
Buying Tickets
Mei seized the opportunity to buy tickets to the Grand Prix around the time Olie was occupied with a work conference in Seattle. As it was a special occasion, we were entitled to a spending spree of indulgence - or that is how Mei justified it to Olie on one brief Skype call to say 'Hun, don't worry if the credit card balance looks exceptionally big all of a sudden'. We upgraded ourselves from the general admission area on the Rocher hillside; to the relative 'luxury' of grandstand seating at the tight right hand part of the circuit known as La Rascasse.
Getting excited over a syrup biscuit F1 car
Our seats, located next to the Paddock
Race Day in Monte Carlo, Monaco
The day started off with a bite of quiche at the local bakery for breakfast before we headed to Nice station to catch the train to Monaco. Helpful signs in English identified the platform, however the train arrived with only 4 carriages for hundreds of hopeful travellers. As a result, we were squashed in like sardines and the cramped situation then created the opportunity for a pick-pocketing thief. Coincidentally it was during the night before that we had discussed the topic of petty theft as our friends had been victims in Nice quite recently. Ominously Olie had stated that getting pick-pocketed was 'all part of the European experience'. Thanks for the jinx.
Nice Train Station
Luckily for us, the only thing stolen was an envelope of confirmation documents that was later recovered on the floor of the train. The entire thing most likely occurred when someone else's wallet was dropped to the ground as a distraction. Naively Mei picked it up and asked around the carriage if anyone had lost anything and a gentleman further up the train came forward to claim it. It was at that point that the thief most likely took the opportunity to open Mei's bag and grab the item closest to the top [luckily the passport, wallet, GP tickets were more secure towards the bottom]. By chance, not long after Mei asked Olie to hold her bag and he noticed that the zip was undone and a familiar looking envelope was lying on the ground. Thankfully, earlier that morning Olie had removed the GP tickets from that same envelope and put them into the lanyards. Close call.
On arrival at Monaco (and a little more paranoid about our personal safety), we bought a keyring to act as a sort of lock and deterrent. We later replaced this with a small combination padlock for additional security.
Grand Prix Atmosphere
Walking around inside the circuit, we sucked up the buzzing atmosphere and it cheered us up immensely. A fan-zone area had been set up near our grandstand and we both bought F1 caps as souvenirs.
The complex street circuit
Mei's new hat
Olie overlooking the harbour
Striking a pose
Getting into the spirit of the event
Driver of the year
Pirelli car
Video of the view of the circuit from our seats
Grandstand seating
Our grandstand seats were bathed in full sunshine (luckily we bought the caps and sunglasses) and we had a large screen in front that enabled us to keep up with all the action around the rest of the circuit.
Perfect setting for a honeymoon
At the Monaco GP at last
Pointing to our seats
Celebrity Spotting
With the Paddock behind us and Pit Lane in front, we had a good view of all the drivers and celebrities walking across the bridge between the two locations.
Jenson Button
Lewis Hamilton
David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan
Will Smith and Nicole Scherzinger
Grid girls
Almost 'Lights Out'
The support races (Porsche and Renault) were interesting to watch, however everyone was waiting for the main event. The F1 drivers did their parade on the top of a customised bus and the stands soon filled with people, whilst on either side of the street-circuit, spectators were crammed onto balconies in the buildings and crouched on top of a very steep rocky hillside.
All the F1 drivers
Video of the atmosphere on race day
For most of the race, the weather held out and life was fairly comfortable as a spectator. Later on it started to drizzle and our red travel ponchos made an appearance. But with our Aussie hero- Mark Webber in the lead, we were too excited to think about moving somewhere with overhead cover. Overall, the race didn't have a lot of crash action apart from the first lap where a couple of collisions took place. The most nervous time for us occurred during the last 5 laps when the gap between the Red Bull of Mark Webber and the other cars got reduced to under a few seconds.
And then it was the last lap, the checkered flag went up and Mark Webber had won! To have watched a race with an Australian winning was amazing! One of the best moments was singing the Australian National Anthem during the presentation ceremony whilst a lot of other spectators looked on very amused.
Interview with Mark Webber
Webber looking relaxed before the main race
Webber in position 1
Excited that an Aussie won the race
Walk on the track after the race
The rain bucketed down shortly after and decided to brave it out for a few more hours in Monaco whilst the crowds died down. There wasn't a lot of places to see, as the roads were still blocked off from the race. We did climb the hill to the Palace and saw Prince Albert sitting in one of the cars that drove passed. We walked part of the track before heading to Casino Square where we ate an ice-cream in front of the famous Le Cafe de Paris.
Prince Albert sitting in the front car
Palace for the principality of Monaco
Casino of Monte Carlo
Flashy cars
Alternative art
Back to Nice (and reality)
Without an invite to any sort of after-party (we couldn't get access into the harbour area where the Red Bull team were partying next to the million dollar yachts), we took the train back to Nice and settled for a quiet dinner in the Old Town to wrap up an amazing race day at the Grand Prix.
Harbour area where the F1 after-parties were held
The great yacht parking lot
Nicoise Salad
Octopus salad
Duck that tasted like beefsteak
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After the wedding comes the honeymoon. Usually a romantic secluded destination where the newly married couple can settle into the next phase of life...but in our case, we chose to spend our honeymoon at the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix. Crowded, noisy, unpredictable weather. Attending this race had been on Mei's 'To Do' list for many years, as she was quite addicted by the Formula 1 atmosphere after working at four Melbourne Grand Prix's during her university days. It was an amazing, unforgettable experience that we have tried to re-live in this blog entry.
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