Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Everything that Glitters is Gold


In Monaco, this really is the case. I am not one of those people who is obsessed with hot cars and designer brands or anything else that costs a ridiculous amount of money but when I enter this 1.98m square piece of land, that all seems to change.  As pretentious and flashy as it is, I will never get tired of going there to see, well, all the flashiness. At first I was completely unimpressed and I remember asking a friend were all the nice cars are? I nearly swallowed my question because as I asked it, 3 Ferrari’s, a Masarati, a Prosche and a Lotus drove by. So yes, in Monaco, every second car does cost the same amount as my house. Other than perving at the cars, I also like to scout for wealthy, nice, good-looking bachelors (a seemingly impossible thing to find but I’ve seen him in my daydreams and in the movies so I know he exists) . My attempts this time were abysmal and I failed miserably at securing my financial future and visa’s problems, because believe it or not, there is more than just designer clothes and cars and hot people to look at!
Besides millionaire shopping, model and car watching in the street, Monaco has other fabulous attractions to offer. At the top of a very long, cobblestoned-climb you will find the royal palace, residence of the Royal family with a stunning view of both Monaco port and the neighbouring area Fontvielle (pronounced Fon vi-ay). There is also the aquarium/museum, in which we managed to kill 2 and a half hours looking at fish and some rather strange and slightly raw artwork. If you have, however, come to Monaco for the cars then you must visit the car museum (situated next to the McDonalds in Fontvielle) which contains models dating back to horse-drawn carriage-days all the way up to the newest Merc model and a car the has a 2 horse power engine (that’s right I said 2 horse power…so pretty much the same a carriage).
One event you also have to go to at least once in your life is the Grand Prix, even if you’re not a fan the vibe will blow you away. I was lucky enough to have been on a yacht that was situated on the track last year, and it was insane. Imagine the sickest, most mind-blowing party you’ve ever been to. Got it? Now times that by 10 000 and that’s what you’d feel. The free champagne, beautiful people, free food, music, Jacuzzi’s, race cars, celebrities and did I mention the free champagne?! I even met some girls from Stellenbosch who had won a competition and they said that after that week their lives would never be the same and they didn’t know how they would go back to living a normal life. So its not just me, even die miesies van die plaas af were hooked!
I must say that although it is grand to go to a place to go visit, that contains more money than you can wrap your mind around, it is a bit off-putting when you see how such wealthy people are so consumed by material possessions, image and making even MORE money are that I really don’t mind coming back down to earth to my lowly boat and resume scrubbing toilets.

In the wise words of Jack Johnson “Diamond rings and cars, bling bling, but those are only removable things. What about your mind, does it shine? Are there things that concern you more than your time?” In fact just listen to his song “Gone”, its all applicable. 

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