THE BUSY BEE: English Classes in Monaco

THE BUSY BEE is a well hidden sweet little gem, that I stumbled across when trying a short cut walking home. It is located in 10, Rue de la Turbie, just the backside of Rue Grimaldi and is run by a lovely lady called Jasmine Antonini.
It provides English Classes for those who want to improve their language skills or practice conversation. A good part of the clients are children! There are toys, books, drawing and painting supplies which are used to intensify and work on communication of the little fellows! Some small theatre shows are being practiced and performed for parents and you can even choose what is called 'stages vacances', - having your child stay for up 1.5h during holidays to 'playfully' chat and enjoy in group activities.

Busy Bee also holds conversation classes for adults.

For contact call Jasmine at +377 97 70 50 49 or email busybee@libello.com

Party: Amber Lounge during the F1 Grand Prix

May means Spring in most countries. In Monaco it also stands for the smell of fuel and the roaring of engines. The crazy week of F1 is just around the corner and the town is gearing up for 1 week of race cars, parties, starlets and luxury yachts on display alongside the legendary race circuit.
One of the 'famous' party places during the long weekend of 'Monte Carlo F1' is the well established Amber Lounge. With the annual fashion show on Friday night, always featuring a different designer and most of the race car drivers joining the dance floor on Sunday , when all their 'work' is done, - Amber Lounge surely is the hottest after-dark-spot in town.

Here Jess Fry, sales wizard of the Amber Lounge team, tells us a bit more about the event:

How long has Amber Lounge been around and what do you like best about your job?

Coming up for 10 years, now in 4 countries.  Thats the part i love – im constantly abroad meeting fascinating people and can go pretty much anywhere in the world now and know i have great friends there – its a  fabulous feeling 

How does the Monaco Amber Lounge compare to the others (Abud Dhabi, India, Singapore)?

Well, the parties are basically the same principle, but with funky additions inspired by the country – ie in Monaco you look out over the lights of the megayachts in the bay. The Singapore venue is a tent strung between skyscrapers - one of the walls of the venue is a waterfall cascading down the side of the building into the party... very cool.  In India the outside terrace is in the treetops, and looks out across a plain of temple spires.  The Abu Dhabi terrace is floating on the Yas Island creek, all uplit and overlooking the multicoloured skyline of Yas island. 

People wise, clientele reflect the nation really.  Monaco is very glitz and glam, Singapore tends to be more easy going crowd coming in straight from the Paddock as its a night race. India the socialite scene has to be seen to be believed and Abu Dhabi EVERYONE arrives! 

How do those F1 drivers perform on the dance floor?

Hahha that would be telling!  Some of the Finns live up to tradition and go absolutely bananas, and some of the boys are cracking DJs!!  We’ve has the DJ box overrun with Drivers spinning tunes and randoms like Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas gate crash the dancers podiums 

The magic of F1 in Monaco – how to describe it best?

Well, it IS magic isn’t it.  The feeling is in the air and its the iconic GP – the one everybody thinks of when you mention F1.  Everyone wants to be part of this one, and i suppose that’s what it is – mass enthusiasm

Is there a place to chill during that crazy F1 week in Monaco , tell us some secret hideaway’s from that madness?

Would you WANT to? 

Ticket prices: individual party passes start at Euro650pp , Tables of 8 start at Euro 5,200.  All tickets include unlimited Champagne and all other drinks.

Amber lounge Dining Euro 250 pp

Amber Lounge Fashion Euro 500pp

Contact info: jessica@amber-lounge.com M: +33 6 43 91 61 28, T:  +377 97 77 16 34

More info on this year's fashion show:

The Duchess of Cambridge, Madonna, Kylie Minogue

and Jennifer Lopez are just a number of celebrity fans

who have embraced the elegant designs of Issa London

and now the internationally renowned label is showcasing

its collection at Amber Lounge Fashion - the annual

charity catwalk event held over the Monaco Grand

Prix weekend.Hosted at Le Meridien Beach Plaza’s stunning poolside

on Friday 25th May from 6.30pm Amber Lounge Fashion is

once again giving its support to the Special Olympics when

it famously unites the worlds of fashion and motorsport on

one catwalk to raise funds for its Official Charity.

Considered one of the highlights on the F1 social calendar,

this star studded charity event, sponsored by Mekhong,

certainly has a line up to entertain, dazzle and surprise its

VIP guests. Last year saw Royalty and stars of film, fashion,

sport and music attend the show including H.S.H Prince

Albert II and H.S.H Princess Charlene of Monaco,

Kim Kardashian, Sir Philip and Tina Green, Jason Statham,

Michael Johnson, Boris Becker and Matthew Williamson.

A dazzling combination of feminine elegance, boudoir

beauty and masculine rock ‘n’ roll will take over the

catwalk this year. Headlining designer Issa London will

present a selection of acclaimed 24/7 dresses, where

glamour and elegance reign and the motto ‘Issa for all!’

rings true for every fan of this Brazilian designer,

Daniella Helayel.

New stars of Formula One Bruno Senna, Romain Grosjean

and Daniel Ricciardio will take to the catwalk alongside

their F1 colleagues who will model outfits by eternal Rock n

Roll spirit, Philipp Plein. This handsome German designer

differentiates his collections producing creations for people

who intuitively choose the extraordinary things in life!

Closing the show Nichole de Carle London launches her

debut luxury capsule swim range created to compliment

the brands luxurious lingerie pieces. So named, Serpentine

in recognition of the 2012 London Olympics will transform

the Nichole de Carle London woman elevating her from

boudoir beauty to beach babe.

Entertainment includes a live performance by British sensation

Labrinth who will sing his recent smash hit single, “Last Time”

currently in the UK and European charts. His previous single

Earthquake rocketed straight into the UK’s charts at No. 1 and

with collaborations with Tinie Tempah already under his belt,

this producer, writer and singer is heading for global stardom.

Surprise – well if we gave that away it wouldn’t be a surprise

now would it?!

Dedicated to raising funds for notable charities and for the

second year running Amber Lounge Fashion has given its

support to the Special Olympics. H.S.H. Prince Albert II

and H.S.H Princess Charlene of Monaco have taken this

movement to their hearts, along with Global Ambassadors

including Colin Farrell. Special Olympics is dedicated to

giving athletes with intellectual disabilities the opportunity

to celebrate and be celebrated for their accomplishments.

To date the Amber Lounge Fashion’s charity auction has

raised over 3 million Euros. This year will be no exception.

Wonderfully generous guests will be bidding for one off lots

such as an unique Andy Warhol photograph taken by

celebrity photographer Karen Bystedt, Amber Lounge Fashion

looks set to beat previous records for this excellent cause.

Those lucky enough to secure post show tables at the

in-house restaurant, Amber Lounge Dining will savour the

exquisite cuisine and fine wines served alfresco.

Once the sun goes down, guests move through to

Amber Lounge where partying will continue until dawn.

Amber Lounge, the exclusive Grand Prix After Party that

follows the F1 around the World, signed Mekhong as its

Official Title Partner and Chang as the Official Beer for its

up and coming party and charity fashion show in Monaco

during the iconic Monaco F1 Grand Prix. 

People: Gil Kenny Of SHARKPROD

Back in the 1950's the French Riviera  became a vibrant playground for the Hollywood set and it has been backdrop for many movies ever since, just think Grace Kelly & Cary Grant! Thanks to the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco TV Festival, we still get a fair amount of glitz and glam to this region every year. Since 2011 a 'French-American Production Company' called SHARKPROD is bringing even more of that film biz atmosphere to the area. Gil Kenny is the founder and brain behind Sharkprod. As an experienced man  behind the camera he has worked with names like Woody Allen and being bilingual and more-or-less a local, he really facilitates film-making for many foreign projects seeking to shoot around Monaco and the French Riviera. We got to find out a bit more about him and his company:

How long have you been living in the region and what brought you here?

I lived here when i was a little boy with my family in St Jean Cap Ferrat, moved to the USA and came here 20 years ago, i came back because i missed it and had great work opportunity...

Gil at work

 You have been working on lots of movies, what has been your experience and how would you describe the difference between French and American productions?

My experience has been very good and i have achieved to learn a lot very quickly, having been Assistant Director with a real passion, that Dept of the Crew gave me the possibility of dealing with every other departments with many responsibilities which i really enjoyed. The only difference between French and American productions is really the amount of people, everyone works the same and this is why we work very well together, of course the number of crew members will depend wether it's a small comedy film with no effects or action or a big blockbuster which will require a bigger staff.

Gil Kenny

You own and run Sharkprod, a production company on the French Riviera, - describe your offered services quickly?

Sharkprod is an Executive Production Service Company, based in Monaco. It was created to welcome companies worldwide in producing projects in Monaco, the French Riviera & Corsica. Sharkprod provides a complete range of services including crews, equipment, locations, models and in-house extras' casting. Our crews are fully bilingual and have access to cutting edge equipments in Camera, Lighting or Grip equipment

What has been your most exciting production in your career so far and why?

My most exciting project was when i was 1st Assistant Director for Mr. Woody Allen on "Midnight in Paris".

I only had 4 weeks of preparation with Mr Allen for a 7 week shoot all filmed in Paris summer 2010 and i had no stress, he was kind, human and whatever he told me during preparation, he did on the shoot, just a wonderful person to work for.

What makes the French Riviera so special for events/productions?

Monaco & The French Riviera are known for their glamorous touch and elegance with their hotels, casinos, villas, yachts and coastal roads surrounded by beautiful views, private beaches and lagoons. In the winter, our great ski resorts and mountain roads are also available and have their own beauty only 1h30 from Nice airport. With 300 days of sun and a beautiful quality of light, the 4 seasons offer the possibility of filming by the sea, in the country side and on snowy roads in the winter...

What is your favourite movie and why?

The Big Blue directed by Mr Luc Besson, it unites both areas of life that i love, the sea & the film work around it...

 To reach or contact Gil:

gil@sharkprod.mc

www.sharkprod.com

Beaulieu: Visit at the Studio of artist Carol Bruton

The pretty town of Beaulieu is only 10min car drive away from Monaco and apart from excellent restaurants, there are plenty other attractions to add to your agenda, that will spice up any weekend and get you out of Monaco without too much driving or planning.
One of the Beaulieu highlights is a visit to Carol Bruton's studio and get to know her art. Carol is a wonderful woman and her art is as exciting and interesting as it is aesthetically beautiful. I am the proud owner of one of her works as well, and I encourage you to see her works in person.
You can find Carol's contact details on her website:
www.carolbruton.com

Here is a little sneak peak and some more on Carol herself:

Carol Bruton was born in Toronto, Canada and studied art at the Bellas Artes de Madrid, the Camden Arts Centre, London and the Edinburgh College of Art. Carol's childhood was spent in Spain, a country she still visits regularly. The strong influence of the starkness of the landscape of Southern Spain with its predominant colours of blue and ochre, is evident in her paintings. She has used the burnt earth colours to mould her work. The stucco-quality of the canvasses is the discovery of the artist herself. She found that by using a palette knife to mix limestone/sand with the oil medium, she was able to produce in texture the sensations of her formative years. This stark earth texture is laid in contrast to the flat sky, leaving a brooding, primitive atmosphere. She also spent much time in the Middle East and Africa, where the open spaces and dry clours of the desert are expressed in the composition and textures of her work.

Universal Blue (by Carol Bruton)

Her first solo exhibition at the Mes Gallery, Tehran in 1972, prompted the art critic Terry Graham to write: "The charm of her paintings is starkly terrestrial - suited for the age of Dubuffet. The paintings reflect a moody, brooding atmosphere, the dark aspect of the psyche. For example 'Infatuation 1' by its very title emphasized the paradox of outer levity and inner preoccupation. The simple block white houses in a Spanish village tower in Chirico geometric perspective over an empty street. An effective use of the palate knife recreates in relief the stucco walls and mud streets, set against an opaque Prussian blue sky. The bold heaping strokes of 'Heat' convey the Dubuffet-like sense of mud and earth. Here they are encased in rigid linearly defined forms. There is a sense of phasia, a groping muteness in these paintings, a crying out for expression. There is no levity in 'Infatuation' but rather obsession. But the sombreness is esthetic and occasionally the obsession is magnificent"

Following an exhibition at the Quadrangle Gallery, Oxford 1975, one viewer wrote giving his impressions: "I was in Oxford on Saturday and went to see your exhibition Carol. I've only seen one of your paintings before and wasn't sure what to expect. Well, I'm glad I made the effort - and effort it was as a stranger to Oxford's bewildering one-way system - as I thought your work was fantastic. If I was a man of means, I would have snapped a couple up on the spot. What better than to return from the crowded confines of a city work-day to the limitless horizons of a stark, uncluttered landscape? I once travelled by train through the plains of southern Spain and can still remember the spiritual impact, the unexplicably joyous light-headedness that the scenery awakened in me. In 6 square feet of canvas you have captured that sense of infinity. The sun-bleached ochres and browns, the torpid hamlets and the timelessness. A self-confirmed materialist, I all too rarely experience anthing approaching spiritual ecstasy and very few paintings have such an effect on me"

Carol has named a series of paintings 'Before 2004'. In 2005 she was given a book 'A Devotional Diary' by Two Listeners. The time spent apart with this book led her in a very different direction. The first evidence of this, came in her series showing the earth's crust - in blues, reds and golds. However the sculptures 'Transparent Pools' perhaps best show the spiritual dimension to Carol's work.

Carol currently lives and works in Beaulieu, the South of France.

Sculpture by Carol Bruton

 PEOPLE:  Johanna Rossi of Cosmopolitan Restaurant in Monaco

Great food, a friendly hostess/owner with never-tiring energy making sure all guests leave satisfied, prompt and refreshingly un-French service and a lovely, well, 'comsopolitan' (!) atmosphere...means you have arrived at 'Cosmo', - as it is called by regulars.
Johanna Rossi is the owner (together with her husband) of this small , but fantastic eatery, which is located on the culinary strip just next to the Larvotto round-about. Neighbors include La Piazza, Mozza and Pulcinella.  Try the eclectic menu and yummy food yourself and pop in for lunch or dinner! It's a great place to start an evening out and surely a reliable lunch spot. Johanna also spices up the restaurant's agenda with little special nights (like Crispy Duck and Chinese Food on Monday nights) and events (charity dinners) on a regular basis.

Here we catch up with Johanna herself:

How long have you been living in Monaco and what brought you here?

I have been living in Monaco for almost 10 years now. My husband was born here. We met whilst studying at the same university in the UK.

Johanna Rossi of Cosmopolitan

Do you find Monaco easy to live with children, what are the disadvantages and advantages for living in Monaco with a family?

A lot of my clients ask me that question! Monaco is certainly a 'safe' place to bring up children, we don't have certain fears that other families live with. Obviously the climate isa huge advantage during the Winter months, my son is very active and loves being outdoors so I'm always happy to see the blue skies! On our days off it is also great to be able to get out of Monaco and have Italy and the French Riviera on our doorstep. One of the big disadvantages I find now is that Monaco becomes one big traffic jam on week days. It is dangerous navigating the traffic with a fast moving toddler, not to mention the pollution levels. I also think as my son gets older it will be important for him to travel and see more of the 'real world', Monaco is a bubble and I think it is important for children growing up to have some kind of 'reality check' in the big wide world.

  

You own and run a restaurant with your husband? Describe the place and menu?

Our restaurant takes after its name 'Cosmopolitan'. The menu and the place are about bringing together different people and tastes from around the world. There are so many different nationalities living in Monaco and we wanted Cosmopolitan to be a place where everyone would feel at home and find something that would be to their taste on the menu. Our menu has a Méditerranéen base as obviously we wanted to make the most of the fresh local produce, but we then picked out various signature dishes with Asian, Anglo-Saxon, Indian and Chinese backgrounds that we hoped would please our clients. Our 'top selling' dishes included our Crispy Aromatic Duck, Fish & Chips with Mushy Peas, Seared Tuna in a Sesame Crust and of course the Banoffee Pie! We also have  quite a diverse team consisting of French, English, Italian, Spanish and Argentinian origin so that is a great factor for the kitchen. We designed the interior of the restaurant ourselves and wanted it to be somewhere people would feel at home and relax. There are many constraints when designing a restaurant so sometimes your design decisions are made for you, we completely gutted the old restaurant and literally had to take the place back to a shell and start over, plumbing, electrics, the lot! 

What is your favourite restaurant in Monaco (other than Cosmo) and why?

The Japanese restaurant at the Maya Bay! It is the only restaurant I have eaten at in Monaco probably for about 2 years. If we eat out we usually end up in Italy. The Maya Bay

has it just right, excellent service, cleanliness, great design and most importantly good food,with no protention!

What is your favourite dish/recipe?

I love good honest food. Most importantly the produce you cook with must be fresh and in season! I don't have a favourite dish as it would be far to hard to choose. I love cooking and thankfully my husband loves eating!

 What are your hobbies and passions outside work?

I studied design all through my adolescence and twenties and obtained a first class honours in Interior Architecture...  Creating is my true passion, which is why I love cooking so much.

I 'make' when I can. You can see some of my work here : http://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-World-Little-Me/114408755303220 I have very little spare time but if I don't create, I

feel like something is missing. It is innate, I have a very active imagaination and putting 'pen to paper' is a therapy for me!

Contact Info:

COSMOPOLITAN
7 rue du Portier
98000 Monaco

t : +377 93 25 78 68
www.cosmopolitan.mc

Fish & Chips (as good as in UK)

Asian Carpaccio

The restaurant inside

CULTURE: ‘Habiller Une Image’ - a visit at Villa Sauber

With the Spring weather taking a little pause, what better excuse than to put a little museum visit on your agenda!
Today I visited the VERY small, yet precious little exhibit at Villa Sauber. Living in Monaco we often forget that we do have some art shows right in front of our doorstep. This small show has been put together by the students of the Saint Martin’s College for Fashion Design in London and the wool company Pringle , all under the art-trained eye of HRH Princesse Caroline, who is the driving force behind NMNM (Nouveau Musée National de Monaco). The curator-mix sounds a bit eclectic and what you find in this 4-room exhibit appears a bit scrambled together at first, though it starts to make sense at closer inspection.

Grace Kelly’s love and passion for plants & flowers is beautifully demonstrated in an expansive installation of plants. She was the founder of the ‘Monaco Garden Club’ and being a big fan of the Chelsea Garden Show, she visited the event in London annually – so there’s our link to London, I guess J

Another room, my favourite, shows 6 different home videos. I loved each of them. You see Princesse Grace skiing the slopes of the Swiss Alps and teaching her daughters ice-skating. Yet in another short film you’ll see an infant Prince Albert dressed as a cowboy playing with his sisters dressed as Indians, crawling in and out of a wigwam. The video showing Grace Kelly pool-side with family and friends, cracking up laughing and just looking all happy , natural and relaxed, somehow managed to make me gulp up some tears. These snapshots and family videos are so very beautiful to watch and getting that rare glimpse inside a world which seems far gone, yet remains so present in this town, feels special somehow.

Pringle exhibits some 60’s cashmere sweaters next to a small collection of Grace Kelly’s handbags and sunglasses. On IPad touchscreens you can view and read articles from Magazines like Time, featuring the Princesse on the cover and in interviews.
A small room in the corner next to the staircase has an audio transcripts of Grace Kelly’s secretary and a close family friends of hers. Once more, a bit random, but nonetheless interesting to listen too. The story behind the ‘Kelly’ bag is explained and a how she dressed when private or up on Mont Agel.

The show can be toured in a short time, even a lunch break. Or on your way to the beach… Count 20-30minutes as sufficient. Entrance is EUR 6,-
Sadly I was not allowed to take any pictures.

Again, it’s a small show, but it demonstrates in a simple and contemporary manner how this long gone legend and eternally GRACE-ful woman remains still so powerful and fresh to keep shining on this town …

The Exhibition is continues until May 20. Doors open at 10h.

Where: Villa Sauber on Avenue Princesse Grace

Food: Delivery Cleanse arrives in Monaco

Spring is in the air and immediately everybody yaps about losing weight, shedding the holidays’ pouch and  getting into bikini body shape. Now we all know the best way to lose that weight and tone your body, is by exercise and practicing Sports! However a good detox or quick cleanse can help achieve that goal quicker and motivate you on the way to your desired ‘summer shape’.

Most big cities have ‘delivery-to-your-door’ diets and low cal meal plans, so I was happy to find out even ‘our big town’ now offers a similar service.

The Milan based company ‘Time to detox’ has set up shop in Monaco! I studied their website and found it explained well but somehow not really inspiring or appetizing what they offered. So, I ordered a sample day.

At 11:30h sharp a big bag containing lunch, dinner and breakfast was delivered to my door by a very friendly man. He explained what the company offered (3 or 10 full day cleanses as well as 5 days per week lunch plans) and he gave a quick overview on the content of these bags full of (recyclable) containers that would be all I got into my system for the next 24h.

All food is made from gluten-free, animalprotein-free (aka vegan), organic ingredients, and prepared to ayurvedic and macrobiotic standards. The goal is to eliminate toxins and rid your body of excessive water retention and waste products. A copper ‘tongue cleaner’ (yes, to scrap off those toxins) is also included in my bag! Weight loss is a welcome side effect of the program, but the real goal you are embarking on is to detoxify your system , which again will reduce sugar cravings for the future.
Brochures and thorough (English) descriptions are included with each dish. So what did I find in my various meal bags:
Lunch

Soup of Coral Lentils with cumin and lemon quinoa: it tasted sooo much better than it looked. In fact the lemon zest flavour in the well boiled quinoa was quite a revelation and I ate it way too fast. You are supposed to chew very, very slowly. Not me. The ‘afternoon snack’ , wrapped separately in the lunch bag, was a buckwheat chapatti. Now that one, I chewed very slowly and I wouldn’t really kill to have it again. But it did take away that craving for sweets which always creeps up early afternoon for me. So, well done for that!

Dinner

Cream of sweet vegetables mustard and onion bells caramalized with spicy rice. Same again, whilst you heat up your dinner soup (in a pan/no microwave please), you are not convinced that this could be a delight. Once you start eating you are just happily surprised and appreciate the feel-good factor for your body.  The soup/cream was a little spicy but full of flavour and the rice in the other container was cooked to perfection. Little downside: on my descriptive leaflet for the dinner a snack of Umeboshi pearls was mentioned, but they were nowhere to be found in my bag?

Breakfast

Ok, I did wake up hungry but the night wasn’t torturous as I might have expected. The bag contained cup with Kanten Mint, which turned out to be some mint-flavored jelly and a pot of Rice cream with malt and fruit. I found both a bit too sweet for my taste, but given that it will be the only sweet flavour on my taste buds all day, - a welcome flavour after all. Snack was Soft rice Almond Cake, which my 17-months old son snatched away…but the remaining crumbs tasted heavenly. Little chap knows what’s good.

Refreshing herbal tea  bottles are  packed with all 3 meals as well as wooden spoons and the already mentioned tongue cleaner. Now, I am sure you are dying to know the prices. It doesn’t come cheap but considering the rather exotic ingredients all from organic produce, the fresh prep and delivery to your door, I find the prices rather justified: 3 full days are 200,-, 10 days will set you back 600,- and the 5 lunches per week are 100,-. Also, it IS much easier and quicker to organize and definitely a lot cheaper than booking a cleanse or detox somewhere in a hotel/spa/wellness clinic.
Mention 'MCDISCOVEREDBLOG' when ordering to get a discount!!!

For sure, it’s a service that many in Monaco have been waiting for.  I will be back to order after the Grand Prix…the week when nearly everybody here could do with a detox J

Where to order:

http://www.timetodetoxmonaco.com/en

Call to order your menu delivery:      +33 6 78 63 73 69
Here some photos of my menu:

The Tongue cleaner  & descriptive leaflet

My bags arrive :)

Lunch w soup, quinoa, tea and afternoon snack

breakfast jelly and rice cream , snack of almond biscuits and tea