Grand Prix, Monaco

I have several cards from Monaco, so this one shouldnt be such a thing to be proud of....unless this card was actually sent written and stamped from Monaco itself!!

Yess yess yess!! Exactly! All the Monaco cards I have are actually cards I bought myself when I went there, and of course, i didnt even think to send one to myself....coz back then honestly i didnt pay so much attention about whether the card would be blank or sent written and stamped from the country of origin. But if nowadays I went to some rare country (rare in the terms of mail-wise), I think i kill just to mail a postcard with a stamp and a cancellation from 'the face of the place' :P
The card itself is perfect too...shows a map of the Grand Prix circuit! Even though I havent been following the F1 event this year, i still love F1 related cards. And I just checked....this year's Monaco event was held on 16th May, with Mark Webber from RBR-Renault being the winner, Vettel, also from RBR- Renault had come second, while the third place had gone to Kubica from Renault.
I also checked now the overall results (yeah, I am totally OFF from this year's F1), and Webber seems to be holding the 1st position, but the points within the first 5 places seem to be rather close. Im curious to see who's gonna grab the title in the end.
What just really surprises me is that the so much praised champion, Mr. Michael Schumacher, is 9th in the overall standings....whoah! Now thats something I didnt expect to happen, but I guess the competition did its job.
Funny thing is, Ive realized that a number of other devoted-to-the-core F1 fans, have given up on it this season....so something is really wrong in the F1 world.

And, the stamp couldnt be more perfect! It was issued this year and it is dedicated to the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tennis tournament which this year was held 10-18th April. And do you know who claimed the title?? Uhmm? uhm? uhm??? Oh yesss....Rafael Nadal! And not only he claimed the title, but he also set a record, becoming the first player in the open era to win this tournament 6 times in a row! You see how great Nadal is?

Monte Carlo, Monaco

This card shows "Les Jardins du Casino et la Place"

Well, thats what it says...I know that "Les Jardins" would be something like "The Gardens"...Casino, is, well, Casino...and "la Place" is just a name I guess....so its something like The Gardens of the Casino :)

The Monte Carlo Casino is one of the most famous tourist attractions of Monaco. The casino complex is a gambling facility which also includes the Grand Théâtre de Monte Carlo, an opera and ballet house, and the headquarters of the Ballets de Monte Carlo. It is situated in the Monte Carlo quarter although the citizens of Monaco are forbidden to enter the gaming rooms. It hosts the annual European Poker Tour Grand Final, the most prestigious poker tournament in Europe.

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Yup, you've already seen this card, in case you wondered why it looked familiar to you...i pulled it back from the older-posted cards, along with the following one...

Well, as with most of my Monte Carlo cards (except for one) i have this one bought by myself when i went there...
I know i sholdnt be saying this, and that its ridiculous, but I used to have a problem of distinguishing the city from the state  :D
I often used to mix them up and thing that Monaco is the city, Monte Carlo is the state...the whole concept of  was something abstract to me...but of course, once you grow up, things get clearer, and reality starts functioning differently.

Monaco is a Constitutional Monarchy and Principality with Prince Albert II as Head of the State. The Grimaldi family family has ruled over Monaco since 1297 and the state's sovereignty was officially recognized by the Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861. Despite being independent, Monaco’s defence is still the responsibility of France.  (now this, i didnt know...)
Monaco is the worlds most densely populated sovereign country and the world's smallest French speaking country...

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Im making only a brief upload here, in honour of this weekend's F1 race which is taking place right here, in the streets of Monte Carlo.
This is a very old postcard actually, from before I was born, and was given to me few years ago by one of my mum's friends..but it is well preserved and sometimes it's nice to have something 'ancient' since you actually wont be able to so easily come across THAT card nowadays :P

Speaking of the race....uhmmm, qualifications went ok, im pleased....the race should be interesting...Monte Carlo always provides unique races due to its nature, coz its one of a kind.....plus they are predicting it may rain :))
(I just cant wait for the first night race which will take place in Singapore in September...now THAT should be some new experience)
Well, we'll see...... :)

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Monte Carlo, Monaco

From my trip around Europe

One of the reasons why i was excited to visit Monte Carlo was....no no no no, not coz of the casinos and all that luxury....i was thrilled to be present at a place where an F1 race is taking place....even though the time we went there, there was no race....but i was like...all those cars come here...all that fun is here...all that adrenaline is on these streets....and when we went through MC, our bus drove along some of the parts of the streets where the race is taking place and i was indescribably excited....foolish, i know :)

We did go to one of the casinos though....just that, they didnt let us where the real events were taking place, but at one, well, i dont know what its called, it was just a room with slot machines of various kinds....and of course, i didnt win anything, but i like those slot machines with coins coming out....they are fun...and i took one of those 'caps' as a souvenir...you know, those big 'bowls' they give you so you can keep your coins...which reminds me now to look for that...i have NO idea where i had put it....i think i use it to keep stuff....need to check.
Have to add that there were AWESOME cars parked on the lot in front of the casino...gorgeous, huge, furious, expensive cars....

Hopefully until some of the next Monte Carlo cards, i will recall what else we had visited there (im certain there was something else) plus a bit info about the place itself...