Finding Grace Kelly in Paris

by Josh Lew on

Those looking for a taste of the glamorous side of the 1950s can find it in Paris. The City of Lights and snobby waiters was a hot spot for the Brad Pitts and Angelina Jolies of yesteryear.

Grace Kelly is probably the ultimate example of 50s fame. An exhibit at the Hotel de Ville showcases the life and times of the American movie star who the French embraced after she married Prince Rainier of Monaco and became Princess Grace.

The exhibit is no mere collection of black and white snapshots. Kelly’s Oscar is on display alongside ball gowns and other articles of clothing. Also of interest are a collection of Kelly’s letters. I suppose it might be interesting to learn that people actually wrote letters once upon a time, but Kelly’s letters where to the who’s who of the day. The collection includes correspondences with Alfred Hitchcock and Jackie Kennedy.

So this exhibit might be a bit over the top, but perhaps a bit refreshing. After all, Grace Kelly defined glamor before glamor became all silicone and botox. I doubt there will be a similar exhibit featuring any of today’s starlets in 50 years.

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The Worst Place to Be Poor

by Iva Skoch on

Not that there is a particularly good place to be poor, but there are places that just rub it in. Take Monaco, for example. The country of 32,000 people (the world’s most densely populated country) boasts more millionaires per capita than any other country.

They like backpackers there about as much as insects, and let’s face it, in Monaco there is no place to hide flip-flops and a backpack no matter how hard one tries.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s beautiful. It’s just that you would have to be a masochist to try to stay here on a budget. Even the casino in Monte Carlo charges an entrance fee. Thankfully, it’s small enough (not even one mile across) that you can see most of it, or at least the parts accessible to the public, in a couple of hours. But that’s exactly the problem with “doing” Monaco: while you can see it, you cannot “do” it.

Red Bull X-Alps Challenge

by Erik Olsen on

Maybe you missed it (um, I did), but the Red Bull X-Alps Challenge finished up last month in Monaco. The idea was simple, but extremely cool.

Paragliders compete in the race by climbing peaks and seeing how far they can go by riding the turbulent air currents over the Alps. When they land, they have to scale the nearest and/or tallest peak and head off again. The idea is to cover the entire distance between Ramsau am Dachstein to Monaco. It took the winner, a Swissman named Alex Hofer 13 days to complete the race.