More Monaco cards

No cards today again :( Only 1 card this week!!! Better luck for next one.

No cards in my mailbox but i still have a lot of cards in my postcard box. Today we've more 2 Monaco cards.

This is a view of the port and the palace. Is amazing the quantity of yachts at the port, i think some of them are bigger than my house :P

An aerial view with the Stade Louis II stadium. "It serves as a venue for both football, being the home of AS Monaco as well as the location of the annual UEFA Super Cup match, and athletics, where it plays host to the IAAF World Athletics Final.
The original Stade Louis II was opened in 1939 as the home of AS Monaco. The new stadium was built in the early 1980s, close to the site of the old stadium on land reclaimed from the sea, opening fully in 1985. It presently has a capacity of approximately 18,500 all seated, which is quite large relative to the population of Monaco (ca.32,000), making it possible to fit around 60% of the country's population, making Monaco the only country capable of such thing. The Stadium is named after Louis II, Prince of Monaco, who was the Sovereign Prince of Monaco when the original stadium was built. It features prominently in the early versions of Pro Evolution Soccer." - in: wikipedia

The Rock of Monaco

More cards from Monaco and i still have more to show.

"The Rock of Monaco is a 141 meter (459 foot) tall monolith on the Mediterranean coast of the Principality of Monaco.

The Rock of Monaco was also the first conquest of the Grimaldi dynasty, the rulers of the country for more than 700 years, founded when the Guelf François Grimaldi disguised himself as a Franciscan monk in order to gain entry to the city and open the gates for his soldiers.

Today, the Rock is in the oldest of Monaco's four quarters, Monaco-Ville, which is also the location of Old Town, the oldest part of the city. This is not far from the Prince's Palace, home of the current monarch, Albert II and the princely family, the Cathedral, the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. The Rock of Monaco is a popular tourist attraction to go see the palace or the changing of the guards." - in: wikipedia

Monaco by night

More cards from Monaco.

The territory of the Principality of Monaco at night.

"Monaco’s Hercule port is a natural bay situated at the foot of the ancestral rock of the Princes of Monaco. It is one of the rare, if not the only, deep water ports on the Riviera.
It was once used by the Greeks and the Romans as a commercial port, but it had an inconvenience : being poorly sheltered from winds from the East. For this reason, two quays were constructed at the beginning of the 20th century which offered a better but not totally efficient protection.
More recently, his Royal Highness the Prince Rainer III commissioned studies in the 70’s to improve the harbor’s protection by placing, beyond the two existing quays, a new seawall designed to totally shelter the port from Eastern swells.
The studies resulted in the construction of a 352 meter long, 160,000 ton immense structure at the base of the rock of Gibraltar. This unique structure has the advantage of being semi-floating in order to preserve the sea’s natural plant and animal life." - in: http://www.ports-monaco.com/les_ports_de_monaco/le_port_hercule.html

Monaco's Palace

In Monaco not everything is expensive, cards aren't, that's why i've bought a lot.

I think i went to 2 shops to buy cards and in one of them the owner put some kind of "postmark" on the back of the card. The cards weren't sent from Monaco but at least that mark proves the cards were bought in Monaco.

"The Prince's Palace of Monaco is the official residence of the Prince of Monaco. Founded in 1191 as a Genoese fortress, during its long and often dramatic history it has been bombarded and besieged by many foreign powers. Since the end of the 13th century, it has been the stronghold and home of the Grimaldi family who first captured it in 1297. The Grimaldi ruled the area first as feudal lords, and from the 17th century as sovereign princes, but their power was often derived from fragile agreements with their larger and stronger neighbours.
Thus while other European sovereigns were building luxurious, modern Renaissance and Baroque palaces, politics and common sense demanded that the palace of the Monaco rulers be fortified. This unique requirement, at such a late stage in history, has made the palace at Monaco one of the most unusual in Europe.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, the palace and its owners became symbols of the slightly risqué glamour and decadence that were associated with Monte Carlo and the French Riviera. Glamour and theatricality became reality when the American film star Grace Kelly became chatelaine to the palace in 1956. In the 21st century, the palace remains the residence of the current Prince of Monaco." - in: wikipedia.

"Honor, Loyalty and Devotion to Duty is the motto on the flag of the Palace Guards, a group created in 1817 to provide 24-hour security for the Palace, royal residences, the Sovereign Prince and his family.

The Guard is composed of 3 Officers, 15 Sergeant-majors and 80 Privates, all highly trained French military men. It has been reorganized several times since its inception and in January 1904 Prince Albert I renamed them "Compagnie des Carabibiers du Prince".
These are the Guards one sees each day promptly at 11:55 AM in front of the royal entrance on the Palace Square performing the ceremony of the Changing of the Guards. This tradition is performed in full dress uniform, black in the winter and white in the summer, and has not changed for more than 100 years. But this ceremony is only one of the many duties of the Palace Guards. They escort religious and civil and ceremonial processions; and ensure security for sports and other public events in the Principality." - in: http://www.palais.mc/

Monaco

"Built in 1875 using white stone from La Turbie, the present-day Cathedral stands on the site of a 13th century church dedicated to Saint Nicolas and houses the tombs of the former Princes of Monaco. It is also the final resting placeof Monaco's much loved Princess Grace. Of particular interest are the retable (circa 1500) to the right of the transept painted by the Louis Bréa from neighboring Nice, the Great Altar and the Episcopal throne in white Carrara marble." - in: www.visitmonaco.com

"The Oceanographic Museum & Aquarium was inaugurated in 1910 by its founder, Prince Albert I, this exceptional museum of marine sciences is a monumental architectural masterpiece with a grandiose façade rising majestically above the sea to a height of 279 feet. It took 11 years to build, using 100,000 tons of stone from La Turbie.
The impressive rooms of the Museum, open to the public on two floors, contain remarkable collections of marine fauna gathered by Prince Albert, numerous specimens of sea creatures (stuffed or in skeleton form, including the skeleton of a 66 foot whale), models of Prince Albert’s laboratory ships, and craftware made from the sea’s natural products. Part of the first floor is dedicated to the oceanographic works of Prince Albert 1,“Career of a Navigator”." - in: www.visitmonaco.com

I bought this cards when i was in Monaco on January 2nd, 2007.

Monaco's Casino

"Charles Garnier, the architect of the opera house in Paris, built the Casino in 1878.
The “atrium”, paved in marble, is surrounded by 28 Ionic columns in onyx. It leads into the auditorium of the opera, called the “Salle Garnier”, which is decorated in red and gold, with a profusion of bas-reliefs, frescoes and sculptures. Here, for more than a century, outstanding international performances of opera, ballet and concerts have been staged."

"The “gaming rooms” comprise a succession of numerous rooms featuring stained glass windows, admirable decorations and sculptures, allegorical paintings and bronze lamps." - in http://www.visitmonaco.com/.

I bought these cards last January.

Monte-Carlo - Monaco

I visited Monaco last January. It's a nice place and the color of the sea is absolutely beautiful.

The Prince's Palace.

"Monaco is a constitutional monarchy and city-state in Western Europe located along the French Riviera between the Mediterranean Sea and France. It is one of six microstates located in Europe.
Monaco is the world's most densely populated country and second-smallest independent nation." - in wikipedia.