Peter Thompson: View From The Top

by Peter Thompson (RSS feed)
Jul 25th 2005 at 12:00PM

ptvftt2 Peter Thompson is a renowned high-culture journalist based in Europe. Peter's brand new periodic column, View From The Top, will be brought to you right here, exclusively on Luxist.

Well, since VFTT's dramatic premiere last week here in Monaco, the sun's still shining as brightly and the people are still as rich, attractive and scandalously famous as ever before.

I've noticed a recent trend that the gents have adopted here in the Principality- white shoes. At first I mistakenly thought that they were being worn by the Palace's off-duty soldiers, but more pairs of these have trotted into the Casino than their ox-blood counterparts, which were last season's rage. Initially finding them quite revolting, their illuminating charm and obvious exclusivity has grown on me, and so I had to march into Monte-Carlo to find a pair. It wasn't too difficult.

One thing that people constantly remark about is the glamorous port, central to the high culture of Monaco and a starting point for many of Monaco�s lavish visitors. A friend of mine has a boat in the newer Fontvielle port, but it just doesn�t cut it. Too close to France, perhaps. To arrive at Port d�Hercule, step off the cruiser and set one�s eyes upon the sprawling luxopolis that is the Principality of Monaco must be a treat.

vftt2mr It�s not so much the number of yachts, there are much bigger ports out there, but the size of the yachts in it. I�m looking at one, as I write, with a helicopter perched on it. Handy if you want to escape the scorching blaze of the Riviera sun and escape to the cooler Alps.

One that really impresses me is Wedge Too (W2), the Philippe Starck-designed masterpiece. With a high-risk political target currently residing in it, there�s no better place for it to be than in Monaco (the safest place in the world). Its classic design looks half as if it should be sailing up the Mississippi a century ago (its curved teak levels), and half as if it shouldn�t have been built for another twenty years. One thing is universally accepted- the design is stunning, and it�s certainly welcome here.

vftt2etc After a hot-collared meeting near the Larvotto area, I headed to the Grimaldi Forum for the Arts of Africa exhibition. All I can say is that I need not go to Mozambique in October, for I�ve seen it here already. A tremendous exhibition which, unlike some of the flavourless shows about far-flung parts of the world that occasionally appear, truly does give me a taste of the world�s most diverse continent. The art is like nothing else I have seen and, although difficult to understand, is undoubtedly beautiful. Come and see it if you can, then head to the neighbouring beach and get right back into the Monegasque spirit.