Just bumped in to Princess Grace of Monaco at the Villa Rothschild in Cap Ferrat. Oops! Sorry, the princess is no longer with us. In fact it was Nicole Kidman, who is playing Princess Grace in the film of that name being shot now in Monaco.
The villa is open to the public and is a fabulous example of how the extremely rich and famous lived during the Belle Époque. The wealthy Baroness Ephrussi-de-Rothschild had the place built and filled it with some nice bits of furniture apparently left behind by Marie Antoinette, some odds and sods from the Louvre and some leftovers from the renovations at the Hotel de Paris. There are some lovely miniature Louis XVI chairs she had made for her pet dog and pet mongoose.
Perhaps Nicole was picking up some interior decoration tips?
Our Nicole was in her incognito gear – hair all tucked into a black pea cap, black skinny jeans and a jacket that had seen better days. She wasn’t wearing shades and looked decidedly gloomy. I was much too polite to say hello or take a picture. Sadly, my paparazzi career has fallen at the first hurdle!
I was pretty sure it was her, but then I saw the big black shiny Audi with Monaco number plate V 999 and a big hefty driver had parked right in front of the villa where nobody else was allowed to park and that confirmed it.
She ambled around the gift shop with an older woman companion but didn’t seem to buy anything. We finished our visit and walked down to the main road to catch the number 81 bus back to Nice. The big black car drove slowly past us as we waited at the bus stop but the dark tint on the windows made it impossible to see inside. I smiled and made a tiny wave, but they didn’t offer us a lift. Very unAustralian! I still think she’s gorgeous though.
The picture shows the Villa with another princess – Jan!
