Monaco’s Handiplage-Audioplage, which opened on July 4, has been a great success since its inception 12 years ago.
In 2016, the service, which is available for those with disabilities, reduced mobility or who are blind or partially sighted, was used 500 times during the summer, making the beach accessible to everyone thanks to the use of special equipment and the commitment of four team members to help users.
The service enables the blind and visually impaired to enjoy the sea in complete freedom and safety thanks to sound beacons indicating their position in the water. There are also Four “Tiralo” floating wheelchairs, and toilets, showers and a concrete ramp from the sea wall and specially adapted parking. You can also benefit from three hours’ free parking in the Larvotto car park.
Handiplage-Audioplage, which is a partnership between the government and the International Soroptimist Club of Monaco, is open seven days a week and public holidays, from 10 am to 5 pm, until September 3, on Larvotto Beach, on the right side of the central pier.
There is no reservation necessary for the Handiplage but access to the Audioplage service requires a booking on 06 78 63 09 41 (only available in the mornings).
A free on-demand minibus transport service (Monday to Saturday, 10 am to 8pm during the summer) is available for disabled and elderly people in the Principality with reduced mobility, and this can also be used to get to Larvotto Beach. Those with a travel pass obtained from the Department of Social Welfare and Social Services can call 80 00 20 50 to reserve on Mobi’bus. (Homepage image: V&A Dudush)
Having inaugurated its service from Nice on July 1, JetClass has reimagined business class travel, offering an affordable and more luxurious alternative to existing business class flight options by using private jets.
Passengers flying to and from the Côte d’Azur can now enjoy the company’s innovative service for a price similar to that of the average business class ticket. The new approach to flying will “revolutionise the industry”, the company says.
“Anyone travelling business class can see that the service is getting poorer. We are launching JetClass not just as an alternative but as a completely new approach to flying business,” commented Wagas Ali, the Co-Founder of JetClass.
JetClass now connects Nice’s international airport with London and Olbia Sardinia, in addition to various other popular European routes: Brussels and Zurich. Whether passengers are travelling for business or pleasure, and with no membership fees but simply a pay-as-you-travel system, JetClass guarantees seats from as little as €650 each way.
The company claims to be the first airline to utilise artificial intelligence to determine its flight routes. An analysis of a route’s demand, set against the existing flight options, determines which flight itineraries will be offered as part of a dynamic schedule. The company optimises each jet’s scheduling to reduce costs. A booked jet will perform not only two-way journeys but also multi-leg journeys in order to reduce the overall price.
Additional advantages of using JetClass’s flexible system include: no airport queues and minimal waiting time; travelling on a private jet with enhanced in-flight service, including superior cuisine; Additional baggage at no extra cost provided there is sufficient space on board.
JetClass does not own jets but it uses the available jets on the market. The company was born from the already established Charterscanner, a B2C private jet booking system that provides its customers with charter prices directly from operators worldwide. The system has access to 3,500 aircrafts all over the world and knows where each jet is based.
JetClass says it is currently working with leading business travel management companies and MICE agencies to propose its service to travellers. Seats can be booked through popular online travel agencies and metasearch websites by way of the most popular global distribution systems, such as Amadeus, Sabre, Galileo, Worldspan, Apollo, Abacus, Sirena Travel, and TravelSky.
While Nice is currently the only French airport to benefit from the new JetClass service, additional routes connecting Lyon and Paris Le Bourget to Milano Linate will launch in the coming weeks. Ibiza and Cagliari will soon welcome flights too.
A young tourist who was vacationing in Nice with friends has died after falling from a 20-metre high wall in Monaco. Marko Banjac had been drinking with friends when he climbed on the wall to urinate, around 4 am, his companions later told police.
He lost his balance and fell at a point close to the Prince de Galles building, between avenues Grande Bretagne and des Citronniers.
The 27-year-old suffered multiple serious injuries. The accident happened in the early hours of Saturday morning. The wall where the victim fell appears to be low when viewed from the street, with little indication of the long drop on the other side.
The young man is from a prominent soccer family in Western Australia, and his father flew to Monaco three days ago. The body will be returned to his country next week.
“This boy was loved by so many,” a family friend told Monaco Life. “It’s truly devastating.”
The time of year has come for lounging upon a beach recliner with a book. My current read is about quantum physics. I’ve just finished a chapter on wave-particle duality: the theory that light can behave as both a wave and a particle. In other words, light can be both at the same time*.
Being two things at once brings me to Song Qi, the brainchild of serial restaurant entrepreneur Alan Yau. On the one hand, Song Qi is
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the perfect restaurant. Everything works seamlessly, from the smiling waiting staff to the stylish interior decor. The dining room resonates understated affluence with its chartreuse velour seating, marble tables and central crescent of golden poles. Even the black-lacquered ladies’ room feels luxurious.
My partner and I went recently for lunch and ordered two €29 lunchtime set menus: a dim-sum menu and an all-in-one menu with a salad, a dim sum and a cooked meat or fish. Everything was served up at the same time and we were presented with a mouth-watering feast. Highlights included a so-tender-that-it-melts-in-my-mouth beef dish and a kale salad with pine nuts, and goji berries that made me feel like a superfood goddess with just one bite. The food was washed down with a glass of red wine that’s included in the menu price. We finished our meal with a sorbet followed by a white jasmine tea served up with chocolates. I always judge a place by its chocolates so the fact that they were darkly sumptuous was a good sign. I left feeling elated. It had been an exceptional meal for a reasonable price.
On the other hand, Song Qi is a disappointment. Our second visit was over dinner. Our green velour seats made us queasy as we browsed the dinner menu with prices rising to €98, with the wine list prices breaking into five figures. Over Kobe beef shumai and Chilean sea bass dumplings, we watched a couple at the next table make out in full view of other diners (suddenly the gold poles reminded us of a pole-dancing club). We collected our flagging spirits over crispy Peking duck pancakes and a glass or two of Chambolle-Musigny red wine, followed by a melting molten-chocolate dessert. While my head confirmed Song Qi as one of my favourite addresses in Monaco, my heart still left feeling deflated and a couple of hundred euros poorer.
Back home, I reflected upon my dining oxymoron. I first met Alan Yau two decades ago through a family friend. He had just set up his third Wagamama branch in London, where his reasonably priced dining concept had taken the city by storm. The concept was simple: fine fusion cuisine combined with laid-back communal dining for fast-food prices. Finally Londoners could eat like an emperor outside China Town for under £10. Working on tight profit margins, Yau made money through the crowds of diners that queued around the street to get into his restaurants. I tried out his Bloomsbury branch and have been a loyal fan every since.
It dawns upon me that the problem is not the legendary Yau. I could quote Alain Ducasse where main courses range up to €160 or Joël Robuchon with royal spiny lobster for €162. The problem lies with nighttime dining in Monaco. Internationally renowned chefs such as Ducasse, Robuchon and Yau are famed for the quality of their ingredients and the meticulousness of their preparation. The profit margins on their lunch menus must be slim so they rely on the heavy dinner pricing to make a decent profit. And these are just the top names. With some notable exceptions, nighttime dining in Monaco follows a familiar trajectory: overpriced or mediocre. The principality has created a dining dichotomy between golden-chequebook fine dining and cheap kiosks where you struggle to find anything but frozen pizza or a tired tuna salad.
Our beloved principality is as popular as ever but the pricing of rents in Monaco stops creativity in its tracks. Property prices in Monaco continue to rise, while those a few miles away in neighbouring Nice, where up-and-coming chefs flourish, and elsewhere in France, continue to fall. This is the right time for Monaco to dream up new ways to entice young and talented chefs here. How about a biannual competition for up-and-coming chefs where the prize could consist of a ten-year rent subsidy? I’d welcome your ideas.
In the meantime, I urge you to book for lunch at Song Qi as soon as you can before the crowds start lining up around the street.
*Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne imaged light’s wave-particle duality for the first time in 2015.
Article first published September 28, 2016.
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Princess Charlene named Patron to Lifesaving South Africa
Lifesaving South Africa President Dylan Tommy confirmed the appointment of HSH Princess Charlene as Patron of Lifesaving South Africa (LSA), at an event held on Wednesday, July 26 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, in Umhlanga, Durban.
“It is a great honour for me to be named Patron of Lifesaving South Africa, an organisation that shares the same vision as my Foundation and one that I have always been inspired by,” Princess Charlene told Monaco Life. “Lifesaving South Africa’s commitment to drowning prevention is remarkable and the spirit of volunteering that you are instilling in our young people is infectious.”
Having dedicated 20 years of her life to become an Olympic swimmer, representing South Africa in the Sydney Olympics in 2000, the Princes added, “During those years, I learned the importance of discipline, team spirit, dedication and respect for the water, oneself and others; values that I know LSA lifeguards appreciate and demonstrate every day.”
Dylan Tommy (right), President of Lifesaving South Africa, presenting official patronage to Gareth Wittstock (left) on behalf of HSH Princess Charlene, with Gavin Varejes, President of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation South Africa.
The official patronage was presented yesterday in Durban by Dylan Tommy, President of Lifesaving South Africa, to Gareth Wittstock on behalf of HSH Princess Charlene, and also included Mr Gavin Varejes, President of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation South Africa.
The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation was established in 2012 and has since reached over 300,000 people worldwide, with operations being established here in South Africa in 2013.
The work of the Foundation is internationally acknowledged and celebrated for raising public awareness about the dangers of water, teaching children essential water safety skills and how to swim.
A fine example of this was the first Riviera Water Bike Challenge, hosted by the Princess in June 2017, which highlighted the Monaco community coming together through sport to raise awareness and money for the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation.
The partnership between the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation South Africa and Lifesaving South Africa will strengthen the promotion of water safety and support “learn to swim” projects in South Africa.
Photo: Howard Cleland
200 rescue boards donated to Foundation LSA’s Watersmart program is a classroom based educational water safety program developed to complement the current Grade 4 Life Skills curriculum. The program, presented by Lifesaving SA Watersmart facilitators will, during the course of 2017, be delivered free of charge to over 80 schools nationwide.
Gavin Varejes, President of The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation SA, also announced the distribution of 200 rescue boards, valued in excess of 2 million rand (€132,000) from the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation SA to Lifesaving SA, with thanks to Cell C and Richmark Holdings. This will see every LSA affiliated lifesaving club in South Africa receiving rescue boards to continue their critical service to the community.
Mr Varejes, known for his generosity and support of the SA Surfing Legends and President of SA Rugby Legends as well as his involvement with the South Africa-Monaco Rugby Exchange, said, “The new partnership will hopefully continue to encourage different sporting codes to work together and form the bonds, strengths and partnerships that make such a wonderful difference in our country”.
Doug Mattheus, Head of Marketing at Cell C, commented, “Cell C endorses this initiative in growing an awareness around water safety in South Africa and deems it a great privilege to be associated with the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation SA”,
Dominique Donner and Lizette Botha, PCMFSA Project Managers. Photo: PCF
Sending a message to corporate South Africa: get involved with saving lives Lifesaving South Africa President Dylan Tommy and SASCOC President Gideon Sam both expressed gratitude to Princess Charlene and Mr Varejes for their contribution to raising the profile of Lifesaving in South Africa, on a social level and as well as a sport.
Mr Tommy noted, “We are extremely grateful to HSH Princess Charlene for agreeing to serve as the Patron for Lifesaving South Africa. With the Princess as our Patron and the partnership we have established with The Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation SA, we will be able to achieve far greater success in our fight against drowning in South Africa.”
In 2017, Continental Tyre SA committed to a three-year investment and sponsorship of Lifesaving SA, and its Product Communications Manager Ryan Visagie applauded the contributions of Varejes and corporate heavyweights Richmark and Cell C.
“It sends a great message to corporate South Africa to get involved with saving lives. You can’t put a price on saving a life and it’s fantastic to see the investment in Lifesaving as a result of the partnership with the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation SA,” said Ryan Visagie, Continental Tyre SA.
SASCOC president Gideon Sam described Princess Charlene as “an inspiration to the global community and a particularly special South African”, adding, “It was noted that the Princess gives so much to the country she grew up in, but also so importantly to the serious issue of water safety and water education.”
Continuing work on the Pasteur neighbourhood will necessitate a number of temporary road closures. The avenue de Fontvieille will be closed in both directions in August. The pavement that runs along Charles III Boulevard and the pergola that overlooks avenue de Fontvieille will be closed to foot traffic from Monday, July 31.
Also from Monday, the downhill direction of Avenue de Fontvieille will be closed from the Canton inner roundabout to the intersection with rue Gabian in order to safely destroy the concrete. For residents, traffic will be allowed in both directions on a single lane to the SMEG building. For the safety of pedestrians, the stairs between the avenue de Fontvieille and boulevard Charles III will also be closed until August 26.
During the closure of avenue de Fontvieille, subscribers to the Terrasses de Fontvieille car park will be relocated to the Fontvieille Shopping Centre. The upstream direction along avenue de Fontvieille will be restored from Monday, August 28 to Thursday, August 31.
For the Monaco-Marseille football match on Saturday, August 26, downhill traffic will be temporarily reopened and closed again from Monday, August 28 to Thursday, August 31, for the repair of the asphalt between the Canton interior traffic island and Le Méridien.
The redevelopment of the Pasteur neighbourhood is due to finish by 2020 and will involve the complete rehousing of the Charles III Collège, and the relocation of the Espace Léo Ferré, the multimedia library and La Poste’s sorting office. Offices are to be built and there will be 900 new parking places.
Having inaugurated its service from Nice on July 1, 
