Larvotto Beach, Monaco

Monaco beaches are starting to open again! 
After 4/5 months of winter, the recent blazing sun and blue sky has convinced the Larvotto beach houses to open again. 
I went to have lunch at our favorite beach house La Note Bleue. My family has been going there for the past 8 years now, and of course we've tried the others, but nothing beats the joyous servers and the great Jazz music provided by La Note Bleue. 
Actually, at first, they were not as nice to us because we were new in Monaco and looked much like tourists. But we knew that it was the best beach in Larvotto, right at the centre, and so we kept going and they soon warmed up to us. 
I think it's a common attitude in rural towns like Monaco that the restaurants are really nice to repeating customers and not so much to the never ending stream of tourists. I don't know what's better. Recently, my boyfriend has gone to the US and realized that it's actually very annoying that the waiters are SO nice to you wherever you go. Is it better to be fake and overly nice to all your customers, following the server's manual of asking how the meal is etc. or to be rather cold to new customers but the repeaters feel privileged with extra services like a drink on the house? The second is perhaps more common to Europe and it may feel rude at first but it does make it worth becoming a good customer at a specific restaurant. I guess it depends on the size and style of the restaurants too. 


Anyway, since then, my father has always done his Monaco tv shoots there and my parents did their official wedding ceremony there last May. 
Yes, wedding ceremony. They were legally married 21 years ago but they never had a wedding so they decided to take the 20 years anniversary as a good opportunity to renew their vows and have a proper ceremony. 
I was in charge of organization and I had to coordinate the restaurant staff and our friends who kindly volunteered to help us. We had to bring in the wedding cake that was ordered from another one of our favorite restaurants, Joël Robuchon Monte Carlo in the Metropole Hotel, have a bouquet of my mother's favorite Kala flowers delivered on the day etc. There were lots of delays such as, our friend the hair and make up artist was taking too long to do my mother's hair and make-up, another friend who is the official pianist for the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra was late and she was supposed to play my parent's favorite song - La Vie En Rose - as they walked in through the curtains arranged for their entrance. 
In the end, it was beautiful. The weather was perfect, the food was great, there were plenty of drinks and everyone seemed to have a good time. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a good picture to post from the wedding but here's the link to La Note Bleue


Starting this week, Monaco's started redoing the roads for the Grand Prix in May (which is why it's so loud outside my window at night so I can't sleep but) it's so exciting that the weather is getting warmer!   I can just feel Monaco starting to get ready for it's best time of the year!