I'm gonna say it straight... NO ONE has ever had a better Formula 1 race experience that my brother and I had in Monaco.  It was my 5th trip to Europe since I started Autosport.Net last year and I really couldn't have imagined it happening any better.  If I didn't have the pictures to prove it, I wouldn't have believed myself!

It started off in Italy, where a client took us to see some of his cars, including una bella macchina: a Lancia 037.

For our stay in Europe a dear friend gave us use of one of his cars, an incredible Subaru WRC car. 

This is simply an unbelievable piece of technology!  It's a street-legal rally car, pure and simple.  Only 200 were made worldwide, with Sparco blue suede seats (embroidered with the serial number on the headrest), carbon-fibre all around, spartan accessories and performance I've never felt from a Japanese car.  With almost 220 Horses on tap and one of the lightest, most nimble chassis around, JC and I were off to explore the Cote d'Azur at our own pace, which was considerably quicker than it should have been.

For over 300km, we were playing around with what seemed like half of Maranello's total production.  512M's Testarossas, F40's, 355's, 456's, and 550's were almost in a procession to the French border.  We stayed in Menton for a couple of days before watching everything from our suites at the most beautiful hotel on the Riviera: L'Hôtel Hermitage.

Our suite overlooked the entire harbour, from Tunnel to Rascasse, up the hill at Ste-Devote right at our feet.  To have two big balconies with our Senna flag flying proudly over the Principality (and a big screen TV in the room to catch replays) was Nirvana!

After Thursday practice we explored the sights and saw Johnny Herbert enjoying a bit of barley on board one of the yachts.
(it was dark, OK?)

Friday was an off-day in Monaco.  We first went to Cannes to check out the Film Festival, which is something we wouldn't have dreamt of doing if not for the Subaru McRae special.  Saw Catherine Zeta-Jones and Sean Connery at the gala for "Entrapment".  Didn't go in, just saw it with the rest of the voyeurs.

Later we returned to Monte-Carlo and, interestingly, it was more lively than Thursday... for the teams that is!  At Stars & Bars, with several $12 (!) pee-warm beers in our hands we saw Mr. and Mrs. Eddie Jordan, Giancarlo Fisichella with some fine ladies, a few Ferrari mechanics who perhaps get paid more than they would lead us to believe, and the Tom Selleck lookalike Stephen (I have seen him in Montreal, Vancouver, Toronto and Monaco in just 12 months).  Forget that there were countless famous faces at La Rascasse, waiting in line to get in to hear a lousy house band.  I will say this:  The only other place I would want to watch the Monaco GP in future is at Rascasse.

Saturday qualifying was incredible to witness from the different parts of the track.  There are some venues where the drivers look more or less equal.  Not Monaco!

Schumacher (Michael, of course) was in a class by himself throughout qualifying, that is until he crashed.  It was right below us and it was a shame.  the only other driver who seemed to be really pushing it was Fisichella.  He brakes that much later than Wurz, and if it's noticeable to the casual observer, it is way too much of a difference for teammates.

The noise, crowds, money, food, and hardware made for a unique culture stew.  The staid Monegasques were a bit put off by the Bier-frei mentality of some of Schumacher's hometown bretheren.  The German's supporters were easily the most vocal and noticeable.  There were plenty of autograph hounds at the hotels and a considerable number of people who seemed to be on their own.

  We had a big group and we had a lot of fun!  The rooms were big enough to have a feast on Sunday for the race. 

Our view was fabulous, with at least 40% of the track within our view. 

The race was a bit of an anti-climax, until we realized what a reaction a Ferrari 1-2 could do to the tifosi.  I don't know if this made it on TV or not, but the Ferrari team trucks did a parade lap.
 

It was unbelievable and I'm still being made fun of by the gang: 

Bernie cuts back on transportation costs

So close you can feel it

Beautiful looking car, at least

The Frying Finn