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Knowing that we have only 4 days left of the shoot has given us more energy. Also, large quantities of Coke, Red Bull & double espressos have helped too!
Was in awful mood at 0700 when we turned up at Venturi. I was in desperate need of a stimulant to get going. Met up with the lovely Gildo Pastor, boss of Venturi, a car company based in Monaco that manufactures electric cars. But these are not just any old electric cars, one is 370,000 Euros and the “bug” which we drove in is around 35,000 Euros. The sports car Fetish is superb; very cool and very “green”. I see this as the future, not just crappy electric cars that I see in London, but proper performance cars that can a) go fast b) look good c) protect what left we have of the environment.
Next off to Le Meridien, down on Ave Princess Grace. It’s a large hotel – 403 rooms with 12 suites. UNBELIEVABLY it’s the best hotel so far to film! The two lovely people looking after us - Amelie and Liliana - make sure that everything we need is on hand.
We film a really nice suite on the 11th floor – contemporary.
Le Meridien is the only hotel in Monaco that has its own private beach! As you can imagine it’s very popular.
Next up: a shopping feature. Isabelle Ughes (pronounced Oooges) is a fashion consultant with a difference. Her company Make It Perfect looks at people’s personalities as well as personal style before choosing their outfits! Her husband, architect Jean Michel, was at hand to ensure all went well! We visited among other Lanvin where I picked up a natty hat for myself. It makes me look like an old duffer, but maybe I am!
 How to look like an old duffer
For dinner we buzzed back to The Monte Carlo Beach Club and the trendiest place in town: The Sea Lounge. Full of pretty young things driving daddy’s Bentley. I left after the filming.
Leaving the Hermitage tomorrow – off to the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel – which looks FABULOUS!!
Need sleep.
Weather: Hot & sticky
Song of the Day: I’m Just a Gigolo (Louis Prima)
Do you ever have those days that you are so tired that your body says “no more”, your brain says 'oh why not then' and your feet say 'don’t you dare'? That’s happening to me.
0500: Wake up after just 3 hours sleep. We have a lovely Tempur mattress at home; I don’t have one here. My body is miserable. I am just spoilt.
0630: Meet boys at reception and head off to “Les Thermes Marin” – the Monte Carlo Spa. A few widths of the pool, a cycle underwater and then 3 minutes of a massage. 0800: A rather nice breakfast on the terrace.
0900: Change into penguin suit and head off to the Casino.
1000: A gang of pretty girls, led by la belle Celine, descend on the Casino as my playmates. We film a fabulous roulette session. Depressingly I win. The casino was built in 1863 by Francois Blanc then rebuilt by Charles Garnier in 1889, it’s spectacular.
1200: Head back to hotel for a quick change and off to the Metropole. 1500: have cooking lesson with Joel Robouchon and Christophe Cussac – erm – Michelin star chefs. I think the reason I am SO tired is that I was soooo excited by the cooking – they are Gods in the gastronomic world. Cussac is also a FABULOUS human being!
1800: Head out for food.Boys look as miserable as me BUT we keep each other going with the worst jokes known to man. Too tired for more; another 0500 wake-up tomorrow.
Weather: A gamble
Song of the Day: Winner Takes It All - ABBA
 0500: So tired but need to get filming
0740: In bus with the boys on the way to beach club for a spot of personal fitness training
0815: Met up with Jean-Louis – fitness man who cycles to and from Nice EVERYDAY and la belle Celine,SBM PR who is spending the day with us.
0900: Trot for what seems MILES for this feature. The boys get a lift home; JL and I jog.
1000: Breakfast by the beach.
1030: Check out of The Metropole. Felt very, very sad. What makes a great hotel is the people inside and Michelle and Vito are like a heart and soul. I hope I get to meet more people like them this year and I hope I stay friends with them forever. T&T feel the same.
1100: Check into The Hermitage. Built in 1900, this Belle Époque Palace was fully renovated in 2002. Creating more rooms, suites and spruced up public areas. One of my favourite rooms in the world is here, the Winter Garden designed by Gustav Eiffel. My suite is 514 and overlooks Port Hercule and La Condamine. It’s claret red - just like my mood!
1200 - 1800: Film film film! The hotel has a 1-star restaurant (La Vistamar) and the Lemun Bar- the afternoon tea hangout in Monaco a bit like The Ritz. Monegasques have a saying that “You visit the Hotel de Paris to be seen, but you stay at The Hermitage." Celine leaves us and Guillaume rejoins us he is full of knowledge!
Interview the excellent Jean-Pierre Siri in the groovy duplex apartment (GM here for 13 years) and Philippe the Concierge.
We have a HUGE day tomorrow so it’s an early meal and bed.
Weather: Magnifique!
Song of the Day: Footloose (Kenny Loggins)
WHAT A DAY!
0530: Awake - the sun is still dreaming.
0630: In car on way to the Avenue Princess Grace where awaiting us is Estelle with Lucky, the American Cocker Spaniel.
0730: I put the dog down and finally get on with my day! Pierre Frolla and brother Philippe are setting us up for a dive in the Med. Yesterday the water was way too choppy, but today it's much calmer. Pierre has set four world records for free-diving i.e. one breath and down you go - his deepest is 139 metres! Le Grand Bleu is one of my favourite movies of all time and to find a free-diver of this ilk is exciting BUT the fact that he is diving with me makes it all the more special.
 0900: Back to the beach after a little over an hour in the water; I am cold but happy. We have filmed underwater and over water and it will look EXCELLENT! The sea was blue and we found fish everywhere.
1000: Arrive at The Monte Carlo Beach Club, which is actually in France! First thing we do is a bit of parasailing - fun but rushed; we then potter around the hotel. It was built in the 1930's, and the Royal Family and all the celebs from Monaco have been coming here to escape the hubbub of life! It has just 47 rooms including six suites, BUT it has four restaurants, an Olympic sized pool and a hot, hot, hot nightspot - the Sea Lounge, which we will visit over the weekend.
1500: Off to The Musee Oceanographique, which was inaugurated by Prince Albert 1 in 1910. The director from 1957 to 1988 was Jacques Cousteau. It has 600,000 visitors each year and is still top of the tree for aquatic research. There are 90 fish tanks plus loads of exhibits on everything and anything to do with "the seas". Albert 1 was into green issues 100 years ago and it seems his great grandson is too - launching Monacology - green Monaco. He even drives an electric car (a very nice one though!).
Open wide!
Last evening in the Metropole - boo-hoo.
Off for a pizza!
Weather: Stunning
Song of the Day: Fantastic Day (Nick Heyward/Fun Boy Three)
While we didn't do very much today, we have actually achieved a lot!
0830: Depart hotel for some deep-sea diving. Unfortunately the sea is so choppy that the diving instructor, Pierre Frolla, advised us to postpone until tomorrow. Pierre has set the world free-diving record four times; he is 'Le Grand Bleu'.
1000: Up to the Rock to the Royal Palace to watch and film the changing of the guard. Pick up loads of shots of the Harbour and La Condamine as the Rock is quite high up.
 The view from the Rock
Facts about Monaco:
- It's a constitutional monarchy
- It's one of six microstates
- 2nd smallest independent state (after The Vatican) with a population of 32,000
- 125 nationalities - 47% French, 16% Monegasque and 16% Italians
- Languages: French, Italian and English
- Italy is an hour dive to the East
- It's 1.96 km squared in size (485 acres)
- The highest point is Le Rocher (rock) - 141 metres above sea level
- First 'mentioned' in 43 BC when Caesar was waiting for Pompey
- 10th June 1215 - The Genoan Gibelin family owned the land
- 8th June 1297 - Francois Grimaldi took over the land in the name of The Pope
- 1861 - Monaco decreased in size by 90% after Monegasque Treaty
- 1993 - Joins UN
- Prince Rainier III marries Grace Kelly in 1956
- Prince Albert II succeeds his late father on 12/7/2005 - father reigned for 56 years
- Monaco has 5 districts: Fontvieille, La Condamine (Port), Monghetti, Monaco Ville and Monte Carlo (Charles Hill) - named after Prince Charles III of Monaco
- Was once poorest country in the world filled with lemon trees!
- Deo Juvante - "With God's Help" is the national motto
-Casino (1861) built to rival that of the one in Baden Baden (Germany) - then SBM founded
1300: Interviewed the Tourism "Minister" Michel Bouquier at the famed Monegasque restaurant in front of the Prince's Palace 'The Castelroc'. Took bus back to the hotel! LOADS and LOADS of tourists EVERYWHERE!
 It's good to have someone else on camera for once!
1700: Went down to meet Gildo Pastor, owner of Venturi cars. Will not say anymore until Sunday about this! ALL VERY EXCITING!
An early night - calm before a watery storm.
Weather: Still.
Song of the Day: The Beautiful Ones (Prince)
0745: Swift check out from the HP. have thoroughly enjoyed my stay here, but as the saying goes 'all good things must end'. The team filmed a time lapse sequence from my hotel window; it took nearly 3 hours. I hope it's worth it! There was an immense firework display at 10pm last night; very loud and colourful. All I could hear was little pups howling and barking, poor things.
0748: Arrive at The Metropole and check in.
0800: Met by Michelle Bouillet-Escale the hotel's PR Director. Immediately got the right feeling about today's shoot. I am checked into Suite 703, the Executive Floor, complete with large living area with superb chandelier, dressing area and bathroom with the most enormous shower area I have EVER seen - probably enough space in their for 20 people. There is also a balcony over looking the casino square.
Michelle: probably one of the best PRs I have ever worked with!
0930: Start filming. The Metropole was built in 1886 but underwent a complete renovation under the direction of Jacques Garcia (of Hotel Costes and now Old Course Hotel in St Andrews fame). There are 146 rooms including 64 suites; it's modern but classic. Vito Romeo, the Hotel Manager, was on hand to ensure all was working for us.
1030: My Bentley arrives for my introduction piece. I am now not excited by any car I see.
1130: Into the only E'Spa Spa in France or Monaco. It has ten treatments rooms and very nice ambience. On the 3rd floor there’s an outdoor swimming pool, which contains heated, 'cleaned' seawater! Having a wee sun rash on my back from Portugal made the experience a little painful!
1400: Lunch with Isabelle Ughes from Make It Perfect who will be my personal shopper for my shopping feature later this week. She has promised to get me some pyjamas for a prop I need.
1500: Interviews with the Doorman (David), Head Concierge (Serge), Guest Relations Manager (Barbara) and finally Housekeeper (Marilyn) - we are trying to shake things up a bit!
1800: Finally the room review! We are all totally exhausted. It's been a special day as a very old and dear friend popped into say hello from Canada and Barcelona. Only here for today though.
2030: We all go out for a wonderful dinner in Fontvieille (Ceccio and Pepe) wonderful real Italian food 'like Mama would make' to end a lovely day. Home after midnight and a couple of limoncellas! Tim and Tom have been working too hard; tomorrow we may all stay in and play cards!
Weather: Mr Blue Sky
Song of the Day: Mr Blue Sky (ELO)
0600: Watch the sunrise over the hills; it's Sunday so nothing stirs.
0730: Time for breakfast: scrambled egg, bacon, toast and NO ketchup! I must not be feeling well.
0830: Arrive at The Port Palace on the Avenue John F Kennedy. Meet with Sophie Provenza the hotel manager. Once in a while I meet a General Manager who I really connect with and today it happened. Sophie came into work to ensure that our shoot was a success. The hotel has just 50 rooms and suites making it the smallest luxury boutique hotel in Monaco. It's run by the Stein Group, which I would describe as a turnaround hotel company i.e. it goes in and restores reputations. The Port Palace, however, is a new hotel, which opened in 2003.
0900: Out on the Condamine (the harbour). Sophie has arranged a wee boat trip to start the show with. We beetled about the Med for a while, shooting and doing pieces to camera. Poor Tim was feeling quite queasy by the end of the trip! It's Boat Show week here in Monaco so the biggest yachts known to mankind are showing off. When I mean BIG, I mean BIG and LARGE at the same time! One had not one but two helicopters perched on it and one a Ferrari on the back deck that is hoisted down onto terra firma when it moors!
 Aye aye Cap'n!
1030: Back at hotel, we need to interview the General Manager; she has arranged for us to do this on one of these SUPER yachts that happen to be in front of the hotel. So courtesy of Showboat Magazine we boarded the 60 million dollar Ambrosia. Did I say 60 million? I MEANT to say 65 million, but what are a few mills between friends? Just as we are leaving after the 30 minute interview I meet the boats' owner, a very normal looking Italian fellow. No airs and graces, just normal, but exceptionally wealthy!
1200: In Suite 510 overlooking the Condamine. Michelle, the Kenzo spa therapist, is waiting for me so she can massage my temples as the boys film! She had hands of an angel; she was worried about the sun-rash on my back though.
1300: Lunch on the roof-terrace. Club sandwich and fries; I'd give the fries ten out of ten and the sandwich around seven. Service was SUPERB though! I meet the hotel owner Lotfi who, as it happens, also owns one of the oldest businesses in Monaco; the fine chocolate shop. I see a feature coming! Also present is Stephane, the fabulous PR for Monaco Tourism chap from London.
THOROUGHLY impressed by the hotel, the service, the staff and Sophie!
I leave the boys to film the hotel and go off to arrange tomorrow. I am SO excited about the next few days but will not spoil it for you with the detail. Off to the Hotel Metropole in the morning.
Weather: Not as good as yesterday!
Song of the Day: The World Outside (Ghosts)
I so am annoyed! Yesterday the great Food and Beverage Manager gave me a Partagas Series-D Number 4 to smoke and it gave me so much pleasure that I saved half of it to enjoy this evening BUT I have come back to find that the maid has chucked it out of my ash tray!
After a wee jog and some breakfast, our first port of call was the heliport for a piece to camera. Saturday morning is quite quiet in Monaco, so we managed to get everything done in just a few moments with the help of our hotel driver Jean. The heliport is next to the Columbus Hotel, owned by David Coulthard and Ken McCulloch of Malmaison Hotels fame, just on the border of Monaco and France. I have always flown by helicopter from Nice to Monaco because the journey is only 7 minutes and is the same price as a cab.
Our next stop was The Casino for one of the most surreal experiences of my life. We were there to meet and interview Bernard Lambert, CEO of SBM. We were shown into a private room, The English Room, where croupier Monsieur Leduc stood. They also had a full box of real chips that are used everyday in the Casino - these were being guarded by a couple of very heavy-set chaps. Anyway, the chips start at 5 Euros and go up to 200,000 Euros. I was given 300,000 Euros in chips and Bernard and I played roulette for 'real'. While he played the game for real, I played the 'red' or 'black' game i.e. if the ball lands on red and you have gambled on red, then you double your stake. I was up 1.3 million Euros when Tim told me to stop as he could see that I was about to have a quadruple bypass. I can see why gambling is so addictive; I am not going back into the Casino this evening! Del, if you are reading this, I was thinking of you all the time in the Casino!
SBM was set up in 1864 with Casino and Hotel de Paris, and now has the HP, the Hermitage, MC Bay, MV Beach Hotel, the Mirabeau, the Cafe de Paris, Jimmyz (nightclub), Les Thermes Marins (Spa), Sun Casino, Country Club, Opera - the list goes on! Also SBM is set to extend itself out of Monaco too! Phew!
After a quick lunch we ventured down to Fontvieille for a small feature that I did not expect to be up to much. As it turns out, it was excellent! 105 cars spread out over 4000 square metres of The Prince Rainier III's personal car collection. It's not a museum and the cars there were all selected by him because they are all classics. The cars dated back from early 1900's and finished with a 'modern' Lamborghini Countach. There was a Ford Model T, 1936 Jaguar, a Ferrari 250 GTO (The Ferris Bueller) but my favourite is the Fiat 600 from 1963 complete with a canvas roof, wicker chairs, 1 wing mirror and a rope barrier instead of a door! I am not a car-nut, but I loved it.
It's an early evening as we are out first thing tomorrow. Tonight I will dream of the roulette wheel and my babies!
Weather: Purrrfect!
Song of the Day: The Fool on the Hill (The Beatles)
What a day!
Up at 6 with the sun. I went for a jog around the Principality and was amazed at the number of people doing just that. I was overtaken by many a person twice (and I am sure in one case thrice) my age.
Breakfast in Le Cote Jardin on the terrace. From between the trees you can just see La Condamine (the harbour) complete with the odd super-yacht.
0830: Time for a meeting with all the good and the great PRs of Monaco. Present are the lovely Maxime, who has for the past few weeks been putting everything together from the tourist board side and the equally lovely Celine from Societe des Bains de Mer. Together we beef up the show with yet more wonderful features. It's also my first meeting with Hotel de Paris General Manager, Dominic Bachofen. I leave the meeting feeling very good!
1030: First piece to camera of the shoot. The hotel has 187 rooms; 75 suites and 1 Presidential Suite named after Sir Winston Churchill.
Varun getting ready for his close up
I am now moved to a HUGE suite -number 613 and 614- a one bedroom suite. The suite is massive with mahogany wood and Hungarian oak flooring! The bedroom is stunning but the view is AWESOME! In the distance I can see the Delphin, the ship on which Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt signed the Treaty of Versailles.
1200: Boys are filming around the hotel.
Lunch again at Le Cote. DELICIOUS!
1400: another piece to camera. The hotel was built in 1864, 3 years after the Casino. There's a hotel in Paris called The Grand, HP was meant to be "better than the Grand"; it certainly met that and exceeded it. There a statue of King Louis X1V in the hotel foyer, its tradition that if you touch it you will be lucky in the Casino; yeah right!
1500: off to the Cave, the home of wine. It boasts 1.5 kms of wine (600,000 bottles) from a few Euros to priceless bottles. Old friend, head sommelier Patrick Frank, helped me taste through a bottle of 1993 Chateau Margaux; it was heaven! That touch on the statue must have worked!
Varun in heaven
The hotel has a wine dating back to 1835 and a cognac to 1800. I was allowed to get up close to these bottles, but nothing more than a touch.
1600: Edouard Grosmangin, F&B Manager of HP talked me though a bottle of local wine from Nice! Not a Margaux but still lovely!
1830: Interview with Dominic in the Grille. The Grille has "only" one Michelin Star! Its sister downstairs, Alain Ducasse's Louis XV, has a whopping three stars.
Anyway, Monsieur Bachofen, Swiss by birth, has been here for three years and is obviously proud and happy with his job! His insight into the history was very interesting and will make a good piece of television.
1900: The Bar Americain, Monaco's Front Lounge, a place to chill, have a cigar and a nice champagne mohito. We are all so tired that we don't stop for a drink; just film and run.
Exhaustion is setting in so time for sleep. Have just eaten a superb Club Sandwich -with a bottle of water- it cost around thirty pounds, but hey, I AM in Monaco!!
Weather: Hot!Hot!Hot!
Song of The Day: Hot!Hot!Hot! - The Cure
I am sitting at my desk on the 4th floor of the Hotel de Paris Monaco. With the French windows open I can hear the fountain in the Place du Casino playing its sweet music. I can also hear the cries of children as they play near the fountain, and can see flashes from cameras as tourists snap their loved ones standing next to the latest Ferrari or Maserati parked outside.
 My view from Hotel de Paris Monaco
Today has been a total nightmare and it started the moment I left home.
The cab driver (who reliably informed me that Uganda was a cleaner and much safer country than England) belched and grunted his way to London City Airport. What really upset me, and what he didn't understand, was that opening the windows as you drive through the Rotherhithe Tunnel is akin to smoking 20 Gauloises Bleu simultaneously. By the time I arrived at the airport I was coughing, spluttering and in need of an oxygen boost.
I dislike everything about London City Airport; it's grubby, claustrophobic and very unfriendly. Many of this afternoons flights were delayed, ours by nearly two hours. I feel for the passengers of the BA flight to Frankfurt that was cancelled at the last minute; one woman was openly weeping!
After we had been mugged with excess baggage fees (we were ONLY 78kgs over!) and each given a late departure token (which bought a quarter of a stale sandwich and a slight stomach cramp) we settled down for a long wait in the departure lounge surrounded by depressing city-types and those who really "didn't care" about anything.
Two hours after a bumpy and service-free flight (well there was some service but I have had better at McDonalds in Victoria Station) we touched down at Nice Airport where after a short wait Cyril the driver arrived to drive us to Monaco.
30 minutes later and here we are. I say "we" but Tim and Tom are staying at The Fairmont, two minutes walk away while I am resting up in the "palace" that is the Hotel de Paris.
 Tim and Tom looking tired
I am tired and it's late, so a quick meal with the boys and then it's off to purr-dom; the real work starts tomorrow.
Weather: warm and ok
Song of the Day: Mad World (Tears for Fears)
We are off tomorrow morning. I am totally exhausted and both Tim and Tom have been working hard for the past couple of days, so we are looking forward to being on a plane for 3 hours, which will give us some valuable sleep time.
Saying that, last week I was in Portugal and the flight home was crazy. I spent the last 45 minutes -the descent- in excruciating pain as the pressure played havoc with my eustachian tubes. The Algarve is an odd place, on the one hand there are amazing golf courses and luxurious villas and on the other, villages that look like something out of the dark ages. The Portuguese are wonderfully warm people and this is very apparent in their service. I ostensibly went out to play golf, but unfortunately suffered from my usual golfing ailment - being rubbish. So I did a lot of sitting in the sun; lovely.
On the way out at Gatwick I was in a BA queue with a famous Hollywood actress. When I was young, she was a stunner and appeared in a couple of Brat-packs films. While I have sagged in old age, she has remained amazingly pert. A fan went up to her to ask for an autograph, she said: "no" and denied that it was actually her despite holding her passport with her name clearly on it! How disappointing, but on the way home John Terry was at Faro Airport with his buddies and he stopped to have his photo taken with anyone who asked - a true gent.
So today has been about crossing 't's'and dotting 'i's'
Helen has been bossing me around, which is quite necessary. She has two weeks of peace while we are away; I think the Bahamas is beckoning.
Helen doesn't look that scary does she?
So much to do and so little time!
Weather: changeable
Song of the Day: Slow Burn (David Bowie)
0100: The local church bell tolls. Time for some last minute checks: Have we got the insurance sorted? Yes. Do we have a carnet? Don't need one. Must remember to take my driving licence.
0200: Gemima the dog sighs in her sleep. More last minute checks: filming permits; flights; excess baggage; phone charger and MP3 player all present and correct.
0400: Seagull squawks outside. Clean dinner suit? Spare contact lenses? Razor blades? Hmmm, need more.
0600: Coffee machine gurgles. Up and about.
The girls pottered off to Tottenham Court Road this morning to buy a Sony A1 HD, which I am told is the Aston-Martin of small hand-held HDV camcorders. We will only be using this camera for underwater filming, in-air filming and anything involving cars! It is a very expensive piece of kit, but very necessary.
 Tim with his new baby
Today is research day. Monaco maybe the second smallest principality in the world (after the Holy See, the Vatican) but it has a recorded history dating back to 43 BC when Julius Caesar moored his ships there awaiting Pompey.
I could write for hours about Monaco but will leave it for Thursday when we are actually there.
2200: After final meetings with the crew; BED!
Weather: Sunny but sticky.
Song of the Day: Harvest Moon (Neil Young)
 For the next six months, the Inside Luxury Travel team will be filming in six locations across the world: Monaco, London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Dubai & Los Angeles starting from this Thursday.
The team is made up of Tim (cameraman), Tom (camera assistant/sound), Helen (producer), Gemima (mascot 1), Maisy (mascot 2), Mittens (mascot 3) and me. Together with a film editor (Steph) and numerous tech guys, we will be producing television shows that are already set to air in over 100 countries from December.  We are not proud people and are always looking for advice/ideas on interesting luxury features, so if your Great Aunt Moomintrolle has a company in Tokyo that designs luxury sports cars or a cigar shop in Dubai, then please get in touch! The best way is by email to Helen (she who must be obeyed) on Helen@insideluxurytravel.com.
We have just three days until we set off for Monaco for our first shoot. Fourteen days on the Cote d'Azur may sound like fun, but it promises to be hard work. Looking at the schedule we have a two hour window on day eight for sleep! I kid you not.
Weather: a sneak peak of sunshine
Song of the Day: The Chicken Payback (The Bees)
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