Here’s the continued story from Fredrik, Mattias and Ulrika – our representatives in Monaco. This time they get to see the Riviera as it is depicted in the movies!
Baldos II in Monaco
Wednesday 3rd of March
For the first time since the journey started we allowed ourselves a late morning, and we enjoyed the French hotel breakfast without stress. Our next appointment was to place Baldos II on a specific parking lot outside Le Casino de Monte Carlo at 2 PM, which gave us plenty of time on our own. In the morning we went sightseeing in Nice. We had a brief look at the old town and a promenade by the sea front, and Fredrik and Ulrika went to update their wardrobes for the conference. By 2 PM we once again entered the minbus and headed east. After some orienteering on the notorious streets of Monaco we finally reached the Casino and unloaded our precious little car for public display. The minibus keys were handed over to the reception clerk of Hôtel de Paris who managed to park the vehicle, although it appeared rather misplaced in the context. The rest of the afternoon and early evening was spent in a café as pouring rain and rough winds would have made a tour in the city rather inconvenient.
Baldos II outside Hôtel de Paris
Later that night Team Baldos entered Le Casino de Monte Carlo. We must have looked brilliant in our dark lounge suits and long dress since waiters immediately approached us with glasses full of Champagne. With a glass in one hand and both eyes trying to grasp the magnificent interior of the Casino, three students from the dark and cold northern parts of Sweden began to mingle around in a growing crowd of important-looking people. We were socializing, drinking champagne, studying the interiors, exchanging business cards, drinking some more, talking to some other people, and so forth until around eight a clock when the whole come together was rounded off. A tired but quite satisfied Team Baldos escaped the Casino into the Monaco subterranean train station, and after a 20 minute train ride and 10 minute walk we were back in our beds, dreaming about James Bond.
The conference room
Thursday 4th of March
In order for us to be in place for the initiation of the conference at 8.30 AM we got out of bed at 6.30. The whole thing began with a coffee break. After an opening speech by one of the initiators, the conference was en route. Presentations and plenary sessions succeeded one another and were intervened by numerous coffee breaks. The day went on and we began to find our feet, so to speak. One of the highlights of the day was a presentation from a Japanese company. The man set to present was struggling with his English and he read the whole speech from a manuscript while his Powerpoint presentation contained almost all special effects in the book. The lunch gave us a taste of what was to come. The food was really good, and the desert – well – it was really, really good.
Ulrika answering questions from the press
During the afternoon Baldos II received a whole lot of attention as the press covering the conference eagerly took photos and recorded videos of it. Ulrika ”drove” the car down a small slope and parked it in our parking lot between the Casino and Hôtel de Paris. Baldos II received quite a lot of attention in the traffic as well and everybody stopped to let the car through. A man in a red Audi R8 even shouted “It looks almost like my car!”. The conference ended by 5 PM, but the banquet wasn’t up until 8 PM, so we used the spare time to do some sightseeing in Monaco. The fabulous yachts in the Port of Hercules and the prince’s palace were two of the highlights in our three-hour stride around the town. And after a quick change of clothes and a few strokes with the comb we were fit for the banquet.
The banquet was held in Hôtel de Paris, and ‘surreal’ is perhaps the word that best describes our impressions as the dining room was presented; a world of cut-glass chandeliers and gold! Some mingle and glasses of champagne later we sat down at our assigned places. It’s actually very hard for us to give a representative image of the rest of the evening, both when it comes to the food and how everything looked. As an example, the waiters brushed crumbs away from the tables between dishes, and as soon as a glass or plate was emptied they were appeared from nowhere. A band sang a song at each table, and when they heard we were Swedes they played SOS by ABBA!
Baldos II alongside other vehicles of the future
Friday 5th of March
According to the agenda, the day was to begin with ”strong coffee”, and so it did. The conference continued with plenary session and presentations like the day before. We tried to attain as much as possible and talk to as many as we could, and to our satisfaction Baldos II had achieved great interest from a wide variety of participants!
During the day we were told not to participate in the closing ceremony, where Prince Albert was to appear. Instead we were assigned to stand by the car and greet him as he came out. When we stood there waiting by the car a lot of people approached us, photographing, asking questions and discussing the car in general. Unfortunately some of them didn’t understand English and therefore we had some troubles answering them.
Finally the prince and most of the parliament came out. We were a bit nervous but everything went quite well. We shook hands with him and talked about Baldos II. He already seemed to know a bit about it. He wished us good luck, said “Jättebra!” (Swedish for “Very good!”), stepped into his Lexus (marked “MC01”) and drove away. Or, more precisely, his driver did.
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