Visiting the neighbors
Who ARE our neighbors here on Cap Ferrat?
Actually, these days, you don't find movie stars or glitzy celebrities - just the garden variety of usually Eastern European billionaires (with Paul Allen of Microsoft as one of the few Western exceptions).
And, yes, President Putin of Russia, should, as far as the locals know, own one of the secluded palaces.
No one knows exactly where it is.
Or they will not tell. When you're living on the Cap, you appreciate discretion!
In the old days it used to be different and one of the few houses, which are actually visible from the outside, has experienced all the glitz you can dream of.
The Fleur du Cap, lying just next to the bay, was once owned by Chaplin, and later, for many years, it was the home of the British actor David Niven. Standing on the small beach just next to the house, you can easily imagine the marvelous Old Hollywood parties, which have taken place over the years.
Another famous and even year-long party was held in one of the other grand villas - the Nellcote.
Keith Richard of The Rolling Stones rented it for a long time back in the early Seventies, when the Stones fled Britain for tax purposes.
The entire band (and supposedly about a dozen drug dealers of the Marseille mob) moved in and 'Exile on Main Street' was taped in its basement.
During many months the neighbors in their expensive villas had to listen to gigantic loudspeakers blaring out rock music around the clock - so loud it was said to have reverberated against the coastline on the other side of the bay.
.
Today quiet has fallen on the Nellcote - except for the murmur of a few visiting fans. They come daily to worship the birthplace of the record, which for many is arguable the defining statement of the rock era
The current owner, a Russian oligarch, is supposedly really tired of pilgrims standing in front of the gate and his bodyguards try occasionally to come out and scatter the bystanders.
Nothing to see, except for a small tear in the black cloth covering the fence.
Looking through it you can glimpse an enormous tree. Perhaps, even back then, Keith Richard climbed high trees and fell down.
We're now on the final leg of our eight months of travel this year - a trip leading us through Brazil, Paris, and different parts of the south of France.
We look so much forward to soon catching up with friends and family and having Christmas in Denmark, before our next big trip - where to, we haven't really decided yet.
In the old days it used to be different and one of the few houses, which are actually visible from the outside, has experienced all the glitz you can dream of.
The Fleur du Cap, lying just next to the bay, was once owned by Chaplin, and later, for many years, it was the home of the British actor David Niven. Standing on the small beach just next to the house, you can easily imagine the marvelous Old Hollywood parties, which have taken place over the years.
Another famous and even year-long party was held in one of the other grand villas - the Nellcote.
Keith Richard of The Rolling Stones rented it for a long time back in the early Seventies, when the Stones fled Britain for tax purposes.
The entire band (and supposedly about a dozen drug dealers of the Marseille mob) moved in and 'Exile on Main Street' was taped in its basement.
During many months the neighbors in their expensive villas had to listen to gigantic loudspeakers blaring out rock music around the clock - so loud it was said to have reverberated against the coastline on the other side of the bay.
.
Today quiet has fallen on the Nellcote - except for the murmur of a few visiting fans. They come daily to worship the birthplace of the record, which for many is arguable the defining statement of the rock era
The current owner, a Russian oligarch, is supposedly really tired of pilgrims standing in front of the gate and his bodyguards try occasionally to come out and scatter the bystanders.
Nothing to see, except for a small tear in the black cloth covering the fence.
Looking through it you can glimpse an enormous tree. Perhaps, even back then, Keith Richard climbed high trees and fell down.
We're now on the final leg of our eight months of travel this year - a trip leading us through Brazil, Paris, and different parts of the south of France.
We look so much forward to soon catching up with friends and family and having Christmas in Denmark, before our next big trip - where to, we haven't really decided yet.
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