Everyone has heard about the Grand Prix of Monaco. However, there’s a more popular motor sport here on the French Riviera: Parking Derby.
We were told that there were plenty of parking spaces near our hotel in Viillefranche-sur-Mer. There were, but they were all occupied. Finally we found a space about three blocks away. That’s where the Purple People-Eater stayed during our visit. Our breakfast on the front porch of the hotel was enlivened by watching other vehicles hunting for parking.
There’s a delicate physics at work when one looks for a parking space. There is the eyeball test: Will the space accommodate my vehicle? Then the passenger gets out of the car and flags the driver into the space. This process may or may not be successful. If not, the passenger may have to flag the driver to back up down a one-way street. (Been there, done that.)
There’s a common hazard of the Parking Derby, the scratch and dent count. Many French cars show battle scars from losing the battle for a parking space, either by dinging another vehicle or a wall. When we were waiting for the bus today, we watched a long parade of cars go by with assorted scratches, dents, and dings. The French see these as badges of honor. Either that, or the collision deductible on their car insurance is huge.
The pinnacle of the Riviera Parking Derby is in Cap Ferrat. This is an exclusive peninsula between Villefranche-sur-Mer and Italy. Paul Allen and other gazillionaires have pieds-à-terre on this spit of land. It should be noted that these “footholds” have more square footage than your average grocery store in the suburbs of Sheboygan or Seattle. We thought about driving over there today, but thought better of it when we saw the vultures circling for parking near the Purple People-Eater. The main town of St.-Jean-Cap-Ferrat is a rats’ nest of one-way streets with limited parking. The peasants jockey for paid parking spaces throughout the peninsula. (Maybe this is how the town supports itself.) Meanwhile, the gazillionaires have valet parking or hired help. If they want a pizza, they can get it delivered–from Naples.
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