It seems the Russians have finally invaded – Monaco, that is.
I recently spent a very enjoyable morning in the lobby of the Hotel de Paris in Monaco and let me tell you there may be no better spot on earth for people watching.
The Russians were in full force, the men in ill- fitting designer jeans and sweaters, greeting each other with big smiles, a quick hug and two firm slaps on the back.
The women were gorgeous, mostly demure, and decked out in the finest couture that money can buy. The weekly allowance for hair, make-up, and clothing alone for just one of these beauties would probably pay my mortgage for a year.
I’d heard so much about the Russians, how rude, loud, and unsophisticated they were, but at least at the Hotel de Paris, I found them very appealing. They seemed completely unaffected by how others perceived them, they were polite to the wait staff, and there was a gregariousness that seemed pleasantly out of place in the stuffy lobby of this Monaco institution.
So have the Russians really invaded?
If so, it may not be all that bad.
Le Stuff 