On September 18, 2011, H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco arrived in Georgia for a three-day official visit to the country that was once apart of the Soviet Union.  Upon his arrival at the airport, Prince Albert was greeted by the President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili as well as other local politicians.  Soon, the sovereign prince and the president were off to visit several cultural heritage sites in Mestia, Georgia, specifically, one of the oldest neighborhoods in the town known as Lanchvali:

… Lanchvali, where there is a monument that was built in the 12^th century. The current construction work in Lanchvali will restore the original appearance of the neighborhood. They also visited a house that was built in the 4^th century in the Lanchvali neighborhood, tasted traditional Svanetian dishes and listened to Svanetian songs… they also visited the Lagami village and toured the ancient church there.

After a long day of sightseeing the prince attended a musical at the Batumi Opera House in the city of, well, Batumi.

This afternoon, September 19, Prince Albert and President Saakashvili visited the town of Kvareli where the president “… explained the technology of harvesting grapes and processing them  to Albert II while making some wine with him.”  Then, they were off to visit an archeological site in Dmanisi, then a meeting with members of the National Olympic Committee of Georgia, and finally Prince Albert visited the Georgian National Museum in Tbilisi where he gave a speech.

One important stop during the prince’s whirlwind of a day was a visit to the home of former Georgian luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili, where the prince presented a medal of honor to his parents.  If you don’t know who Nodar Kumaritashvili was, he was the young man who was tragically killed during a practice run at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.

To view photos from today’s events please click here.

Sources: President.gov.ge, News.az and Trend.az

Photo courtesy of: Palais Princier de Monaco (thank you!)   🙂

On Saturday, September 17, 2011, H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco visited the lovely town of Beausoleil, France where he attended a massive food festival.  The local townspeople gave a round of applause for the sovereign prince of Monaco as he was greeted by the Mayor and General Counsel, Gerard Spinelli. Unfortunately, H.S.H. Princess Charlene was not in attendance to the disappointment of many.  To view photos from the event please click here.

Meanwhile, French journalist and close friend of Prince Albert’s, Stéphane Bern, is still on a princely wedding high.  Recently, Mr. Bern visited the Musée Océanographique where he presented the book, L’histoire du Marriage Princier, to the musée’s curator.

As he walked through the L’histoire du Marriage Princier exhibition at the musée Mr. Bern was treated like a celebrity.  Waving to the crowds (who clapped for him… why I have no idea) as he was walked towards the exhibition’s most popular display, Mr. Bern beamed as he gazed upon the stunning Océan tiara.  Asked what he thought of the piece, Mr. Bern replied, “I love it!  I saw it being set up [at the Musée Océanographique] and it’s amazing how flexible it is…” He went on to comment about H.S.H. Princess Charlene’s wedding dress, which is also on display at the exhibition, “… the set and dress is nicer than at Buckingham palace!”  

Yeah, that’s a bit biased, Steve.

Source and photo courtesy of: Monaco Matin

On September 14, 2011, H.S.H. Prince Albert II met with the members of the Carabiniers Racing Team at a reception in Monaco.  Click here to read more about what happened (sorry, I don’t have time to translate the article.)     🙂