what i think about when i think about monaco...

cary grant and grace kelly. 1955. unknown photographer.

prince albert, prince rainier, princesses stephanie and caroline, and princess grace. on holiday, 1960. photographed by alain nogues. via alain nogues/sygma/corbis at corbis.com.

when i was a young teen, the royal family of monaco held court, likely against their will, over seemingly all the magazines and tabloids. they would make regular appearances in news weeklies, fashion books, lifestyle mags and the gossip rags--the ladies in my family became pretty fluent in who they were cavorting with and what they were wearing. it seems strange now that i came to know grace kelly as a mom before i saw any of her films.

maybe this is less strange, but what i knew of "european style" also evolved from photos of taken of the royal family at that time. as someone who'd spent little time thinking about clothes to that point (except in the form a "lucky leotard" or tennis togs), the younger princess' style--reflective of her interest in sports--appealed to me. she was always traipsing around the alps, or hanging out at the races, in gear that seemed pretty cool.

(i tried to rock this bandanna look for waaaay too long...)princesses stephanie and grace in gstaad, switzerland. 1980. photographed by laszlo veres. via b.d.v./corbis pro.corbis.com.

princess stephanie, 1983. photographed by laszlo veres. via b.d.v./corbis at pro.corbis.com

but everything about that continental, cosmopolitan principality and the royal family was steeped so long in sadness after princess grace's death. it was hard to look at photos and see past that.

stephanie at val d'Isere, france. january 10, 1983. photographed by stephane tavoularis. via bettmann/corbis at pro.corbis.com.

prince albert and princess stephanie. december 12, 1982. photographed by richard melloul, via richard melloul/sygma/corbis at pro.corbis.com.

but in the last few years that i've been tuning into the tennis at the monte carlo rolex open, i've loved the stunning view of and from the courts, and the tennis has been just as spectacular. it is my second favorite clay court tournament, and pretty near the top of the list of tournaments i'd like to attend. the stadium seems only as big as a high school football stadium. and then there's the sea...

but i won't lie: to see prince albert ii making appearances at matches and presiding over various ceremonies, looking older and settled and happy, gives the tournament a special allure.

monaco, a locale perhaps not ever as idyllic as the "playground for the rich" moniker would imply, does seem quite glamorous again.

rafael nadal at the 2007 monte carlo open. photographed by michael steele, april 21, 2007. via getty images, at montecarlo.masters-series.com.

andy murray, prince albert II, and rafael nadal in monte carlo, monaco. april 12, 2009. photographed by michael steele, getty images. via boston.com