Princess Grace Exhibit Overwhelms

An exhibit currently on display in Monaco features the life of Grace Kelly who grew up in the U.S., became a film star and then married the Prince of Monaco.

Several months ago, long before the actual opening of the exhibit honoring Grace Kelly, I wrote an article about it. Having now gone through the exceptional exhibit and rereading the article I’d previously written, I’m reminded how different reading about something - a destination, a museum, an attraction - can be from truly experiencing the same thing.

In the movie “Good Will Hunting,” Robin Williams’ character explains to Matt Damon’s character the same idea using the Sistine Chapel, as an example. Now, I’ve heard people touting the benefits of Second Life, the Internet-based virtual world, and how great it is to experience hot travel destinations without the issues involved with air travel, hotels and money. Personally, although I have admittedly not entered Second Life, I can’t see how the virtual vacations could possibly hold up to the real thing. More on this in another blog post.

From the exhibit, located in the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, one gets an overwhelming sense of how much Princess Grace was loved: first by her family, then her fans and finally the people of Monaco. And from the memorabilia, photographs and displays it’s easy to see why. Princess Grace was an intelligent, beautiful, caring woman. Above all, however, she had class.

It’s also evident that much time, effort and creativity went into the exhibit. The eighteen rooms that focus on specific areas of her life include short film clips, multi-media displays and an overwhelming amount of personal letters, clothing and photographs.

If you happen to be in Monaco between now and Sept. 23, I’d highly recommend visiting the exhibit. Beyond Princess Grace’s life, the exhibit gives an interesting insight into the recent history of the royalty in Monaco as well as the current reign of Grace’s son, Prince Albert II.