But for a select few (including our lucky selves), the end of summer brings excitement, for at any moment a text will arrive, with the official invite for the latest edition of the Alexander Kraft Monte Carlo rally, hosted in conjunction with Sotheby’s Realty France. This year, that text arrived in early September, giving us a months notice to prepare for what would be 3 days of pure bliss in Cassis and Aix-en-Provence.
Upon arriving to Les Roches Blanches, our base for the duration of the rally, there was little time to freshen up before welcome drinks at Les Belles Canailles, the main restaurant of the lavish hilltop hotel. A year apart felt like a mere week when reunited with the familiar faces of last year’s rally which took us from Paris southwards to Beaune, where we stopped at elegant chateaus and sprawling vineyards along the way. This year we would be driving the coast between Cassis and Marseille, overlooking the quieter yet no less beautiful stretch of the French Riviera. Following drinks, a time to become reacquainted with old faces and some new, we sat for dinner, welcoming a toast from Alexander Kraft himself to officially open this year’s edition of the rally, accompanied naturally with a course of fresh fish, plenty of drinks, and custom EGM Kraftoni cigars to wrap up the first evening before hitting the road early in the morning.
Unlike last year, the selection of cars had been picked solely out of Alexander’s personal collection, including his newly restored Aston Martin DB6, Ferrari 365 2+2, Ferrari 550 Maranello and an Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Thse were accompanied by a few familiar choices in the 1986 Porsche 911 Targa, Bentley Continental T and the Bentley Bentayga. All except the Vantage were in the “Krafty” green over cognac colour combination, which made quite the statement when we set off from Les Roches Blanches heading to the first property of the day, handpicked by Sotheby’s Realty France for the roadtrip. The 15-room house, Le Tholonet, is an 18th century Bastide overlooking the Sainte Victoire, sitting atop 4 hectares of luscious hilltop filled with olive trees, vineyards and orange groves. The property was truly stunning, made all the more special with the Kraft fleet of cars filling every available space of the gravel driveway. The roads were sublime, winding and flowing between woodland and rows of low hanging trees, letting sunlight burst through on occasion. The weather was perfect, warm and sunny, with short sleeves worn all around. Not bad for October!
The convoy shortly set off to La Bastide des Victoires, a modern 20-room house nestled amongst the vineyards of Aix-en-Provence. With its long gravel driveway surrounded by 3 hectares of green grass garden, this was truly a place for escapism and relaxation. Perhaps the most modern property on the rally, the house has everything from a heated swimming pool to a yoga pavilion, built for the pure purpose of maximising the enjoyment of its guests.
The late afternoon was spent enjoying the facilities of the hotel, which had direct access to the Mediterranean from its hilltop position. Padelboarding, diving, and use of the heated pool were all on the agenda during the hour and a half we had to ourselves, before suiting up for the annual rally black tie dinner!
Having donned the dinner jackets, tied the bow ties, and polished the patent leather shoes, the convoy rolled out of Les Roches Blanches once more and headed to the next property on our itinerary, a 25-room dream mansion situated only 25 minutes from Marseille and 35 minutes from Cassis, in a 50,000m2 plot of Tuscan gardens lush with olive and Cyprus trees, as well as lavenders and vineyards. With 2 swimming pools, a pool house, a tennis court, greenhouse and a chapel, the property has everything one requires to remain undisturbed from outside influences, whilst situated only a stones throw from the action of Marseille.
Dinner began with a BBQ on the lawn as the sun set and the music played. Incredibly delicate oysters, sea urchins, scallops and duck were prepared over hot coals by the experienced chefs of MD Traiteur, who ensured our appetites were somewhat fulfilled before the main course. The main course of lamb and roasted vegetables was served in the greenhouse, on an achingly beautiful table decorated with white roses, candles and fine cutlery.
Following dinner the cigars were lit once again, and the conversations and laughter continued long into the night, before the convoy headed back to Cassis, in preparation for the final day of the Sotheby’s rally.
Waking up once again at a sensible time, the first point of call were a couple of properties along the Marseille coastline. The route was stunning, following a winding pass which curled around the mountains above the city, and being behind the wheel of the Continental T was a joy. The boat- like handling of ‘90s Continentals as they traverse long sweeping corners is a feeling unrivalled by any modern sedan or SUV. With sport mode activated the car packed a serious punch too, growling out of the corners like an untamed bear. What a joy to drive one of the last truly hand- built Bentleys!
Tackling the winding streets of inner Marseille wasn’t too much of an issue, besides the occasional wrong turn and tight parking situations. Nevertheless we arrived as a group to our chosen lunch spot, a beautiful Maison sitting atop the hills of Marseille, with panoramic views of the bay and the Chateau D’If, made famous by Alexandre Dumas’ legendary story of betrayal and revenge, ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’.
The afternoon sun called for yet another visit to the sea for some snorkelling and yet again more padelboarding, despite the strong wind which made standing even more difficult than usual. But this was perfect preparation for what would be an evening spent on the water, aboard ‘Marge’, the 1920s sailing boat made famous in the film ‘Plein Soleil’. It was the perfect way to wrap up 3 days of la belle vie, aboard an icon of French cinema, with pizza hand-delivered by Alexander himself, accompanied as usual with fresh canapés and Kraftoni cigars. As Sinatra’s greatest hits played out of the speakers and night enveloped Cassis, the final farewells and stories were shared sitting over the deck of ‘Marge’, with everyone eagerly awaiting the next edition of the Rally, perhaps in a year or perhaps in six months; who knows!
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