While this writer was lazing along, guest of friends cruising Corsica, Sardinia and Capri, farther north on the blue blue Mediterranean, up along what used to be called the French Riviera (or the Cote d’Azur) there were more big yachts and many more parties and especially (for some) birthday parties.

In Monte Carlo the Hotel de Paris was jam-packed with the hotel’s director Pierre Bord doing everything to see that the visitors were having a great old time. Francois Julien, the General Manager of the Grand Hotel was doing his utmost too, giving a big gala at the Sporting for the backgammon tournament which was held at the Monte Carlo Grand.

The big birthday parties started with Florence, Lady Packer’s on June 21. Florence Packer was married to Lord Packer, the media mogul from Australia and is the stepmother of Kerry Packer, the polo player. She also once owned the fabulous triplex that tops off the Pierre Hotel in Manhattan, now owned by Wall Street whiz Martin Zweig and his wife Barbara. When she decided to sell and wanted $25 mill, everybody laughed – ridiculous and all that – haha. Try getting it for that price today.

Meanwhile back on the blue blue Med and all those birthday parties: Irvin Levy from Dallas and Houston threw a big one for his wife, Joan Schnitzer (Joanie to her jetloads of friends) at Le Cagnard, a restaurant in the mountains in old Cagnes on July 12. Among the thirty guests were Cheryl Tiegs and her ex-husband Tony Peck, son of the late actor Gregory Peck; Bobby Short, Eddie Collins, Lynn Wyatt, Mai and Ridgely Harrison, Jim Mitchell, Jesse Araskog and her daughter, Julia and Teresa and Mortimer Sackler.

Then, four days later, on July 16, Oscar Wyatt flew in from Texas to give the annual birthday party for wife Lynn. Mr. Wyatt has been giving the birthday party for 30 years, which was just about an hour ago, and it remains one of the highlights of the season of the summer in the south of France. The party, called “La Vie Rose” was at their villa La Romana, overlooking all of St. Jean Cap Ferrat. Costume instructions called for the wearing of the pink. So everyone, every one, was pretty in pink. There was a fabulous buffet for all those appetites made heartier by the sun and the salt water, and the dancing lasted until the sun was coming up over the Alps.

The tables at Lynn Wyatt's party

The birthday girl was in an Oscar de la Renta pink beaded silk, passing on her famous Wyatt emeralds for something a little more summery – turquoise – to accessorize.. Guests included Terrence Flannery, Michael Feinstein, Roz Kind (Barbra Streisand’s sister), Susan Bennett, Stephanie Powers, who was staying with Bobby Short, Eddie Collins, Bobby Short, Jim Mitchell, Cristina de Caraman, Kirat Young, Ali Dom Pietro, Flocky Busson (Flocky's son is Arky Busson who lives with the model Elle McPherson with whom he has two children), Jean Marc Pagliai, he is the son of the late Mexican tycoon Bruno Pagliai, who was married to the actress, Merle Oberon; Mai and Ridgley Harrison, Joan Schnitzer and Irwin Levy, Evie and Leslie Bricusse, Cate and Steve Wyatt and their children, Cheryl Tiegs and Tony Peck, Diana Quasha from New York, Teresa Sackler and Kika and Roger Moore. Prince Albert of Monaco arrived late after attending the Opening of the Kirov Ballet at the Grimaldi Forum.

Villa la viege, where Charlotte Casiraghi's birthday party is being held

But the most talked about birthday party of the summer over there will be the ball Princess Caroline and her husband Prince Ernst of Hanover are giving for Caroline's daughter, Charlotte Casiraghi, to celebrate her 18th birthday, tonight, August 3. In fact, they’re probably all getting ready for their grand entrances as you read this. The ball will be at the “Villa la Viege", the magnificent yellow villa on a hill overlooking the Monte Carlo Beach Club that was once the summer spot of Caroline’s great friend Karl Lagerfeld. It was also once used in the movie, "Tender is the Night", with Jennifer Jones and Jason Robards, but I told you all that already unless you haven’t been paying attention. The ball promises to be the most talked about party in Europe this year, and even if it isn’t, it will be the most paparazzi-infested event Monaco has seen in many a moon.

Princess Caroline’s children are the next generation of the tabloidal principality’s media stars. Her son, Andrea Pierre Albert is (loudly) whispered to be heir-apparent to the throne should Caroline’s brother, the enduring bachelor Prince Albert not marry and father an heir. These matters are not to be taken lightly as the agreement that the principality has with the Republic of France and its tax-free status depends entirely on a legitimate heir to the Grimaldi dynasty. No tickee no laundry, as they say back here in ole Manhattan, and everything gets returned to vive la France.

The Grimaldis have made these adjustments before, and more than once. In fact the current crop, despite their “Italian” background have their strongest links to the Hamiltons of England the Polignacs of France. And so, maybe one of these days, they’ll have some strong Italian ties, whence it came all those centuries ago when one of them donned a phony monk’s robe, under which he hid a dagger, knocked on the palace door one dark and stormy night, and once it was opened, flashed the dagger and took over the place. Changing regimes it’s called today. Back then it was simply “your place or mine.” Or, “your palace or your life” (or both).

Elsewhere around the Riviera, Amanda Lear is in Provence. Julio Iglesias, Michael Douglas, Penelope Cruz, Athina Onassis Roussel and Gwyneth Paltrow are relaxing in Ibiza, right along with the drag queens and the glittery Eurotrash. If you wanna call anything in Ibiza relaxing. Meanwhile Oliver Martinez and Kylie Minogue are in Corsica which is just as quiet as it was when they sent old Napoleon there in exile two centuries ago.

A little farther south, back at our old (a few minutes ago) stomping ground in Sardinia, Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber, Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart, have been dude-ing up the place along with Gerard Depardieu, Valentino and Giancarlo and entourage, Penny Lancaster and Rod Stewart, Christopher Lambert, Ronaldo from Brazil and Brigitte Nielson as in whatever-happened-to ...? Sardinia, baby; that’s what happened to, along with the Arab sheiks, Russian billionaires and the American cyber-moguls. It’s sunny and green (and blue blue blue).

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