"Bonjour, Laurent."
Heading down for breakfast, the doors of the lift opposite the one I was in opened at the same time as I was stepping out. And so Ferrari race director and future AlphaTauri team principal Laurent Mekies had the pleasure/chore (I daren't assume) of strolling through the hotel lobby with me at his shoulder.
My hotel appears to be a popular one with a few of the teams. Plenty of Ferrari and Haas staff have been milling around as well as a few wearing Aston Martin green. Not many of the drivers need hotel rooms this week, of course – most of them live in Monaco, or at least have some form of accommodation here.
Friday meant F1 cars on track for the first time at this year's Grand Prix weekend. With many roads closed for the race and those that remain open clogged up with more McLarens and Aston Martins, the best way to get to the centre of the action was by sea.
I don't think I'll ever forget the view from the water of the city against the backdrop of the domineering mountains. And the vision of a pristine Ferrari F40 parked on the bow of one of the larger yachts docked in Port Hercule is also one likely to stick with you.
If you can afford to do that then sure, why not? Using the most beautiful road car ever made as a glorified paperweight on your multi-million pound boat goes down as one of the most sickeningly impressive displays of unnecessary wealth you're ever likely to see.
Other than when in the grandstands to watch free practice, Friday was spent on the infamous Red Bull Energy Station. Credit to them – they're as good at putting on a show as they are at building really, really fast Formula 1 cars.
One talking point on social media was that the pool usually sited on the Energy Station has been filled by white plastic balls this year, rather than with actual water. It has become a tradition for the driver and team members to jump into that pool if they win at Monaco, so there's every chance we'll see Max Verstappen or Sergio Perez celebrating a race victory like a six-year-old's birthday party at a ball pit.
Daniel Ricciardo is here this weekend as one of his events to attend in his role as a brand ambassador as well as a reserve driver. He took part in a short Q&A event between sessions, as did team boss Christian Horner and AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda – notably, the audience was much, much larger for the Aussie's appearance. He's still a popular lad.
As is Sebastian Vettel. He's been spending some time away from the F1 world since retiring from the sport at the end of last year. But he's shown his face in the paddock this weekend – much to the delight of fans on social media, it seems.
We spent a brief bit of time with Ricciardo away from the crowds shortly before FP1. He was on fine form, as always – cracking jokes at every opportunity and showing off his trademark smile. He's got the right personality for this work and is very good at it, but he definitely gives you the feeling that he is itching to be doing more, though. "Hopefully next season," as he said.
Watching cars on track from the grandstands was a very different experience for me but also a thrilling one. It helped that the seats, along the straight between the second 'swimming pool' chicane and the Turn 17 'Rascasse' corner provided an incredible view of the pit lane.
On Friday, it was interesting to see the little details like the practice tyre changes when the cars came into the pit lane.
On Sunday, especially at a track like this where the race can be won or lost in the pit lane – ask Charles Leclerc about last year – it may well be one of the best seats in the house.
Saturday's action next and that means qualifying. Pole here is seen as having an extra layer of importance because of how hard it is to overtake on the Monaco track.
But it's worth remembering only two of the pole-sitters since 2015 have gone on to win the race, so whoever tops the timesheets on Saturday afternoon has by no means sealed their success this weekend.
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