Morning after the night before: Carla Bruni tours earthquake ruins after romantic G8 dinner with her husband
10th July 2009
She spent the evening with G8 leaders and the first ladies' club before enjoying dinner time with her husband.
But Carla Bruni was still up early to tour the earthquake-shattered town of L'Aquila where the summit is being hosted.
Nicolas Sarkozy's wife, who was dressed in a chic white suit, was shown round the badly damaged town by an entourage of firemen and officials.
Flying solo: Carla Bruni is presented with a bouquet of flowers as she takes a tour of L'Aquila
Shattered: The French first lady was shown buildings damaged by a devastating earthquake earlier this year
Last night she had dined in the same restaurant as Gordon Brown's wife Sarah but still managed to avoid her.
By sheer coincidence the pair picked the same venue while their partners attended a gala dinner at the G8 summit hosted by Italian president Giorgio Napolitano.
The pair arrived within an hour of each other and were seated at different tables at opposite ends of the Baco del Seta restaurant, a country venue built within a derelict castle on the outskirts of G8 summit venue L'Aquila.
Former model Carla has raised eyebrows for failing to attend the first two days of the G8 summit at which her fellow first ladies enjoyed a full and varied programme.
They had an audience with Pope Benedict XVI, a tour of the Roman Forum and tea with Clio Napolitano, wife of Italy's President, while yesterday they toured the earthquake ravaged city of L'Aquila.
But all the way through Carla was nowhere to be seen prompting Italian daily La Repubblica to accuse her of belonging 'to a new generation of first lady who are not willing to follow protocol.'
Romantic: Carla and husband Nicolas Sarkozy pose for a photograph after having dinner
Last night Sarah Brown arrived at the restaurant with a small group and enjoyed an aperitif by the pool, while Carla also did the same when she arrived an hour later.
The French first lady told one diner: 'I had never been to L'Aquila it's a marvelous place and I am really saddened by the terrible tragedy that has hit the area.'
Chef Pino Giangrossi rustled up two different menus for the ladies with Sarah and her party enjoying steamed scampi with citrus fruits and artichoke, followed by medallions of lobster Catalan.
Carla had spaghetti, followed by steak with rocket and shavings of Parmesan.
Chef Mr Giangrossi said: 'Carla told me that she would love to have a holiday in Italy and maybe even come back to L'Aquila but the problem was her husband was always too busy.'
While Sarah and Carla were in L'Aquila, Michelle Obama, again brought chaos to Rome for the second night running as she dined out in the trendy Trastevere district with her two daughters.
Malia, 10, and Sasha, seven, joined their mother after being given a tour of the famous Pantheon monument in the city centre which was ringed by police and secret service agents during their visit.
The party then had dinner at the San Michele restaurant before heading home to prepare for this afternoon's audience with Pope Benedict XVI when he will meet President Barack Obama.
Late entrance: First lady of France Carla Bruni-Sarkozy arriving at the G8 summit tonight
George Clooney yesterday brought a touch of Hollywood glamour to proceedings when he too turned up to tour L'Aquila.
He was joined by fellow actor Bill Murray.
The Ocean's Eleven star and Ghostbusters actor arrived by helicopter after flying down from Clooney's villa at Lake Como in northern Italy, where he spends his summers.
Accompanied by local officials they visited the camp at St Eusanio Forconese near L'Aquila where they were given a superstar welcome by people living there.
Clooney and Murray posed for photographs, shook hands and listened as people described how they had lost their homes and the efforts being made to rehouse them.
Clooney said :'It seems very important to focus attention on an area so ravaged by the earthquake and if my presence gets media attention I'm happy.
'These guys want to go home. I live in California and I am used to earthquakes.'
Actors George Clooney and Bill Murray tour earthquake damage on the sidelines of a G8 summit this afternoon
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