Building a fort.

Considering Cannes can be one of the most frantic cities, playing host to the prestigious film festival, I was surprised to see how subdued it was.

We tracked down an internet café for Annelise, because ATMs are sketch and she needed to make sure it didn’t screw her over. I bought a big ol’ bottle of peach nectar before we walked over to the sandy beaches and relaxed for a few hours. It was an interesting few hours, with anything from topless old women to creepy suitors to juvenile urinators pulling their pants down kindergarten style and relieving themselves right on the beach. My favorite character was a cute old woman that asked me to take her picture on the shore. I felt like I was in a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition photo shoot, circa 1955.

We wandered around town, making sure to take an obligatory stroll on the red carpet of le Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, although we didn’t get very far since security was still pretty tight, even on a dead day like this.

We climbed to the top of a hill where a church sat, overlooking the city and the sea. An outlying wall bordered the church and we posted up there. Our conversation seems to elevate with the sea level. What I like the most about Adham is that he makes me think. I find so much out about myself talking to him.

From the wall, we watched a man on his terrace trim his bushes. I envied his life, if for no other reason than he owned one of the most picturesque views I had ever seen.

We watched kids construct a fort from old concrete blocks. After they finished, they didn’t know what to do with what they’d created. The fun was in the building, we realized. The finished product wasn’t the goal; it was just the end.

I never wanted my fort to be complete.

The sun set and our time on the hill was over. We headed back into town, craving sushi. We found a lovely Japanese restaurant away from the main strip of the city. There were two girls sitting at the table next to us with a massive platter of sushi served on a wooden boat. They effortlessly downed it all and left. The restaurant was ours now and its calm was almost hypnotizing, to go with the best sushi I’d ever had.

I was hesitant leaving the peace of Cannes. We caught the last train back to Nice and settled into our hotel for the night.

---

---