Blogs from Cannes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, Europe

Today we turned left when we came to the seafront and can now safely report that we have “Done Cannes”. Not been here before though we’ve been along most of the south coast of France at one time or another. No doubt that the best, indeed the only way to get along this coast is on 2 wheels. Traffic jam ? Not on a scooter which is narrow enough to zip along the outside of the queue. We rode right along the bay and considered stopping for a swim but decided against. I was very suitably attired for a scooter ride and a sea swim in my costume (as a sun top) and shorts but once wet…… so we decided to wait. We hit a real traffic jam as we went past the old port as ... read more

Excursion to Nice and Eze and perfume factory today We slept in this morning we were a little bit late for breakfast but Giancarlo said don't worry about it, we arrived at our meeting point a smidgen late but never mind we are in yacht club and can do whatever we want, today we have to take a tender boat to the port of Cannes that was a little bumpy. We got on the bus and headed off to Nice, it is very beautiful here you can see why people rave about it the sea is 3 shades of blue, beautiful dark blue then lighter, then very light blue near the shore and crashing to white waves just stunning, we had an hour in Nice to look around found some Nic-Nac shops, we lost two passengers ... read more

Cannes makes headlines every May when it swarms with thousands of movie stars, wannabees, film moguls, fans and reporters, all there for the prestigious Film Festival. The rest of the year it’s a very livable city of about 80,000 with a bit of everything the Riviera has to offer. More at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannes. Many of the “belle époque” palaces such as the Earl of Brougham’s “Villa Eleonore-Louise” are still standing, though most now serve as office or apartment buildings. In addition to some of Europe’s finest hotels, the beachfront Croisette boulevard boasts elegant shops frequented by the owners of visiting yachts, and of course it’s also the site of the Film Festival Theatre. Here’s more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannes_Film_Festival/u... read more

This morning we have arrived in a new destination. Although Roisin and I have been to France many times before, we have never visited Cannes, on the French Riviera. Home to many famous artists through the ages such as Claude Monet and, in his later years, Pablo Picasso who are supposed to have been inspired by the vivid colours and clean fresh air of the region. Where Picasso is concerned I'm not too sure that it would have mattered where he got his inspiration from whether it was sitting on top of a gas works, in a cave or in an igloo, I'm sure the results would have been the same. Nowadays Cannes is most famous for its annual film festival where it is chic for the rich and famous to be seen promoting their latest ... read more

Friday, September 28, 2012 The ship arrived in Cannes, France this morning and we were met by the sight of numerous sailboats. We learned a Regatta was going on this weekend. Since we had no booked tours, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the dining room. At ll:00 we tendered to the dock, and spent the next 3 hours walking the near downtown streets of Cannes. Along the waterfront we stopped at the Casino Les Princes and actually won 56 Euros. That was fun! So were some of the views along the beach, you know what I mean! A quick lunch once back aboard, watched the boys enjoy the waterslides, then a short nap before dinner. Graffiti Classics was an entertaining show we went to after dinner. It was a quartet that played classical music in ... read more