 |
| Cannes |
When life is otherwise not-relaxing, I look back at photos from happier times. I spent part of my vacation last month in the south of France and didn't want to leave. The weather was clearing up as we arrived, and when it was nice out, it was
perfect- hot and sunny but not stifling with heat, so it was perfect for sightseeing/exploring, but also tempting to just relax and have a drink outside. It's clear why the area is a
big vacation spot and why Fitzgerald, Hemingway & Co. liked it so much.
For a few days, we made Cannes our home base and took day trips around the area, alternately getting a head start on the day, or deciding to sleep in. One day we headed over toward Italy to Nice (actually got a ride with our Airbnb host) and Monaco (by train from Nice), and another day, we went to Ile Sainte-Marguerite (by boat). In Cannes itself we just wandered - through Le Suquet (up to the abbey at the top of the hill), down the Croisette, back through Rue d'Antibes... I loved seeing modern businesses like bars and boutiques in all the old buildings.
It's easy to find gorgeous photos of Cannes' festivals elsewhere online - the ones below are the ones I could snap while walking around trying to take everything in:
 |
| locals playing petanque on the Croissette |
 |
| Carlton hotel lobby - go have a drink there! |
 |
| Sunday morning at Marche de Forville |
 |
| They look delicious! Marche de Forville, Cannes |
 |
| Vocab lesson via signs at Marche de Forville, Cannes |
 |
| Marche de Forville |
 |
| Marche de Forville |
 |
| squash blossoms at Marche de Forville - they were delicious as fried beignets |
 |
| view of Cannes from the Radisson Blu |
 |
| Cannes murals |
 |
| restaurants in Le Souquet |
 |
| Foie gras at Le Marais restaurant |
 |
| old palace (now a private home) in Cannes |
 |
| Nice (Eurocup 2016 signage in the back) |
 |
| Nice flea market |
 |
| Nice |
 |
| Monte Carlo (catch Le Casino in the mirror) |
 |
| inside Le Casino |
 |
| back of Le Casino |
 |
| Monaco train station |
 |
| looking back at Cannes from the boat to Ile Ste Marguerite |
 |
| on the shores of Ile St Marguerite |
 |
| Ile Ste Marguerite |
 |
| Ile Ste Marguerite |
Some travel tips/highlights:
- Lodging: Just skip the hotel and go for an Airbnb. We stayed just north of Le Suquet, and it was a very easy walk down to it and the water. This helped us avoid a car rental.
- Transportation: You could get away with not having a car (like we did) for a few days, but for more daytrips it would be helpful to have one. At least in Cannes most of the stuff you want to do is walking distance from downtown and the old town (Le Suquet). We were fortunate to have a very gracious and friendly Airbnb host who offered us a ride to Nice and then a ride to the train station when we were leaving town. We took the regional train along the coast, as well as the bus around Antibes, but it would have been nice to travel on our own schedule and see more towns, so if we go back and spend more than 4 days, I'll get a rental car.
- Local Must Do: DEFINITELY go to Marche de Forville, especially on Sunday morning. It's a great place to watch the locals and see the delicious offerings. We just thought we'd pick up some cheese and fruit (we did) but we also were able to get fried squash blossoms that were huge, at least versus what I'm used to back home, and different flavored varieties of saucisson (French dried sausage).
