CANNES: The French Riveria
First thing that springs to mind about Cannes is the world famous Cannes International Film Festival, Celebrities and the Red Carpet. Those were the furthermost from our minds the morning when we boarded the 7.31am TER Inter-City train at Marseille-St Charles station. We were looking for the Ventimiglia, Italy bound train focusing on getting to Cannes.
With our Eurail passes in hand this was a trip where we could just hop on for a free 2 hour train trip. Decked out with our beach towels, snacks, togs and Thongs (eeerrhh Flip Flops) we seemed to fit in with the other passengers who were also geared up in beach wear. Their reason may have been different to ours – we wanted to get out of Marseille (have I mentioned that before ??) whereas they would have been heading to the beaches because at this time it was at the height of the European summer holidays.....and Thongs (not Flip Flops) were standard dress for the beach.
 |
| Cannes waterfront |
But before we could even get on the train we had to first dodge the beggars, Maccas and the usual malingerers hanging around the station.
The journey took us through Toulon and St. Raphael and with views of the Mediterranean Sea where on one side were small coves and inlets, Cruise ships and Super Yachts. On the other were vineyards, orchards and olive groves. We were skirting Provence. Just beautiful.
Unlike Marseille, Cannes was welcoming and was in stark contrast to the city we had just left. The first thing we did was to get absorbed into the Palm Tree lined streetscapes, the narrow lane ways, cafes, the high end shopping precincts and landscaped gardens and promenades. In the afternoon we would hit the sandy beaches and get the last scheduled train back to Marseille.
 |
| Typical Summer day at the beach - Cannes |
The landmarks and attractions were aplenty but we admired some of the more famous ones such as the historic Hotel de Ville on the waterfront and visited the Chateau de la Castre which sits high on a hill with its prominent clock tower overlooking the city.
 |
| Hotel de Ville |
We hung around the Promenade de la Pantiero - the waterfront boardwalk with wooden sculptures and to just people watch, admire the yachts.
We even walked past the waterfront Casino but we weren't exactly dressed for the occasion. And of course, we walked the Palais of Festivals where the Cannes International Film Festival is held. Here we followed the cast hand prints of famous movie stars, and like most other tourists there we compared our hands with their hand prints.
 |
| Artists-In-Residence near Cannes Marina |
We even walked past the waterfront Casino but we weren't exactly dressed for the occasion. And of course, we walked the Palais of Festivals where the Cannes International Film Festival is held. Here we followed the cast hand prints of famous movie stars, and like most other tourists there we compared our hands with their hand prints.
There was something interesting we discovered just around the corner and behind the Palais of Festivals and not necessarily on the tourist trail.
There were more hand prints of ‘just-as-famous’ people and seem to have been ignored by the public and neglected for some reason. What a contrast and look at the difference between the two. Quite surprising because some of the names included Susan Sarandon, Peter Sellers and George Hamilton. You may be asking "Who are they?" LOL.
I also got a chance to walk the red carpet. OK, so the Film Festival wasn’t on but how could I miss an opportunity to walk on those famous steps…..!!
 |
| Cannes back streets |
 |
| Walking the famous Red Carpet |
 |
| Movie Star Hand prints |
 |
| The 'Other' movie star hand prints |
And a special note for Vera in Boston….We spotted this guy in Cannes trying to copy your Glass Harmonica style of music, but he was a total amateur and way off key, and we reckon he doesn’t even know how to play Waltzing Matilda.
 |
| Glass Harmonica Impersonator |
(For folks who haven't read our Boston Blog check it out at - http://tonyandliztraveladventures.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/boston-ma.html)
With our Visa Cards now sorted we were able to withdraw from the ATMs– just had to get a ‘blingy’ CANNES t-shirt each to wear at home. LOL !!
Cannes was a breath of fresh air, sea breezes and the smell of coconut oil, and filled with "beautiful" people. It was bustling and beautiful at the same time. We only wish we had booked here for a few days instead of the city 2 hours back the other way and which we would be very reluctantly heading back to in the evening. Tomorrow we’d be making our way to Nice or as Kath and Kim would say……."NOICE!!!"
 |
| Cruise ship berthed off Cannes |
If it is anything like Cannes, it will be.
Ciao, 'till next time!!!
Liz and Tony
 |
| We had the blue umbrella |
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
NICE
Population: Approx 370,000, but almost doubles during the European summer.
The next morning after another restless and noisy night we caught the same early train out of Marseille only this time we were bound for Nice only a half hour further north-east of Cannes.
Making our way to the station, we were positive it was that same gypsy party at the bottom of the historic steps from the day before too. We pondered the thought if they ever sleep? We could only guess not especially if there are 24hr around the clock opportunities for a sting. And we could only guess that the party continued because the previous day had been “pick pocket” profitable.
 |
| Views of the coastline en route to Cannes |
On the train we passed those picturesque beaches, bays, vineyards and mountains again, and we were excited about getting to Gare Nice-Ville.
 |
| Gare Nice-Ville station |
This time we bypassed the main shopping area and Cathedral on Avenue Jean Medecin and headed straight for the beach about 200mtrs down the road, following everyone wearing swimmers and carrying towels with the exception of stopping a couple of times for some photo opportunities along the way.
This one, the huge nude Apollo statue in the Place Massena caught our eyes. (see photo below). Apparently this marble creation caused public outrage when it was erected (no pun intended) in 1956 only to be replaced for public view in 2011.
This one, the huge nude Apollo statue in the Place Massena caught our eyes. (see photo below). Apparently this marble creation caused public outrage when it was erected (no pun intended) in 1956 only to be replaced for public view in 2011.
 |
| Marble statue of Apollo |
Pretty much every street from the station headed straight for the beach (plage) towards the Baie des Anges. So we headed for the nearest one ie. Opera Plage (beach) and called that for obvious reasons – it was across the road from the Nice Opera House....and it was where everyone seemed to be going.
We were used to long sandy stretches of beach back home but Nice was different, even different to Cannes beaches. And they were all so crowded....!
We were used to long sandy stretches of beach back home but Nice was different, even different to Cannes beaches. And they were all so crowded....!
Instead of sand, the beach was covered in rocks (sand on steroids) and ranged in size of plums to large potatoes. Seriously….and believe it or not, this didn’t stop anyone from lying the beach or going into the water. And just when you would think the stones stop at the waterline – WRONG ! Those rocks are a killer on your feet and Crocs and Flip Flops (Thongs) were the “must-have” accessory in AND out of the water. And nearly every souvenir store here sold Crocs and Flip Flops for good reason.
 |
| Nice (Noice) beach in Nice with Supersized Sand |
With the heat of the day we just had to go into the water, and because we hadn’t expected the smooth huge grains of sand we didn’t come prepared did we. No Crocs or Thongs. Instead we just tread water for a long time.
 |
| CROCS the standard beach wear |
Just as in Cannes, Nice had the quaint and appealing little backstreets filled with cafés, wine bars, boutiques and souvenir shops. No shiny new multi-level buildings here. Just historical facades and historical architecture with a lot of charm. Plenty open space, manicured gardens and fountains.
Add to that an efficient tram system that runs continuously between the beaches and the burbs.
 |
| Tramway through Nice |
Our only little disappointment was that we had just missed the local fruit and vege market which was winding up for the day. Our yearning to get to the beach was just too much!!
And here, for the first time in Europe we noticed the large concentration of Chinese/Asian restaurants and take-aways. Of all places the French Riveria! But then it clicked – it is a known fact that the Chinese love to gamble. Take Macau for example. And here in this region there is also a huge concentration of Casinos all the way from Cannes to the Monte Carlo in Monaco. It all seemed to make sense – maybe we were getting too much sun or something but we just loved this place – busy, chic, trendy, but laid back at the same time. And we just had to partake in Asian cuisine too, we found a very nice authentic Vietnamese Pho restaurant.
Late that afternoon we were back on the train for the 2 ½ hr trip back to Marseille and our last night at the St Charles Terminus (“Terminal”). At the least the beaches were a good distraction.
On reflection it would have been great to stay another couple of days in Marseille.
No, No!! It’s not what you’re thinking – not for the fact that we liked it !!! Just for the fact that if we had some extra days we could have gone a little further on the trains and get to Monaco or the end of the train line in Italy ie. Ventimiglia, and only 70kms away. For us these days 70 kms is "Bugger-all" in comparison to how far we’ve travelled so far.
But lying on the beach, taking in the sun rays with eyes closed (catching up on lost sleep) listening to the French and Italian conversations spoken around us – it was easy to imagine we were already in Italy. Nevertheless the Italian leg of our adventure starts in 7 days time. Lots more to see and do in the meantime.
At this point of our adventure we were looking forward to spending a day in Lyon before travelling to Zurich, Switzerland for a week. Here we would meet up again with Glen and Stefanie from our Peru trip. Really looking forward to catching up again. Can’t believe that was 4 months ago !
( Machu Picchu - http://tonyandliztraveladventures.blogspot.com.au/2012_05_01_archive.html)
From Marseille to Lyon (approx. 315 kms) we board the 11.06am TGV (Train Go Very fast) which has a land speed of over 300 kms per hour, and other than by plane, thankfully, was the quickest way for us to get out of Marseille - LOL).
Voila !!!!
Our next instalment about Lyon coming soon.
PS> (see, we are picking up the lingo - must be all those breads, cheeses and wines we've been consuming in France)
 |
| Foodies Heaven, bars, cafes in Nice |
No comments:
Post a Comment