Crown jewel of the French Riviera
Trip Start
Jan 10, 2008
1
32
38
Trip End
Apr 22, 2008
Cannes,
France
Saturday, April 12, 2008
In the late 1940's, this became the site of the glitzy International Film Festival where movie stars mingle with models & moguls while the paparazzi have a field day. Monte Carlo, home of the Grand Casino & Monaco's Royal Palace is only 1-1/2 hrs. away.
Famous artists Picasso & Monet were inspired by the fresh air & quality of light-not to mention the gorgeous scenery. Some of France's finest perfumes are produced here. On my last trip, I fell in love with a particular Parfumerie, Fragonard, the oldest perfume maker in France (since 1926). Their perfume is made in nearby Grasse.
Naturally I had to to go there so I took a bus-a bargain at 1 Euro ($1.64) for the 45 min. trip. Winding my way around the scenic hills reminded me of Tuscany. All the flowers & trees are in full bloom & the colors were spectacular.
I had a private tour of the museum & factory & they kindly allowed me to take all the photos I desired. Since today is Sat., no one was working but it was still worthwhile.
One interesting area was the "perfume organ", so called because it resembles the keyboard of a seven-manual cathedral organ with its tiered rows of ingredient bottles arranged around a scale which the perfumer, called the "nose", uses when mixing & testing fragrances. I learned that it takes 440 lbs. of lavender flowers to produce 2.2 lbs. of lavender extract for use in perfume.
The "nose" trains their probosci for 7 yrs. to recognize about 6000 scents. Grasse also produces some of France's finest flowers including jasmine, rose, lavender, mimosa, orange blossum & narcissus.
At the end of the tour, I was squirted with a few scents & bought my favorite "eaux de toilette"-Soleil (what, you thought I could afford perfume? Ha!)Soleil has jasmine, freesia, wisteria, black currant, rose, lily, mimosa, orange blossum,sandalwood & amber.
Back in Cannes, I strolled along the harborfront & indulged on a Gran Marnier crepe. Oh yum.
We are leaving right now for Barcelona, Spain where we will arrive at noon tomorrow.
Linda
