The Scenic Riviera
Trip Start
Apr 30, 2004
1
20
34
Trip End
May 09, 2004
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Cannes,
France
Wednesday, May 5, 2004
By 9:00 am we are on the road again. We drive the promenade at Juan des Pins, which must be lively in the season, though presently it is somewhat moribund. We follow the coastline and soon we are entering fabled Cannes with luxury oceanfront condominiums on one side and piers with luxury yachts on the other. The sun is beginning to come out, but it is still a bit chilly and breezy. We plan to stroll the famed Boulevard de la Croisette, the promenade between the world renown hotels and the sandy beach, which is a mess, as they are constructing stages and seating for the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. Parking underground at the Noga Hilton, beside the swanky Carlton Intercontinental, we feel our darling Renault deserves nothing but the best.
http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/alpmarit/cannes/cannes.htm
01. Cannes
.http://www.festival-cannes.fr/default4.php
After wandering along the semi-deserted promenade, we enter the town. One of the first things we find is an elegant thrift shop. A thrift shop in Cannes is a bit different from elsewhere. All the items are designer labels, and an exclusive dress by Yves St. Laurent is probably a steal at € 500.00. Miryam bought a snappy pair of pointy shoes, totally a la mode, and unfortunately unusable. Her feet aren't quite pointy enough to enter them comfortably. Perhaps she can bind her feet like the Chinese did.
We encounter a fascinating street market, truly a wonderland of everything under the sun, from fruit to fashions. Leaving the ladies here, Bryan and I wander off in pursuit of his special sneakers. We try endless shoe shops, even the Cannes branch of Galeries Lafayette, to no avail. It seems his feet are just too big for France. Perhaps he should do like his Mum, and bind them down to a size 11.
With a couple of kilos of fresh strawberries and some colourful handbags in hand, we return to our elegant parking lot beneath the Noga Hilton
02. Rest stop on the Coastal Road
. We feel the €8.00 parking fee was well worth the price. We all enjoyed our short sojourn in Cannes, and wished we had more time. But our programme calls for a drive along the spectacular coastal highway past St-Raphaël Fréjus and Ste-Maxime to St-Tropez. At Ste-Maxime we see a municipal sign pointing the way to a restaurant, orthopedic medical centre and a sex shop. Business is business in France, and after having your feet seen to you can pop in for bit of sex, and top it off with a nice lunch.http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/var/straph/straph.htm, http://www.provenceweb.fr/e/var/stemaxim/stemaxim.htm
From Ste-Maxime you can see St-Tropez across the bay. By fast boat it would probably take you 5 minutes. By road, it's another 30 minutes. We are very lucky it's not more. The summer traffic jams in and out of St-Tropez are notorious and well known throughout France. It's not the high season yet, and although it is slow, we eventually arrive at the car park beside the harbour and find plenty of room for our trusty steed.
