Cannes

 

We are pretty lucky that we live so close to Cannes. We get down to Cannes several times month, especially in good weather. We often take the boys there to ride their bikes along the promenade while we roller blade, or just to play in the playgrounds. Of course, it is also where the famous film festival is, and we do brave the crowds and go down to see what all the hoopla is about. We could care less about any of the Hollywood weenies, but it is a good time to people watch. Cannes also has many wonderful restaurants, markets, and shopping. It is a beautiful place, and we really enjoy going there. Here are some of the pictures we have taken. It is also where we finally found an artist whose work we liked enough to buy several paintings to remind us of our time here when we return to California. Aside from the film festival, the most important thing to happen in Cannes was back in 1815. That was when Napoleon I, Bonaparte himself, escaped from his exile on the island of Elbe off the Italian coast, came ashore in France at Cannes, gathered up an army, and headed off for Paris and his welcome return.


Here is a picture of the main downtown part of Cannes. Most of the beaches are private and quite expensive to be on. But there are a few public beaches on each end. The big hotel to the left is the most famous hotel, the Carlton.


Here is a picture down one the one of the main streets in Cannes. It is usually jammed with cars and tourists, but the buildings give it alot of real flavor. There are several carousels in Cannes, and the boys always want to ride them. They usually get to. Here is Jeff riding the nicer one.

   


Here are some pictures of the family out and about. The first one is of Connor along the rocky shore, just behind the Palais du Festival. That is the famous Hotel Carlmont in the background with the dark, rounded towers. That is where Jeff had his swimming lessons. The second is of the boys and Patti at the opposite end of the bay.

       


What would a web page on Cannes be without a picture taken during the festival. We think this is a rather unique picture. It is taken from our house during the 2002 festival. The city had lined the entire Croisette, the walkway along the bay, with very powerful, computer controlled, multi-colored spotlights. As soon as it got dark the lights would come on, move around, and shine all over the sky. It was especially pretty during cloudy nights. Many times the lights would move around and end up shining right into our house, which is a bit odd when your living room suddenly turns purple.


Updated Thu Oct 3, 2002 00:35 CET