I have been in France for almost an entire month. It's been such an amazing time and also so busy. About two weeks ago my computer crashed. I've been using friends' computers and the computer lab to keep up correspondence, but that's made it difficult to write this blog. There is so much to say, but let's take things still one day at a time.
On our first full day at the college, we took a walking tour of Cannes. Below are some pictures. A general discretion on all pictures: they do not do justice to the beauty which is France and this place.
Our first stop on this tour was the library. Our tour guide spoke only in French, and after still trying to get over jet lag, and still working on remembering my French, I think missed most of the information on the tour. Regardless, it's a beautiful building, which unfortunately I haven't been to since this first day. It's on a long "to do" list for this short time I'm here.
After that, we continued our walk towards the center of town. The College is about a solid 20 minute walk to the center of town where you can find the local Monoprix (like a Target), churches, a plethora of restaurants, and local watering holes... Along the way there was some really cool art work painted on the side of the buildings. Cannes is home to the infamous Cannes Film Festival held in the spring. Yes, missing the film festival and also missing the beautiful fall colors of Minnesota. I think they should move this program to the spring. Also note the store visible in this first picture - Leader Price. It's a grocery store that's about 10 minutes from the College. It's a great place to go for 3 french baguettes for 1 euro, a small wheel of cheese, and a nice bottle of beaujolais for 2.15 euro. Now that's a french meal and economy shopping! Now that's Leader Price! - I should really go into marketing.
The streets are just like they are in pictures. Surprise! However, to see them in reality is so wonderful. So, I took pictures to further pass them. This first picture is of the beginning of the main road through Cannes. If you look closely at the very first building on the bottom left, it's a restaurant called Jonathan's. I've not eaten there yet, and I'm not sure what they serve, but it is a definite requirement for me before leaving. After all, it's my name and it's spelled correctly! Also, across from Jonathan's is the building with the second mural on it (the picture right above this). Just trying to help give you bearings for what it's worth!
I had mentioned the Cannes Film Festival earlier. The films are shown in the Palais. The first picture is of the building from up on a hill. Also notice the hug yachts that all privately owned, as well as Cannes' beautiful coast line. The second is of the stairs that many famous movie stars have walked on.
One of the highlights of our trip into town was seeing the Market that occurs every Saturday morning both in Cannes, but also in Nice as I later learned. It was the first time I cried being in Cannes. It surpassed being surreal to simply being beautiful. Fresh flowers, fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, fresh olives, fresh seafood... well, everything but the smell of seafood. It was so beautiful. The space is covered and is spans about the space of an entire square city block. Simply beautiful.
While the seafood didn't smell great, seeing swordfish heads was definitely a first for me!
And finally, spices! It removed the smell of fish from my nose, which caused me to love them even more.
Eventually we had to leave, though I think I could have stayed in that market until it closed. I wanted to buy something, but was far too afraid of my French, and was not going to be the ignorant American who excepts all to speak English. So, I enjoyed with my eyes and nose and walked through the market with a tear of joy in my eye and a huge grin on my face.
As we continued to walk around Cannes, we found this statue of Lord Brougham. I received a translation from a friend of mine who knows french better than I do and apparently this man was sent away from his original home because he had some illness. He settled in what was Cannes and then invited all his rich friends to come and live here. I'm assuming he was better by the time they showed up, though I'm not entirely sure how that worked. Consequently, there is a statue and with a small pond in front of him near the heart of the town. The crows who sit on his head certainly add a lovely touch to it all. Either way, Way to go Lord Brougham! Oh, if you could only know how great Cannes has become!
It was a great morning walk, and it has continued to be a great city to discover. I leave you with a final shot of the city from higher up:
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