It is on this island that the presumed Man in the Iron Mask was presumed to have been kept. If you've seen the movie with Leonardo DiCaprio, this man in the iron mask could have been King Louis XIV twin brother. It's a good movie, but the accuracy of it is in question. It is Hollywood after all, most movies aren't entirely factual. Then again, there's the problem that no one really knows who was in the mask, so it's a good as guess as anyone's.
The island is about a 15 minute boat ride from Cannes. We also traveled here on our first weekend. Needless to say, I am rather far behind in updating, because we've been here for almost 6 weeks now, and I'm still not finished with the opening weekend. It my hopeful defense, it was a rather full weekend, as you can well see. The island can be seen from the coast on Cannes as well as its sister island, Saint Honorat, which hosts a lovely monastery and vineyards. I'll be posting pictures of that island at a later time.
Here is a picture of the "prison" where the he was kept. We were not allowed to take pictures from the inside, so unfortunately this is all I can show you. It was not the best of accommodations, I can tell you that. Tiny room, with what was probably a bed made of straw, and the restroom facilities consisted of a hole in the corner. There was a window, however! Although, there were a double set of cross bars, so he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Further, there was a nice breeze from inside the room, which is more than I can say for my current room, so maybe it wasn't such a bad living situation after all. I'm only kidding, I'd never want to live there.
Equally enjoyable as the museum was the lovely band that seemed to have set up shop on the island right across form the museum. My ears were bleeding by the time we left... Maybe that's why they were forced to practice on the island. The people of Cannes said they had enough and shipped them right next to the prison with the man in the iron mask. Yes, it's making more sense the more I think about it. And, the museum was much more enjoyable than the band...
The rest of the time was spent walking around and taking in the island. It has stayed rather undeveloped, which provides for really great walking trails and scenery with the ocean surrounding you. We walked around the perimeter of the island. It was fascinating to notice the change in whether or not there was wind as well as a temperature fluctuation of about ten degrees depending on what side of the island you were on.
As you can see from the tree blow, many of the trees looked right out of a Dr. Seuss book! I mean, look at it! Apparently, the strong winds from off the sea are strong enough to actually control how the trees grow. I was kind of surprised that as old as the island is (dating to what, the dawn of time, I suppose?!) that the trees and vegetation weren't larger. Then, as you look at your feet, you realize that the sand and clay soil shouldn't be supporting life of any kind anyway. Which, makes it all the more impressive that there are trees to begin with, especially out of a Dr. Seuss book. I wonder if he came to visit this island...
Also, can you see the little table right there in the background? Yup, had a sack lunch there looking out across the sea. Have I mentioned yet how much I love France? Well, more on that in a later blog I suppose...
The only thing left to show is how picturesque this island is. I should think about a career in photography. France just lends itself so well to pictures, and you don't even have to try. I can't imagine what a real photographer could gain from this island. Paths are lined with trees for a far as the eye can see. It's like the road that's ahead of me; seemingly clearly paved, yet you walk a little further and run across bushed which block what is around the next corner. I may never know what is coming next, but something in France tells me, the next adventure will be just a beautiful if not more stunning than the picturesque moment right before the curve.
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