Cannes - Lifestyles of the Rich, Famous and Tanned!

"So, where's the Cannes Film Festival being held this year?" - Christina Aguilera

Foodie moment

I had promised myself, as soon as I got to the coast, I was going to get myself some Moules et Frites (Mussels and Fries). First day in Cannes, and they were on my radar. Mark noticed them in a great restaurant that had a live band playing (more on them later). I chose Moules Mariniere, and the huge pile in front of me didn't disappoint! Biggest news of the night, Mark tried mussels for the first time and enjoyed them!

One of the traditional dishes of Nice is the Salad Nicois. We've been trying to eat cheap for either lunch or dinner each day (we have breckie at the van) and often the kiosks are the best for this. As i was getting a bit sick of burgers, pizza and baguettes, I looked closer at the menu and found they served salad as well. The size and quality was amazing, and needless to say we have had a few more of them since! Plus Mark has also realised that he quite likes tuna!

Cultural moment

As I mentioned earlier, the restaurant we chose for my Moules and Frites had a live band playing. They were a fun Latin style band with maracas, bongo drums, keyboard and vocals. It was somewhat background music for much of the night as most people enjoyed their dinners, but at around 9.30pm suddenly the vibe changed. The music got louder and the staff handed out Mexican hats, suddenly everyone was dancing and singing - Saturday night had got under way! It was interesting to see that what looked like a normal restaurant earlier became their bar/nightclub later on. The French see their meals as part of their Saturday night entertainment and the fun goes from there....

Mark has been very excited to see that Rollerblading is still cool (making a revival?) in France. Down on the coast there are people cruising down the board walk, looking very nineties and baywatchesque (if you ask me), but I Mark is dying to try some moves.

Wow moment

We weren't sure what to expect with Cannes, as we knew very little about it but it was a really pretty place. The marina had its fairshare of yacht eye candy to check out, and the smell of money was in the air, but it was also very relaxed, down to earth and affordable, if you wanted. We managed to unintentionally rock up 4 days before the International Film Festival began, which was lucky as we got to see the preparations going ahead, but still managed to get in to accommodation and the city. Big tip, a lot of money has gone into 'The Gatsby' to do well at the festival- I'm guessing Leo and Tobey would have been hidden somewhere in the countless hotels that line the beach. A walk up to the Chateau on the hill gave us breathtaking views of it all, framed by the beautiful blue sky and ocean we have now begun to expect.

What we learnt today

The majority of beaches in Cannes are private, owned by hotels and beaches, where you must be a customer to use them. We went to find the public beach 'near' our camp-site at La Bocca. Needless to say it was incredibly hard to get to as the giant cross country train lines run parallel to its, separating it from the town. To get past them, you must find an underpass and after some poor directions and an hour of walking, we finally made it there! Once there we realised the public beaches weren't the best beaches either, with a tiny strip of sand, and water which went from ankle deep to head height in one step. We were just happy to finally make it there, have a (warm) beer and soak up the afternoon sun!