May 21, 2012 – Today the plan was to go back to Antibes and visit the Picasso museum.

But plans are made to be broken.

We decided to walk into Juan les Pins and check out the train station to get an idea of cost and schedules. When we arrived, the schedule indicated that the train went through on the way to Cannes about every half hour or so.

So, still picking sand out of our teeth from the winds yesterday, we decided to go to Cannes instead.

We went up to the booth and I said “Deux pour Cannes” and he said something back to me, and I stared at him blankly. Like I said, I have rudimentary French skills. He then said “Round trip?” OH! Yes please! “9.40 Euros”. Kirk said “For two” and the ticket agent looked at us like we were a bit stupid and said “Oui!” and handed us a ticket when we handed him a ten euro note. So it cost about 2.70 euros each way for each of us.

A British fellow had been in front of us and had asked which train to Cannes, the agent had said, “Not this next one.” When we went out onto the platform there were a lot of people, and a train rolled in shortly thereafter. The board said something other than Cannes, so we didn’t get on. But everyone else did, including the British fellow. When we were standing there alone, I realized that the board held more information, like the fact that the train that we didn’t get on had a stop in Cannes. Oh well, another one would be along in 30 minutes.

So, once we finally got on the train, it only took about ten minutes before we were deposited at a VERY busy station, at which the train basically emptied and we were carried along in a wave of people and out into one very, very busy city.

The Cannes Film Festival is in full swing, and the city has become swollen with people. Shopping is very high end here, the city is filled with money, and the goods are priced to take it from them. Jewellery and watches fill windows, prices in the tens of thousands of euros. The rain held off for a couple of hours, and then started to fall. Have you ever noticed that umbrellas seem unimportant until you need one? We went into a store to see if we could buy one and retreated when a simple little one cost 24 euros. Eventually we found a couple at half that cost. We needed them not only to keep our heads dry, but also to defend ourselves against others.

We walked down past the closed off Festival tents and into the marina and were simply agog at the vessels moored within. Many were being used as bases for film related parties and associated business shmoozing. Some had garages built into the transom, and some of these contained 20+ foot boats. Some had entertainment rooms instead of a garage. One had a glass hot tub with an outside waterfall. There were two sailboats docked in between all the monster power boats, and the sailboats were as big if not bigger than the biggest of the power boats. We were just amazed at the money sitting there. And then Kirk pointed at three cars and said “That Lamborghini in the middle is worth between $400 and $600 thousand dollars, and it’s flanked by two relatively cheap $150,000 Mercedes.” We walked to the end of the pier and looked out across to a massive (as if the others weren’t) vessel that was being cleaned. To put it into perspective, a “small” boat passed in front of it, closer to us, I say small, but it was somewhere between 30 and 36 feet, and it looked like a ten foot dinghy. Just astonishing how much money there is here!

We started looking for a late lunch at some point, and moved on when we saw one restaurant with hotdogs prices at 14 euros! Eventually we found something a little more realistic. Food is expensive here, but in general, portions are also generous enough that many things – like pizzas – are more than large enough to fill two people easily. So we had a bottle of wine and a smoked salmon and olive pizza, and sat and watched the rain from our safe haven.

Eventually the rain let up a bit and we ventured back out into the streets. High above the city, perched on a hill, stood an imposing church and we headed up both to look at it, and to see the view that it provided of the city below. And both were impressive. The narrow streets on the way up provided a respite from the noise and hustle below. It was a nice little interlude before we headed back down into the fray.

There are lots of dogs here. Not many big ones, and not many breeds though. We’ve seen a couple of Westies, two Dobermans, one Rottweiler, a bulldog, a whippet, two Jack Russels, and about 400 Yorkshire terriers. Not sure what makes them so popular, but they are everywhere!

Around 6pm we decided we’d had enough and headed back to the train station. The crush of people was a bit overwhelming and Kirk asked at the information booth where we should go to catch our train. She gave Kirk directions and said our train would be along in ten minutes. We found the right track and waited, and a train rolled in a few moments later. I didn’t think it was the right one, Kirk thought it was, so we got on. When the doors closed a man came along and asked to see our ticket. He gave us a rather haughty huff and told us that we were on the wrong train, but that it was too late, it was pulling out and would not stop in Juan les Pins. It would stop in Antibes instead.

Darn! So we disembarked at Antibes. I just didn’t feel like playing roulette and not buying the ticket back since there was a host of security guards on the platform, so we went inside and bought another ticket for the one stop back – a whole 2.40 euros for both of us.

When we were walking back to the hotel I noticed that all of the restaurants seemed to be closed, didn’t bode well for dinner later this evening. Kirk looked up a few online and they all said the same thing – closed Mondays. Figuring there had to be something open somewhere, we walked back along the waterfront and finally found three or four open. We had a reasonably priced (for here) dinner that was a bit too much food.

While eating we watched a man wobble down the pier man handling a metal road barrier along with him. Every so often he would stop and lean on it, apparently catching his wind. When he got to the end of the concrete, he fought to throw it over a barrier and then clambered after it. He pushed, pulled, and dragged it over the rocks until he was standing in the waves and then threw it off the end of the pier. Your guess is as good as mine. But that was our dinner entertainment and, other than a walk back to the hotel and a bottle of lovely wine provided by the owner of the hotel, pretty much the end of the day.

May 20, 2012 – We came to life around 7am this morning and Kirk went down to see if my luggage had arrived. It hadn’t. But by the time he walked back to the room, it had! Happy, happy! So once we had cleaned ourselves up we went down for breakfast and feasted on wonderful flaky croissants, fabulous coffee, and crusty baguettes with apricot jam. That took me back to Paris when I was a teenager.

Ahhh, I could now check that off the list!

It was a cloudy morning, the forecast was for 90% chance of rain. No biggie, it’s still the Mediterranean and it is a pleasant temperature. So we donned our warmer and wet protecting clothes and headed out for a walk along the beach. And that took us the rest of the day.

We wandered along the waterfront, admired the street art, and were mind-boggled by the size and array of mega-yachts at anchor in the bay. The beaches are empty, the rush of tourists not yet here, and the weather keeping those that are, indoors today. But the rows of loungers for rent are still tehre, available for the taking.

We watched a fellow racing a remote controlled speedboat around pylons, and we marvelled that the city not only provides more motorcycle and scooter parking than one could possibly imagine, but that it is all free, and much of it completely protected from car damage by being behind fences. Definitely more forward thinking than Vancouver City Council.At one point, we popped out in a small park and there, atop a pole, was a strange piece of art that took us back to our first trip to Greece in 2005 – a pink elephant – the name of our first charter sailboat.

We found ourselves in a large marina, with some impressive boats. We laughed at a pedestrian walk area that was barely shoulder width and Kirk quipped “Single file only”. We laughed even harder moments later when a car backing out forced us to do just that!

As we wandered around the marina at Cap D’Antibes a few raindrops started to fall, so we took shelter under a tree at the edge of the road along the water. The Villas above the fortress like walls were amazing. Eventually we decided to strike inland a bit and wandered up a road where we admired many wonderful rooftops and fabulous gates. Pretty sure we were captured on hundreds of video surveillance cameras. In other words, the Villas are big, walled in, and well protected. These people like their privacy and their security. At one turn we were face to face with two very large dobermans guarding a home – luckily they were behind a very high chain link fence.

As we walked through the narrow streets, slick after the short rainfall, past the amazing Villas, all with unique names on their gates, we realized that on one side of the road were some gardens. We had accidentally found the botanical gardens and decided to try and find the entrance. After going in a large circle we eventually found it (no signage whatsoever for directions), but it was closed on Sundays. So we will come back later perhaps. But we could see it was filled with some impressive trees, including a eucalyptus that looked s straight and white as a massive concrete power pole.

As we carried on we came to a fairly major road and decided to follow it – it took us down into Antibes on the other side of the peninsula where we were knocked around by the heavy winds. As we sat down on a bench at the edge of the sea and watched some crazy kite surfers, both of us were remembering that frightening night at anchor in 2005 off of Kythnos where we thought we might lose our sailboat in these winds. We looked at each other and said “We aren’t on a boat, there is no boat back at anchor waiting for us, stop feeling those butterflies!”

Farther along was what looked like a fortress on the edge of massive walls that went straight down to the crashing waves. There was a narrow road along the top of the walls below the fortress, and we walked along it as cars flew by, inches away. The waves sent water crashing up the walls and the wind carried it up and over – we had a pretty good sea shower. As we rounded a corner we could see a massive marina ahead, it was amazing! The closest boats to us were 26-35 footers, and they looked like dinghies. The next row back were in the range of 60-100 feet in length, and they looked puny in comparison to the ones docked behind them. The lives of the rich and famous were rich there in front of us. Incredible!

We turned a corner and found ourselves on a short street filled with restaurants. All I wanted were crepes, but none of them was a creperie, so we steeled on an Irish pub blaring electronic techno music from within. But the food was good, and Kilkenny trumps Amstel any day.

After that we wandered along, found the Picasso museum, and archaeological museum, an impressive church, a market, and many little shops and bakeries along twisting narrow streets.

On our walk back across the peninsula we again peered through gates at beautiful villas, admired fabulous gardens, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves int eh cool and damp afternoon. The rain started to fall heavily as we came back into Juan les Pins so we ducked into a restaurant where I finally got my crepe and a cafe crema, and Kirk had his espresso. All fabulous! Check that off the list too.

When the rains lifted we carried on and wandered the shops of town. We ended up in a Swatch shop – didn’t even know they were still around – and discovered that Swatches now have a grown up side too. We both left with a new treasure.

Back at the hotel, the lounge wasn’t yet open, and we weren’t hungry because of the crepes at 4pm. We wanted some wine, but the weather had returned, so Kirk went out to find a bottle of wine to bring back to the room. He came back with two bottles, because he said he just couldn’t spend less on wine than he did on an opener. The wine cost three euros each, the opener was eight. Wine is inexpensive here, but that’s about all that is.

Eventually we found ourselves hungry around 9pm, but with the rain coming down heavily, the thought of walking back down to the restaurants on the beach wasn’t appealing, so we looked for something closer. We found a little family restaurant around the corner (literally) and they found us a table for two in a corner. They didn’t speak any English, and my French is less than rudimentary, but we managed with much laughter and many smiles on both sides. I had a wonderful linguine au saumon that was almost more salmon than linguine, and Kirk had a fabulous linguine carbonara – and was a little surprised to receive it with a raw egg in the half shell sitting on top of the pile of pasta. You just wouldn’t get that back home. The wine was great, the food was fabulous, and the bill was surprisingly reasonable.

All that from “Let’s go for a walk.”

Pretty good day 2!

May 19. 2012 – Heathrow Airport for a connection to Nice. A relatively uneventful flight here, Kirk upgraded us to some really great seats with buckets of legroom. It was as comfortable as one could probably get on a nine and a half hour flight without being in First Class. Next stop, Nice!

When we landed in Nice, we waited for our luggage. Kirk found his quickly….mine didn’t materialize. Hmmmm, do I see a new wardrobe in my future?

When the carousel finally came to a stop, several of us were left without our bags. Over to the baggage services to discover that my bag stayed in London. Well, could have been worse, it could still be sitting in Vancouver, in which case I WOULD be shopping for a new wardrobe!

No biggie, it’s evening and it’s not too hot nor too cold, so I’m fine until morning. My bag will apparently arrive at midnight and be delivered to our hotel in the morning.

Our next challenge was getting from the airport to Juan le Pins where our home for the next week is located. We asked a taxi driver and were told it would cost 85 Euros. Seemed a little steep considering that Antibes is only about 5-10km. So we wandered over to the bus stop and decided to try our hand at finding our way there by ourselves. The woman at the ticket booth told us to get on the 250 bus and it would drop us at one of the two stops in Antibes, and another passenger told us to get off at the second stop and find a cab to the hotel from there.

So off we went, no map, no idea, but our driver called out Juan le Pins so off we got and stood there in the middle of a street wondering where we were. A sign indicated the centre of Juan le Pins, so we went in that direction and could see water in the distance. We knew our hotel was close to the water, and near the train tracks, and was located at 5 Rue Sainte Marguerite. So we walked along the waterfront until we hit number 5, then walked under the train overpass, and voila! there was our hotel! No taxi needed.

We were given our key, given entry and exit instructions (it is sort of a cross between a B&B and an Inn), breakfast was explained and we dropped our things off in the room (not that I had much with me) and we wandered out to find a late dinner and a few glasses of wine by the seashore before finding our way back to a much appreciated bed.

Now, just hoping my luggage is here for morning….if not, I shop!

May 18, 2012 – YVR has some pretty cool artwork in the International departures area. We are off for a week in the South of France, at the airport obscenely early, for me anyway. We came out extra early for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it is a Friday before a long weekend so the traffic might have been been stupid (it was). Secondly, Kirk has a hunk of metal and close to a dozen metal screws newly implanted into his shoulder and we weren’t exactly sure whether it would be an issue at the security gate or not (it wasn’t). Neither was really a major issue, and we found ourselves our here at the airport and through security before we knew it. And that left us time to have a glass of wine, a bit to eat, an opportunity to view some of the new displays, and buy a pair of earbuds since I forgot mine at home – always something…….

And now I am doing this as fast as I can before the plane taxis away from the terminal and I lose my wifi!

Done!

Bye!

See you in a week!

May 17, 2012 – Getting ready for a holiday….and boy, do we need it. Looking forward to a visit to France, absolutely no plans, but apparently the Cannes Film Festival is on while we are there. Just soooo looking forward to seeing the Mediterranean again. Looking forward to a relaxing, entertaining time filled with wine, good food, croissants, and cappuccinos.

Bring it on!

April 15, 2012 – Ever have those days when you get up and say to each other “What should we do today?” Neither one of us could figure out what to get up to this morning, so we went down, had breakfast, and pondered it. We checked out of the hotel, ditched our packs with the concierge, and headed out into a cool morning with a hot cup of Starbucks coffee. it’s Seattle, what else can one possibly drink in the morning?!?

Left or right?

Right.

Kirk thought we should go up instead of down We hadn’t ever walked above 6th. Off we went, zig-zagging our way up the steep streets in the quiet Sunday morning. We crossed over the I5 and kept going. We ended up on First Hill, wandered through the hospital area (Pill Hill), and enjoyed the serenity of the residential areas above the city. The birds were alive in the old mossy trees.

We found ourselves walking down a street and heading for a commercial district when a voice behind us suddenly asked “Are you tourists or photography students?” We turned to find a friendly gentleman right behind us. We said tourists, and his next questions was “Well then what are you doing here? Most tourists don’t venture up towards Capitol Hill” We got into a fabulous discussion with him, and when he asked where we were from, he was thrilled to find out we were Canadian. I think he may have known more about Canada than most Canadians do. He said out loud “What can we find for you to do up on Capitol Hill?” and proceeded to direct us towards a park that he said was well worth a visit. He said it was about 3/4 of a mile, and then put his hand to his mouth and laughed and said “Listen to me, I am speaking like a Canadian”. That was entertaining – that “about” thing just follows Canadians all over the US, and most of us just don’t really get it.

He told us about a reservoir water tower that afforded a unique view of the city, and a conservatory that was free and worth a visit. He told us about a cemetery not much farther on, where Bruce Le was buried – had we heard of Bruce Lee? Oh yes, sounded familiar We must have stood there on the street chatting with this fellow for 20 minutes or more. He brought up Pierre Berton’s writings, Rick Mercer’s comedy (and said that “We (Americans) don’t have as good a sense of humour”. He told us about a fabulous independent bookstore, and gave us walking directions.

When we finally parted ways, our lack of plans had changed dramatically. We took his directions and visited the bookstore, which turned out to be the bookstore that had gone missing from Pioneer Square on our last visit. They had moved. I recognized the sign in the window when we turned to enter. The Elliot Bay Bookstore.

After that we walked a block off his directions of Broadway, since we had found a park that paralleled it. Eventually we popped out where the road diverged and continued on with his directions. We walked through some fabulous old residential areas, past wonderful old apartments buildings made of brick, with carriage houses in the back. Eventually we arrived at the street to turn up, and headed up through some overwhelming old mansions, to see the edge of the park ahead of us. We walked through the serenity of the trees, and followed the edge of the reservoir up to the Asian Art Museum at the top of the park. We sat and enjoyed the view over the city, before setting out to find the water tower. The imposing structure was reminiscent of the old Saxon towers, and we climbed the 106 metal steps that circled the inside of the wall to the top, where we could peer through open windows with wrought iron bars, and look over the different views of the area below. We could see downtown, the Seattle Space Needle, Lake Washington and Mercer Island. It was lovely.

When we climbed back down, we headed over to the conservatory, where we marvelled at orchids, bromeliads, sago palms, flowering tiger maples, pitcher plants, and countless other wondrous botanical treasures. And as we looked through one of the leaded glass windows, Kirk said “the cemetery!” So we made or way out, and along the street below to find the entrance.

It’s not a small cemetery.

We had no idea where to look for Bruce Lee’s grave. But I also figured this would probably be a bit touristy and maybe, just maybe, there would be people looking for it that may have a better idea where they were going. And I was right. We saw a car with about a half dozen people get out and spread out a bit. I thought, if they are looking for a family member’s site, they probably would be a bit more cohesive, so I watched closely. We wandered over to where they ended up, and we found ourselves looking at the graves of Bruce, and Brendon Bruce, Lee.

When we left, we walked back through the park and wove our way through various tree lined residential streets, marvelling at the old architecture. We found some fabulous little community areas, coffee shops, funky neighbourhoods that we will try to spend a bit more time in on our next visit. And eventually we popped out at the top of Pine and 8th, just above the convention centre, very parched and in need of a beverage.

So down to Post Alley we went, planted ourselves outside at table at Kell’s Irish Pub, ordered a light lunch, and drank beer until it was time to collect our packs and head for the train.

Funny how no plans can transform into an incredibly full day that covers a LOT of territory.

Love this sister city of ours!

Thanks random stranger on Capitol Hill, you made our day! So very glad that we looked friendly enough to be approachable to receive your suggestions.

April 14, 2012 –  Up at 4:30am to pack a few things, feed the monsters, and catch a cab to the train station to head down to Seattle, today we were walking down the street and fond ourselves following four colourful bears. We are wondering if it is Seattle, or us. When we came down here for the motorcycle show in December we encountered thousands of Santas – Santa-con. Tired? Hallucinating? Soon after that we started to come across some people wearing bunny ears. Seemed strange, but we figured it had to do with the fact that there were both a Mariners game (baseball) and a Sounders game (soccer) on this afternoon. We couldn’t figure out the connection, but hey, who are we to judge?

We had a great lunch at the Collins Pub, and then spent the afternoon wandering about town. We decided to take in a comedy show and found that there is an improv theatre near the Market, off Post Alley somewhere. We ended up down near Pike Place and strolled into Post Alley looking for the theatre. After no success, we stopped in Sur la Table and asked for directions. The woman told me to “Go down to the Market, past the place where they throw the fish, down the stairs and into the alley, along the gum wall”, and we’d find the theatre. Ummm – OK.

Gum Wall?

Kirk didn’t hear that part, but we both knew where they throw the fish, and we found the staircase to the alley. As we descended the stairs I caught a sight through a window that shocked and amazed me, and revolted me even more.

The “Gum Wall”.

Ever stumble on a tourist attraction you almost wished that you hadn’t?

Kirk was astounded. I at least had heard the directions and been wondering what they were referring to. I’d thought to myself “Nah, couldn’t be something that gross.”

I was wrong.

Words can’t describe it. Except to say that it is a brick wall, covered – and I do mean covered – in chewed gum. All those times in this area and we had never heard of this, nor had we stumbled onto it. It’s amazing to behold, and revolting to consider. As we stood there looking at it, a local came down the stairs after us and said to us “You don’t want to touch that wall”. No, no I don’t.

The theatre box office wasn’t yet open, so we headed off for a walk along the upper reaches of Post Alley. As we rounded a corner, we were confronted with a massive number of people dressed as bunny rabbits, bears, chickens, and even a skunk. They were spilling out of several bars along the alley.

Not a clue why! What is it with this city and Saturday costumes?

After some laughter, and a transit through the crowds, we headed off to Purple for dinner, and to try some new wines. After that, we headed back, picked up tickets, and then went off to kill the hour until the show. We went back to the upper part of Post Alley and found an outside table at the Wine Tasting Room, where we asked about the bunny mob, and were told that it was thought to be some Facebook generated gathering, “Bunny-con”, that even the bar owners had not been prepared for.

You just never know what you are going to encounter in this city!

After a bottle of wine we ended up back at the Market Theatre for the show – “BYOM” (Build Your Own Musical), where they quizzed the audience for input and then put on a very funny show. At one point Kirk was pulled from the audience to be the “Director”, and direct he did. Flamboyantly! So glad it was him and not me!

Strange day. Great day!

Oh, and I managed to sunburn my forehead! Awesome, maybe the weather is finally arriving!

You know, I have to admit it, we are all pretty smug and self assured that we British Columbians live in the most breathtaking place on earth. Certainly the best in Canada. And then you see a video that challenges that assumption. But of course, when you watch this, you will certainly realize that these fabulously amazing places in Alberta pretty much all border on BC

January 16, 2012 – A few months ago, on the spur of the moment, we decided to go to France in the Spring. So now that Christmas is out of the way we are starting to think about it a bit more and Kirk has been looking into flights.

A woman in my office was there for a month or so in the late Fall, so I asked her for some tips. Non-touristy, smallish place, somewhere we could happily lounge for a week or so. Somewhere on the Mediterranean side, perhaps Provence. Her suggestion – Antibes. Close to Nice, Marseilles, Cannes, Monaco, yet apparently not so busy as any of those.

Sounds perfect!!

That’s about as much research as we have done, or are probably going to do. It’s fun to figure it out as you go, to not over-think things, not over-research. Sometimes it’s just fun to book a flight and a hotel and then discover as you go.

Looking forward to the South of France in the Springtime!

Day 2 in Seattle and we just spent the day wandering and enjoying the city. We meandered through Pike Place Market and watched people wake up. This person was busking outside of a bookstore at the market.

We thought we’d stop by the original Starbucks and pick up a coffee, but apparently half the city had the same idea. The line up was out the door and down the block. We decided that we didn’t really need a coffee quite that badly. So we visited Sur la Table, walked up to the Seattle Fluevogs, and tried on some shoes at the Dr. Marten store.

Eventually we ended up in Pioneer Square, stopped in at a clothing shop we’d visited the day before to try on a fabulous jacket/dress/coat that I’d fallen in love with, and ended up walking out with it. We stopped for lunch and a beer at Fado, and then did the Underground Tour. That was pretty neat and I’d recommend it, if for nothing else than the wonderful history lesson.

That pretty much took us to the end of the trip and so we made our way back to the train station and enjoyed a relaxing trip home over a bottle of wine. The train is just such a wonderful way to get to and from Seattle. It’s relaxing, scenic (well, not so much at night), comfortable, and you can have a snack and enjoy some wine of a local craft brewed beer.

Great weekend!