The Red carpet was out in Cannes.

For 12 days in May, Cannes becomes the centre of the cinematic universe, and the red carpet was still out for Linda. The town, about 35 minutes on the train from Nice was Thursdays destination. I finished George Orwell’s book 1984 on the train. It was an interesting read, considering it was written in 1949, and some of the technology he wrote about certainly exists today.

We had a leisurely morning at the apartment, eating breakfast sitting on the balcony. We had croissants, and coffee. We then caught the midday train to Cannes, it was sunny again today, and very warm and humid. Linda is slightly brown, but I try and keep out of the way. Cannes is another seaside resort, just a bit more upmarket than Nice, with a port and palatial hotels.

The train was quite full, but we managed to get seats, although Linda didn’t want to sit next to me, as she must always sit facing the way the train is going. We had a walk around Cannes, Linda stood on the red carpet to have her photo taken. We then had a walk around the town, and found a nice café by the port. I had ‘fruit de mer’ pizza, it was lovely with squid, mussels, prawns, octopus etc on it and Linda had crepes with chocolate sauce. I did order an espresso but it never came!
We then went on a boat trip to the Isle Ste-Marguerite, where the enigmatic man in the iron mask was incarcerated during the late 17th century. It was about 15 minutes to get there, and then had a wander around, before stopping for a coffee. We got the boat back, and it was quite full. However, the breeze had died down so it was still hot coming back. Once back on dry land, we had another walk through Cannes, before getting the train back. To Nice. We have since discovered that the camera was on manual, so all our pictures are in black and white!

The train was packet coming back, with people standing, although we managed to get a place to sit. We were soon back in Nice, and then started the walk back to the apartment. It is still hot, and our clothes were sticking to us. We stopped to buy some bread to have with our meat and cheese for our tea. The internet café was on the way, so I just checked my emails, checked us in for tomorrows flight and then printed the boarding passes off. I put them safely in Linda’s bag, inside a magazine so they didn’t get lost. However, when she got back to the apartment she opened the magazine and the boarding passes flew off the balcony. Mine landed on the ground floor, and she was able to retrieve it, but hers got stuck half way down and she hasn’t managed to get it. She may be stuck in Nice – so peace and quiet for a few days in England.

During the evening we both read, and listened to music.

The photo’s are at

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/simon.werrett

Paris Hilton in Monte Carlo??

Linda was sure she saw Paris Hilton outside the Monte Carlo Casino as we were sitting having afternoon tea in the Cafe de Paris, Monaco. I said I thought she was still in prison, and it was just another blonde. She was certain it was Paris – she would know she reads all those women magazines like Take a Break and Heat.

Talking about heat – it has been very hot here today, 31.5 degrees – in the mid 80’s, and it is hot with no wind, and as I only have jeans to wear, it gets quite uncomfortable. We were going to get the early train to Monaco, but Linda didn’t set the alarm, or switched it off in her sleep – I am not sure which, so we got a mid morning train, €6.40 return and 25 minutes it took. Monaco is only 1.95sq km in size and the second smallest country in the world, after The Vatican (been there as well!). However, it is very hilly, and similar to Gibraltar. It is not part of the EU, but there are no passport controls. It is famous for the Monte Carlo casino and Formula 1 roaring through it streets. It was Nelson Piquet who described the Monaco Grand Prix as like ‘riding a bicycle around your living room’ and we walked most of the route. The streets are very steep, but there was a nice view of the port.

On arrival we had to walk down hill, from ‘Le Gare’ to the Port, and as it was hot, we stopped for coffee on the promenade, and ‘Le Garcon’ comprende my French – but Linda asked for tea in English. I am getting quite good at ‘un cappuccino si vous plait.’ We wanted to see ‘the changing of the Guard ‘at 11.55, but it was a long walk up the steep roads, and steps but we made it. There were 145 steps on the way up, and at 11.55 the guards in their white uniforms appeared, and suddenly all these Japanese appeared from nowhere and started pushing in, saying ‘I want photo’. It lasted for 5 minutes, and was similar to the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Place as seen by Christopher Robin and Alice. At 12pm it finished and all the Japanese disappeared. If you phone France from Monaco, it counts as an international call and it has its own language Monegasque.

We had a walk around the outside of the Palace area, its called Palais du Prince and then downhill to the main town centre. All this walking had made us hungry, although Linda says I walk too fast. We found a café, and I had a nice cold beer, followed by lasagne, and Linda had three fromages pizza. As Italy is only about 25 minutes away, the cuisine is obviously linked. We then decided to go to the Monte Carlo area, the only problem it was uphill, all the way. The Casino was built in 1910 and costs €10 to go in, so we didn’t. It looked a nice building, with a lot of attention to detail. Opposite was the famous Hotel du Paris, which we couldn’t afford to stay at. There was plenty of Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches – but no Nissan Micras on the roads. It would have been nice to have a race around the route, but there was a lot of traffic.

We stopped at the Café du Paris for a drink, the prices make Starbucks look cheap, but you only live once, and at those prices I can only afford to live once! Linda wanted an ice cream, and it was very nice, I couldn’t afford two, so we had to share, probably better for the figure anyway. We sat there and watched people turning up in their posh cars, and letting the valets park them as they went into the Casino.

We then walked around the outside of the casino, and saw all the boats parked in the Port, the yachts are worth a fortune, and some you could land a helicopter on (if you had one of course). It was then downhill to the Port. Unfortunately, the train station is right at the top of Monaco, on the top of the rock, Linda has decided she likes walking, along as it is in a straight line, and not up stairs or uphill. It too about 30 mins in the baking sun to get to the station, and then we got a train back to Nice.

The clothes we had been wearing were dripping wet, so it was a case of a quick change and then I had a nap, all his walking and fresh air has quite tired me out!

What if it floods like the Titanic??

As a treat for Linda we stayed at a hotel on Sunday night before going to the airport. I had found the Sunborn Yacht Hotel, which was a cruise ship now permanently moored on the Thames, not far from the airport, within walking distances in fact. We had arrived on Sunday afternoon, and been upgraded to suite with a balcony, although it was landside so all you had was a view of the Excel centre! However, the room was very nice, and we had a walk around the boat, drinks in the bar, and we could sit and look out over the Thames. The planes flew right over head, as the runway was only a couple of minutes away.

We went out for a walk, and had a look round the airport, it was 15 mins by foot, and we got a bus back. As we were going back to our room, Linda said ‘what happens if it floods like the Titanic’ Now I know we have global warning, and the problems with the ozone layer, but I don’t recall reading about any icebergs floating in the Thames – and as we were right next to the gangway – I am sure we would get off quickly. However, Linda slept nearest the balcony in case she had to get out quick!

On Monday morning, we walked over the bridge, and then caught the bus to the airport. We had already booked in and printed our boarding passes out online, so it was quickly to the bag drop and then through security. The airport was reasonably busy, mainly business people going on trips. There is not much to do after security other than drink coffee and watch the planes. No Starbucks, so we had to downgrade to a Café Nero.

We were flying BA and avoiding terminal 5, and we boarded the plane about 10.20, it was only had about 30 people on it. Linda didn’t want to sit next to me and went and found a row of her own. I settled down, put the IPOD on and went to sleep, without Linda in my ear saying ‘Did you see that etc’ We were given a sandwich and a drink. It was a 2 hour flight, and we arrived at 13.30 French time.

We had to get the bus to the centre, we forgot the French are pushy and don’t understand the concept of queues - so we weren’t quick enough to get on the first one! We finally got a bus for the 20 mins journey into town, I was trying to sort out some work problems on the mobile, till Linda pointed out the sign that said mobiles are not to be used on the bus.

We are renting an apartment in the centre of town, about 10 minutes from the train station. It has a balcony overlooking the main pedestrian area, and we can sit and people watch. We can also smell the cooking from the cafés and there is often a strong smell of garlic.

We dropped our cases off, and then went for a walk, we are not far from the Promenade du Anglais, otherwise known as the seafront. We had a look at the beach, and then wandered around the shops. We did some food shopping, buying bread, cheese and wine – well it is France.

It is very warm here and sunny, so we sat and had a sarnie on the balcony, and Linda did some reading, whilst I was using the laptop. As I had dozed on the plane I wasn’t tired, so I sat on the settee and read some books, I was reading the Theology of the Reformers, ready for my next trip to Kenya, although trying to digest Luther’s and Calvin’s views at 1am, was difficult. I soon felt my eyelids getting heavy!

The shop had run out of croissants and only had one, so it was half each for breakfast on Tuesday We had a lazy morning, well I am on holiday and didn’t go out till out about 11am. It is warm and humid. We walked through the famous flower market, and then onto the fruit and veg one. We had a wander around the coast lines to the port, and then needed a break for coffee. Nice is certainly not a cheap place! After this we wandered around the Vieux Nice, looking in the shops, wandering along the small cobbled streets, looking for bargains, but finding none.

We stopped for a snack, at a restaurant, and I had a nice glass of red wine, good for the heart I read in the paper, and Linda an orange juice. I had a savoury crepes and Linda had one with chocolate and coconut on. I finished up with an espresso.

We then did some walking, and then went on a tram. Nice has a new tram system, very efficient with air con, and so we rode for a few stop, getting off at C&A (used to have one of those in Southend). We had a look around, Linda did see a dress she liked, but it wasn’t in the budget, so couldn’t get it, we are in a recession, so cutbacks have to be made, and she has plenty of clothes already. We did buy some croissants for tomorrows breakfast, although the shop assistant didn’t understand my French.

Nice is in the C te D’Azur area, and was founded in 350BC by some Greek seafarers. It was initially named Nikaia – which is Nike in Greek, so it gets a tick in my book! It didn’t become part of France until 1860 when Napoleon struck a deal with the House of Savoy. During the Victorian period it was favourite place of the English and European aristocracy due to its mild winters. It is the most visited city in France after Paris.

You can see some photo's at

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/simon.werrett