La Cote d'Azur: Cannes

Having spent a lifetime hearing about the famous film festival of Cannes, enjoying photographs of moviestars in beautiful designer gowns and absorbing the mythology of the glamour that surrounds the town, I was eager to visit. The day dawned beautiful and bright, and Madame M and I packed a picnic lunch to be enjoyed on the beach, dressed in something appropriately chic (I hoped), and headed for posh town. With visions of Grace Kelly sitting on the beach as Cary Grant emerges from the sea in Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief" (one of my favorite movies), we entered via the seaside route, and cruised parallel to "La Croisette", the famous promenade of Bardot, Truffaut, and Brangelina. The elegant Carlton hotel commanded attention, as a beautiful high maintenance woman is wont to do, and huge cruise ships trolled the harbour like giant slugs. We were extraordinarily lucky to find parking just in front of Dior, and enjoyed windowshopping high end boutiques before making our way to the beach for lunch. Freakishly quiet, sans children or the sound of waves crashing, we settled in amongst privileged vacationers sunning on the immaculately maintained sand. We were limited by 2 hour parking however, so after lunch we took a short walk on the promenade, took a few photos, and headed out of town toward the Chateau de la Napoloue, passing the exposition hall and the famous steps of the "Tapis Rouge" (the red carpet). Reality not always living up to fantasy however, I must say in all honesty that while Cannes has it's moments of beauty, it isn't all it's cracked up to be! Crowded in next to the elegance of the Martinez and the Carlton are ugly apartment buildings built in the late 60's-70's, the sort one sees in anytown U.S.A. - the sort that don't age well. Gazing up into the surrounding neighborhoods I saw non-descript homes, so unlike those of Antibes or Nice as to be suprising. On the outskirts are funky industrial zones which occupy beachfront property. With all due respect, we didn't explore the sidestreets, I am sure there are charming neighborhoods in Cannes. But I guess I imagined Cannes to be what Antibes is - elegant, chic and well maintained all the way, not funkytown! When all is said and done, I am glad to have experienced it, and wouldn't mind at all having a birdseye view of the insanity that is the film festival - from a terrace high above La Croisette at the Carlton of course!