serious boat envy in this town...Antibes.
Life is good in Cannes.
We were not quite sure when we first arrived. It was early evening and the end of a very busy weekend. We were hungry and we had no idea where we were or where to go.It was Sunday...oh, right, everything is closed. I will never get used to that. After a few days here though we have slowly adapted to the rhythm. We know where to buy groceries, where to get free wifi (no internet!) where to run and where to park to go to the market.... thats in priority. We have been careful during this trip not to judge anything until we have given it its due time. It always takes a day or two to get your bearing and find the things you like to do.
Our first home exchange is an apt. located up in the hills of La Croix des Gardes. It is located in a gated community backing onto the parkland. There are tons of running/hiking trail out our back door with panoramic views of the city of Cannes and its bay. We went on a family run yesterday which was a hoot. Mike and I have been able to get out for trail runs most days.( Mom...I lock the kids in their bedroom...they are safe.) The town is down the hill...there are many different routes to travel there..main road, hiking trails, country roads..it has been fun to explore. The only conclusion is the return home is tough. There is no way to avoid walking uphill...its steep.
The kids have befriended the neighborhood kids after a few days of searching them out. Olivia is fantastic at making friends. She has no problem introducing herself and asking to play. Her french has definitely helped, but kids are kids..I have watched them act out what they are trying to say to each other! Max doesn't understand a word of what they are saying, but I can still hear him screaming away in English and them screaming "en française" right back at him. It makes a world of difference for them having other children to play with. It also gives us a bit of a break.I began this trip expecting them to be missing their friends and the freedom they have in Whistler. I have been pleasantly surprised by how excited they are to do things with just us..I will savour this moment as I know it is coming to an end. A 14 yr old french boy from down the street has already come a-knocking...
The city of Cannes is situated around a beautiful bay and promenade. The famous Boulevard de la Croisette is the main avenue running through the center of it all. The Palais des Festivals ( Cannes Film Festival and other world renowned events), the Suquet and old harbour, the Forville Provencal Market, all mixed with lots of prestigious shops and luxury hotels are all located on one side...the beach on the other. The rest of town is a logistic nightmare with one way streets, dead ends and an unbelievable amount of traffic. A ton of fun to wander around though.The streets are packed. The side walk cafes jammed...I can only imagine what it would be like in the summer.The energy is good here!
Boat envy has become our thing. We have yet to be invited onto any of the super yachts we have been admiring, but there is still time. I have been relaying stories of my childhood summers spent sailing. They were impressed that I got to live on a sailboat for the summers and super excited to try it out themselves..until I pointed out the type of boat we had...it looked like a dinghy in comparison to the rest..they are no longer impressed, but now think my family were nuts to live in such close quarters. Its hard to compete with a 100 ft yacht complete with helicopter and sea-doos.
Max is buying us all a yacht when he is famous. He threatens Olivia with this purchase whenever she is teasing him. I dont know if I can wait that long, my imagination has got the better of me...I figure my second husband is around here somewhere.
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