An attempt at a 'Best Of' list

It's a bit of a rainy afternoon and I'm exhausted from getting my ass handed to me at bootcamp this morning so I figured I'd do a little writing because I’ve been trying to come up with a best-of list for Cannes and it’s surroundings. After four months here I should have something, right? To be honest it’s impossible to have a definitive list of the best of the Cote d’Azur and I will certainly not claim to know even a fraction of the things to do around here. So rather than an actual list it's turned into some of the highlights and my favorite spots/sights as of now. I've been meaning to create a spreadsheet of everywhere I've been but just haven't gotten around to it - perhaps on the to-do list for next week.

One note is that most of what I’ve done over the last four months has been via train and bus as I’ve only had a car on a few occasions. I feel as I did in San Francisco when I went without a car for about 18 months a few years ago - it’s manageable without a car but having one is really nice because you have more flexibility, more mobility to access locations inland and in the mountains, and you’re not limited by the train or bus routes and timetables. Let’s not forget that this is France and though I love it here the constant striking of workers, especially the trains, is really annoying! What I'd actually love right now is a bicycle. I want a cruiser so I can ride around town and not have to always walk two miles each way for yoga and bootcamp :)

Let’s start with Cannes vs Nice...

I’ll admit that I’m partial to Cannes over Nice. But, I honestly haven’t spent too much time in Nice over the last few months given that I’m living in Cannes. However, each time I go I’m not necessarily drawn to want to linger too much beyond the specific activity I have in mind. There are lots of museums (Chagall, Matisse, Musee Massena, and more - great in the winter), lots of shopping (more of the affordable type than designers), and because it’s much larger there’s obviously more going on.

Sur la mer - Nice

Nice is a city with a population of something between 350,000 and 400,000 so Cannes with its 70,000 Cannois feels much more like a town. For me, if I wanted to live in a French city I’d live in Paris. Nice is certainly worth a visit and it’s just a train ride away (when the French aren’t on strike…) so that’s good enough for now.

Old Nice

The old town of Nice (Vieux Nice) is quite lovely - it’s incredibly colorful, lots of restaurants, a daily market, small shops, and cute twisting alleyways. The climb to the top of Parc du Chateau is worth it for the views over the old town and the sea. The water and the coastline of Nice are stunning. The blue of the water is gorgeous both from above and as you walk along the Promenade des Anglais.. However, the beaches are pebbles/stones and not sand. Just the other day I was there and saw two guys with the right idea… they’d brought a queen sized air mattress to lay on. So bring your mattress or rent a lounger at one of the many restaurants/beach clubs!

Both the Chagall and Matisse museums are located in the Cimiez neighborhood of Nice. This area is away from the sea (read: uphill) and filled with beautiful old homes and tree lined boulevards. Though it’s a bit of a hike from the train station, and even more so the old town, wandering on foot up to the Matisse museum is certainly worth it.  

As for Cannes it's quite compact - you can see the 'sights' in about an hour and then relax along the sea with a glass of rose and enjoy the day. Obviously Cannes is known for the glitz and glam of celebrities and the film festival, expensive hotels, designer shopping, and wealth, but living here I see much more than that and enjoy the quiet areas and endless people watching with a cafe creme or rose.

View from Le Suquet

Old town Cannes, Le Suquet, feels just like any other small French village with its small alleyways, cobblestones, and flowers climbing up the buildings. From the top of the hill you get views over the port and central Cannes. There's a small museum up here with an interesting collection of artifacts from across the world but unless you can get in for free it's not worth the fee - however, if you do go in, the tower of the museum does have the best 360 degree views across the area.

La Croisette is the main promenade of Cannes starting at the Palais du Festival with the sea on one side and fancy hotels/apartments and designer shops on the other. The beach here is not the best because it's taken up mainly by restaurants and private beaches from the hotels. You can pay to get a sunbed at any of them if you so desire. However, the best beach areas are along Boulevard du Midi. Palm Beach, Bijou Plage where there are fewer private areas. If it's a windy day the Palm Beach area becomes filled with kite and wind surfers. This is a favorite spot of mine to sit and watch as they zip back and forth.

A 15 minute boat ride from Cannes are the islands of Sainte Marguerite and Saint Honorat. Heading over here is like stepping into another world and you suddenly feel very far from town. There are wooded areas, walking trails and small beaches. A group of monks live on St Honorat and make their own wine while on Ste Marguerite you can visit the Castle and jail cell of the Man in the Iron Mask.

Kite Surfers, Ste Margurite in distance

Coastal Walks…

I love coastal walks, I just can’t ever get enough of them. Everyday I run or take a walk along the sea here in Cannes. But, even better is to get out away from town and out to one of the many trails that take you along rocky coastlines. When I first got here I picked up a free hiking book from the tourist office with maps and descriptions of over 50 walks on or close to the coast. Though it’s only available in French the maps are helpful and I can get the jist of the route. Also online here.

There are three major Cap (or Cape) walks around here - Cap d’Antibes, Cap Ferrat, and Cap Martin. I just went back to Cap d’Antibes this past week and was reminded of how beautiful it is. I don't think that a trip to this area is complete without seeing one of these. The trails for each of these are very clearly marked and they’re a combo of paved area, stairs, and rocks. Nothing too rigorous!

Photos from the three walks here.

Cap d’Antibes is fairly quick to do - it took me less than an hour and a half but it’s close to Cannes so nice for a quick trip. It’s easily accessible with a car which was nice this past week and I got lucky with plenty of parking. Without a car it’s a train and then bus ride away. Not so bad, but as usually happens to me with French buses I had quite an experience first finding the right bus and then getting locked in the bus on the way back when I took it to the last stop at the train station and the driver didn’t realize I was still on it :)

Cap Ferrat is probably my favorite of the three Cap walks. I took the train and started in the town of Beaulieu-Sur-Mer and walked to Villefranche-Sur-Mer to catch the train home from there so in total I think it took me about three hours. At the tip of Cap Ferrat is a lighthouse and on both sides of the Cap the views are stunning. Villefranche-Sur-Mer is a very cute colorful town with a beach and small port - perfect for a post walk drink and relaxation!

Cap Martin is past Nice and Monaco almost to Menton and the Italian border. This one I also accessed via train by starting in Carnoles, walking around Cap Martin, and then I walked all the way to Monaco and caught the train home. I think this was also three hours or more. This is an example of where it’s ok not to have a car because I had the flexibility to just walk one way and there were multiple spots I could have gotten the train for my return. This walk is interesting because on one side of the Cap you are looking along the coast to Italy and then as you come around you’re looking at the highrise buildings that make up Monaco.

Eze le Village…

When someone asks me of my favorite spot around here the first response is always Eze. This is a small hilltop village with some of the most spectacular views of the coast. As with all of the small towns around here you can either spend 15-30 minutes, because that’s probably all that it takes to walk around the few alleyways that make up the village, or you can stay and linger for a few hours. I prefer the latter.

In the spring the flowers and vines that climb the walls and doorways are in bloom making the small alleys even more charming. There are a few swanky hotels with fantastic views - you can get a drink on one of the terraces and enjoy without the price of actually staying there. The Jardin Exotique is worth a visit. These gardens were created in the ruins of the old castle sitting atop the village. It’s 6eur entry fee but there are beautiful cacti and other plants, a tranquil spot with a few lounge chairs, and then of course amazing 360 degree views from the top.

View from Jardin Exotique

Eze is a location that’s better if you have a car. Eze-Sur-Mer (the seaside town) does have a train station and then there’s a hike up hill (and stairs) that you can do to get to Eze Village and buses run from Nice. However, with a car you get to soak in the beautiful views along your choice of three coastal roads while getting there or away. I think the Moyenne Corniche (Middle Road) is the best and from Nice to Eze you get amazing views over the town of Villefranche-Sur-Mer.

Other Towns/Sights…

Antibes - if you want to go somewhere that you’ll hear more English spoken than French head to Antibes! This is a major hub for expats and many of the yachting offices are here. There’s a nice old town that still has some of it’s original ramparts, the Picasso museum, daily market, sandy beaches, coastal views, and an English bookstore (yaay!).

Menton - this is the last town before the Italian border and apparently has sun pretty much every day of the year given its location with the mountains around it. When I first arrived in February I was there in time for the annual Fete du Citron. An amazing display of floats and sculptures made of lemons and oranges.

Villa Rothschild - I haven’t been back here yet this year but the house and gardens of the eccentric Baroness de Rothschild were a highlight of my first visit here last April. Located on Cap Ferrat it’s possible to combine this with the coastal walk or well worth a visit on its own.

Coastal drive between St Raphael and Cannes - if you haven’t had enough of coastal walks and views this drive is absolutely amazing. West of Cannes you reach the red rocks of l’Esterel providing a landscape and contrast against the blue sea that’s quite different from what you see elsewhere along the coast.

Monaco - I’m not wowed by Monaco, but if you have time it’s worth a day trip. You get highrise buildings, fancy boats, shopping, the famous Monte Carlo casino, an old town and for me the best was the aquarium.

Those are my thoughts for now but I'm certain that I'll be discovering more highlights over the next few weeks especially now that the weather has gotten warmer and the beach and sea are really calling. More and more summer activities are now available. I also have more places that are still on my 'to-see' agenda that I need to get to. We'll see how much I can motivate and get my butt off my balcony chair and out and about. 

Cannes we catch up?

I’ve been reminded that my last post was in March. Yeah, well... life’s gotten to feel pretty ‘normal’ so I’ve not been doing well to recount the goings on here in the south of France. I guess that doesn’t bode well for me being able to actually keep up blogging, but time to get back at it. The question now is where to begin. There are multiple stories that I could tell and many pictures to follow any story. So I think the best approach is to let the photos tell most of it and maybe a few specific posts to recount the time.

Cannes has started to settle back down this week after the mayhem that is the Film Festival. All of the temporary structures that were built, all the screens on top of hotels, all the massive movie advertisements, etc are disappearing. I was only here for the very start and the very end of the 11 day event. The crowds were crazy and getting around the Croisette or anywhere near the Palais des Festivals (whether by foot or vehicle) was a pain in the ass so to be honest I was happy to leave for most of it. Not to mention that because my apartment is really a holiday rental it was rented out for one week of the festival for more than twice what I paid for the month.

Crowds on ladders and chairs watching the red carpet arrivals

I will say one thing that I did not expect was that as the festival goes on and there are tens of thousands of people in town for it life and all the regular tourism of Cannes very much continues as normal. I assumed that during the festival none of the cruise ships that come in each day would arrive, but no, every day the same ships and same crowds descended upon town. It was a constant mix of normal tourists, festival goers (film makers, buyers, etc), celebrities, paparazzi, and always folks dressed in gowns and tuxes at every hour of the day.

Now it’s calm here for a few days before the next big event begins - though nothing will match the film festival.

So what else has been going on?

Until the 6th of May French school was my daily routine. 9AM - 12PM each day, me and my American exchange student and Mexican teenager friends convened to learn a bit of French and have a few laughs. After 12 weeks of classes of course the question is ‘Jessie, can you speak French now?’ and the answer is most certainly ‘No!’.

I have learned a ton, I have loads in my head, and my comprehension is getting better; at this point it’s just a matter of practice and actually using it, listening, and learning more vocabulary. Maybe a short post in French one of these days. When I was in Spain last week I found that my first response was pretty much always French so I guess that means something is sinking in - or my brain was just incredibly confused!

When not in class I continued to explore the area, took a few side trips, showed visitors my favorite spots along the coast, and as of recent I find myself spending a lot of time on the balcony enjoying the sunshine, working on my tan, and watching the world go by. It’s never boring watching the world below as Cannes continues to set itself up for the fast approaching busy summer months.

I do find it fascinating to watch the construction and deconstruction in this town. In most cases just as quickly as the signage, structures, tents, Ninja Warrior courses (yes, there was French Ninja Warrior here), etc go up they come down immediately following whatever their one night or few days of purpose was. Beyond events at the Palais there’s the summer season. The beaches are prepped, new piers built for rows of sun loungers, restaurants readied, and shops resupplied to suit the needs of summer sunshine seekers. I hear that July and August are absolutely madness around here with so many people on their holidays. Most people that I know prefer to not be here in the height of summer. So it does suit me just fine that the current plans have me leaving here at the end of June.

The plans after June are still a bit fuzzy - hopefully in a few weeks I’ll have a better answer to folks here who want to know whether I’m staying, am I getting a job, and every variant of ‘how long can you keep this up for, are you ever coming back?’ from those back in San Francisco.

Until then I have a few things on my agenda as to not keep idle for too long. I’m looking forward to more visitors arriving which will lead to many more adventures here, Italy, Spain, and Germany (as the current plans read). For now, here are some photos from the last little while…

Provence [Arles, Nimes, Pont du Gard, Les Baux] & Eze with Mom 

Gorges du Verdon with Andrea

Random around Cannes - sunsets, beaches, Mandelieu, Monaco, Antibes, Nice, more

Coastal Walks of Cap d’Antibes, Cap Martin, and Cap Ferrat

À bientôt!

Joie de Vivre - 2016, I'm Ready!

2015 is really over, wow, that was fast!

It's unbelievable to me to think that one year ago I was wrapping up work and about to set off on an adventure. An adventure that was planned as three weeks in South America, then back to the States, then to Europe, and ultimately come June 2015 I'd be back in San Francisco making a decision on life. A decision that would allow me to be in the position that I'm in today - feeling free and open to anything that comes my way. It's only when I really stop to think about it that I realize an entire year has passed, and what a fricken amazing year it's been. When I try to note all the places I've been, sights I've seen, and people I've encountered along the way it takes some serious concentration. Reflecting on the year I can say with 100% certainty that I never think twice* about my decision in July to leave Google. I know to my core that was the right move and that certainty gave me the chance to be much more open as 2015 went on.

*let's be honest... when I had to buy a new phone for the first time (ever!) I did wish I had a Google Christmas gift coming, but I decided to be a real adult and suck it up! 

Swinging free at Casa del Arbol, Baños, Ecuador

A lot has changed in the past year both for me personally and for the people and the world around me. Fear and sadness has crept into our lives. Tragedy is always around us in many forms and we must join together and love stronger to persevere through it. At the same time great hope and the thrill of life through new babies, new relationships, or a new found self emerge. I suppose this is indeed how the hand of life is dealt - with great joy comes great sadness, disappointment, struggle, etc. There have to be low moments to allow you to really appreciate the amazingness that one has.

In 2015 I learned that the world really does have so much to offer and while it's great to see so many things by myself and tell people about it after the fact there's an amazing joy in sharing the raw live moments with others. 'Others' doesn't have to be a pre-defined term it can be family, friends of many years, newly developed friends, or people I just met that day or the day before. Whoever it is, a real shared experience and conversation is so much more powerful than one that is perhaps contrived on Instagram, Facebook, or whatever your social media platform of choice is. Do I share on social media to get people a little jealous? Yeah, perhaps there's always a hint of that, but it's really to inspire and to get people intrigued and motivated to step outside whatever their comfort zone might be and see the world around them or even venture thousands of miles away. In 2016 I vow to see more and do more in this great big world of ours - whether I start the trip by myself or with someone else I will make a point to find others with whom to share the experience.

I still can't tell you that I've 'Discovered' what my plan for life is, but I'd say I have a fresh outlook on both life and the world around me. My list of mottos, for lack of a better word, would start something like take risks, go into the unknown, say 'yes' (assuming the situation isn't totally sketchy!), laugh at your mis-steps, and always take time to soak in your surroundings and the people near and far who are always there for you. The last is incredibly important - I always have a home, or perhaps a few homes, regardless of where my latest passport stamp indicates I may be at any given time. For those people and places I am forever thankful.

I think back and compare the first trip I took with the most recent one and see stark contrasts. I thoroughly enjoyed my initial trip, I mean come on, I did the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and the W Circuit in Torres del Paine - two of the most amazing treks in the world - but the travel was so prescribed, I was uptight, and there was little room for on the fly changes. I feel as though it was so 'American' - go somewhere for a short period if time, everything is pre-booked, never deviate from the structure, see all the major sights, come home. That's certainly a method of travel but not how I want to do it anymore, especially when I have no specific end date or looming deadline. I haven't become completely lax but allowing the days and weeks to lead you where they may (assuming it's possible) and not feeling like every single top ten item from the guidebook must be accomplished is both freeing and potentially much more satisfying. I still want to see the sights, don't get me wrong, but the pace and prescriptive nature is much more flexible. Not everything must live in a detailed spreadsheet.

So where does this leave me? What am I up to next you might ask.

There are loads more locations on the ever growing list of places (yes, I have a spreadsheet of locations and sights to see by region of the world) I want to go and after Ecuador I was seriously second guessing my previously determined 2016 plan. But I'm sticking with aforementioned previously determined plan and heading back to the South of France to spend at least two months on the sea attempting to immerse myself and learn a bit of French.

Somewhere between Cannes and Nice, April 2015

Since my April travels through France I've felt that I missed a calling from this lovely country and needed to somehow make up for lost time. I fell in love with the Cote d'Azur during the final days of April and have since been back three or four times - sea, mountains, coastal drives, and enough wine to make anyone happy drew me in.

So as of February I'll be using Cannes as a base with a Monday to Friday French language school commitment. This is a test; a test of French living, European living more broadly, and even more so living in one foreign place for likely a two month, potentially more, stretch. Given that it's been a year since I had any type of Monday to Friday commitment this should be interesting and potentially a rude awakening when I actually have to be somewhere at a specific time for a few hours every day.

I have no idea how the next few months will go but I can only hope for an adventure worthy of sharing (both the good and the bad of course). I successfully convinced the French Consulate to give me a year long visa so my options are hopefully pretty wide open, or at least longer than 90 days open throughout France and continental Europe. For this flexibility I am incredibly excited. I may hate Cannes, I may decide I don't want to be in France or Europe at all, but it's worth giving it a go and challenging myself to both learn a language and find people to share the adventure.

If you find yourself (or want to be) in Europe, France, or better yet the South of France over the next few months definitely let me know!