Last lazy day in Cannes

We didn't get moving until about 10:00 this morning. Drove into town where they are preparing for the Film Festival. Lots of people were milling about and lots of construction going on. We sat on a park bench for almost 4 hours just watching the action, wondering if any of the passers-by were famous! Great people watching--one of my favorite things. We then came back to the hotel and took a nap---haven't done that the whole trip. Went out and bought a chicken for dinner, had a salad and French pastries. Almost time for bed!!! Some pictures of the day are attached. The red carpet is for the stars--they were just laying it out when we walked by. Tomorrow, we head for Italy and the Lake Como region--probably will stop somewhere halfway for the night.

As close as we got to royalty

Lunch couple

This was taken on our drive to Monte-Carlo--probably the prettiest spot along the way--Villafranche. We also stopped in Vence to see another walled city and old town. Had lunch there and met a French couple who gave us some ideas of places to visit in Italy. Amazing how many people do speak English--we've had no problems. Whoops! Maybe one at the toll both coming back to Cannes. Lady kept yelling at Jim that I needed to get out of the car to get change from the guard next to us. Cars behind us were not happy! The drive through Monte-Carlo was quick. Talk about congested!! Even Fifi had a hard time. We looked around a little bit and did enjoy the beautiful old buildings. I think the prettiest stretch of the Riviera is from Nice to Monte Carlo. Big buckos in Southern France.

I seem to be having problems posting the pics--can't get the order I want or placement. Any suggestions from a blogger expert???

Another day in Cannes

Here's Jim with our little car. We already have 3,000 miles on it. Today, we spent about 2 hours at the Cannes beach. Also, went to the information office and found out the Cannes Film Festival is next week. We'll miss all those movie stars!! Oh, well. Tomorrow is a day trip to Nice, back here for Friday and then on to Monaco on Saturday. We were able to talk and see our kids on the computer yesterday. Skype is a wonderful free software program that lets you video/call over the Internet and the call is free! Amazing. We, also, got to see Buddy at John's house. We cannot believe the number of dogs we see,here, in France. People take them everywhere--grocery stores, shopping malls, marinas--everywhere.Ab

things so far

h i this is jim-----my two cents----my highlites so far-----the first is getting lost in parris---if it wasn't for fifi ( garmin) we would still be in a roundabout headed for the center of parris---don't ever drive in europe without a garmin----the best thing to do is to go up some back road and get lost---and then let fifi get you back on the road----we have been on a lot of back roads and fifi always takes us to the next town-----to the town center---some roads have been 2 mm wider than the car
second-------the MONSERRAT MONESTARY-----spirtaully renewed---high in the mountians and walking where thousands have gone before me---looking at St Micheals Cross---high in the mountians and walking to the cross (2000M) --Humbling---yet---lifting---praise God
Third----Putting our feet in the mediterranne sea--(cold) and helping a french family push their car out of the sand along the beach---learning to stay on the hard sand back from the beach---which i didn't know back when the Mc Clives , Wyses and us were zipping on the beach in north carolina.
Forth---How small cars and hotel rooms are when you are traveling together 24/7
Fifth---how quickley you can get behind on the schedule and BUDGET!!!!---but mostly my fault---too many chateaus in France---love to all--Jim

Opps

Here is picture of Jim at St. Michael's Cross

More pictures

Looking for shells

View from Montserrat in Spain and Jim at St. Michael's Cross on the Holy Grotto walk

Cannes

Today we are among the rich and famous. At least I think we are!! Cannes is where the movie stars come to flaunt their latest and best performances. The actual festival is this month sometime. Not sure when. Unfortunately, we're not staying in a hotel that they might frequent. We're at a Kyraid--[part of a chain. The beach is probably 4 or 5 blocks away. There are lots of huge sailboats, cabin crusiers and cruise ships.

We had kind of a wild ride into town today. Fifi took us the mountain route instead of along the Med. The road was curvy, hilly and no guard rails to speak of. It did have amazing views, however. We hope to stay a few days and just relax. We've been on the go constantly and need to decompress. I'll still blog and post pictures.

Pictures from Last Week--Recent ones first

40 Dollars Later

Well, here we are in Cavaillon, France and I have my computer back with a normal keyboard. I still will probably make typos--just the nature of the beast. We took the computer to an expert this morning and found out that the IP address had been changed by the people in Spain at the monastery. They were trying to be helpful, but really weren't!! I felt lost without the connection to family and friends. So, now, feel free to email and comment on the blog.

After the monastery on Montserrat (which means serrated mountain), we traveled to Narbonne and throughly enjoyed our stay. On two different days we drove to the Mediterranian. The first one we walked the beach for awhile and did some shelling--I have some awesome shells for my collection. We then went to Grussan and had our lunch at the marina--kind of reminds us of the marina at Marigot on St. Maarten. Yesterday, Sunday, we drove to Carcassone to see the walled Medieval city. It was interesting, but definitely a tourist trap. All we paid was 5 Euros for parking--didn't look at anything else. We drove back to Narbonne and had our lunch in the park in the center of town. We also walked the canal where many boats are moored. Last night we drove back to Grussan beach and had dinner on the marina. All in all, a great day.

We were going to drive to Arles, France, today. But, we arrived there and Fifi just could not get us where we needed to go. She had us on on narrow streets with dead ends. We just decided to get out of town and head East. More tomorrow.