Cannes

I got off the train late in the afternoon of Monday, June 25th with my two backpacks and had no idea where I was going to stay. Ironically, the feeling was all too familiar and reminded me of last year in Italy. As disconcerting as that feeling might sound, my domineering sense of adventure took over. Before finding a hotel for the evening, I proceeded immediately to the beach. I couldn't wait to see the Med again.

With one backpack on the front and one on the back, I made my way through town along the 5-minute walk to the beach. Cannes is a beautiful city, and I completely understand why the world's movie stars and producers would choose it as the location for the famous Cannes film festival.

The sea breeze and smell of salty air that struck my face and opened my sinuses as I crossed the last street separating me from the beach made me weak in the knees: not from some pungent odor, but rather from the overwhelming sensation of relaxation that only the realization of a year's worth of classroom daydreaming could induce. My dream was upon me.

Once reality set in again, I realized I should probably find a place to stay, although the temptation to spend the entire evening on the beach seemed increasingly appealing. Fortunately, indulgence heeded prudence, and I made my way back to town. I quickly found a hotel, contacted my friend who lives in town, and made my way back to the beach to await our scheduled rendez-vous in town.

After a delightful hour at the beach, including my first swim in the Med since last year (and the first one ever that didn't make me cold!), I met up with my friend Guillaume and his wife, as well as their young child. It was again an inspiration to me to see young people in the Church in France living the Gospel, despite a difficult environment. As I think about the kind of home this young child will have, and the kind of person he will have the opportunity to become, it puts a smile on my face.

We went out to a pizza restaurant where I had some delicious pizza, wood-fire Italian oven style. I like American pizza, but this stuff was truly great.

After dinner, Guillaume and his wife took me on a walk along the shore. Not more than a few hundred meters from the restaurant where we ate was the Palais des festivals where festival takes place. I went up and posed for a picture on the tapis rouge (red carpet) and thought of the day when I'll be pulling up in my limo and walking up the stairs in my tuxedo.... Yeah right!

I parted ways with my friends and made my way for my hotel. I was just about ready for bed. I caught up on what was going on in France on the news and decided to call it a night.

When I got up the next morning, I went to Monoprix (a grocery store chain in France) to make a few purchases (including my breakfast) and went back to the hotel to eat and pack. I bought a Yop (yoplait's drinkable yogurt--it's delicious) and some Petit Prince cookies, which I anxiously consumed.

Packing doesn't take very long when you only have a few changes of clothes, so I was on my way to Nice within the hour. As I got on the train for Nice, I made a mental note that Cannes would be a place I'd like to visit again.