Star gazing in Cannes

After 2 weeks away in Italy, we were happy to be back in Nice and back to our regular routines.  We will enjoy our final month and a half here staying close to Nice especially as the beach weather is upon us.  We have visited Cannes a few times since we've been here and didn't find it particularly interesting or unique, even the Palais des Films, home of the Cannes Film Festival didn't seem so spectacular.  However, with the large number of haute couture shops lining the croisette and the spectacular yachts in the bay, it is definitely one of the more upscale towns on the coast.

With the Festival in full swing, we couldn't resist dropping in and experiencing some of the excitement and maybe even rub shoulders with a few Hollywood stars.   In honour of the Festival, Cannes is transformed into a glamorous and glitzy venue appearing more done up.  Flower beds in full bloom on the croisette, huge Hollywood billboards plastered on fancy hotel facades and the Palais looking very exclusive with the famous red carpet. Cannes was alive with movie fans and star gazers trying to catch a glimpse of their favourite Hollywood personalities.

On this day the big allure was Johnny Deppe whose movie, Pirates of the Carribbean 4 was opening that night.  At the urging of the kids we waited for about 40 minutes,(some had been waiting for up to 5 hours) with the other hopeful fans, then we lost interest as the rain  came down  and we decided to move on as there was no assurance of when he would arrive.  It was great taking it all in and walking down the croisette, seeing crowds of fans lined outside the most luxurious hotels as the fancy cars brought invited guests to the Palais for the screening.  Although a little disappointed we didn't see anyone "famous", just being there was wonderful. We consoled ourselves with the fanciest desserts in our favourite Cannes patisserie, a little indulgence at the end of the day.

Sal and I will return to Cannes later this week to watch one of the movies at the Festival.  Since it is only possible to buy tickets for movies not in the actual competition and all others require an invitation, we had to settle for one of the lesser known picks.  The Festival this year opened with Woody Allen's Minuit a Paris which the four of us took in this weekend in Nice, thrilled to finally watch a movie in English.  We all loved the movie. Set in Paris, with extensive footage of the city it was great to relive being in Paris again. Being in Europe and having visited Paris with it's rich history, I have often wondered and romanticized about what it would have been like to have lived in another era, which is the premise of the movie.  Thanks to all the museums we have visited, we could all relate to the artists and the works of Picasso, Monet, Dali and Matisse referenced in the movie. The kids particularly loved it and are asking to see it again.  It's good to know that some of the culture they have been exposed to has actually been sinking in. 

Palais des Film

Waiting for some stars