Cannes Film Festival

Dan, who was staying in the same room in our hostel, worked in the film industry and was in town for the Cannes Film Festival. He was kind enough to drive us over the Cannes in his rental car. Julie (Canadian from our hostel), Stephanie and I got to Nice around 4:30pm, which meant that I was late in meeting up with Delan, a guy I met back in London. I walked over in front of the Carlton to see if he would still be there, while Dan showed Steph and Julie where they would most likely be able to see Antonio Banderas. For the first time I wish I had my cell phone again. I never did meet up with Delan that day, sorry bro.



I walked back to where the girls were standing and we decided that we should grab a quick bite to eat so that we could get a good spot near the red carpet. All the hotels are near the beach are fully booked and they all display large movie premiere posters. The big premieres all started around 7ish. Standing in line for a sandwich, I noticed a girl that looked a lot like Naomi, one of the American girls I met the night before. It was one of those I think I know you moments and then I noticed she was staring over as well. It turned out to be Naomi and she had been separated from her tour group. So she tagged along with us.



After getting a sandwich we started to head back to the red carpet area. Julie and Steph led the way as they knew the good spot to stand. The sidewalk traffic went up and there were tons of people walking around. Naomi and I were chit catting and suddenly we lost Julie and Steph in the crowd. After waiting around for a while we were still unable to find them. I wasn't really interested in the Hollywood's invasion to southern France, so Naomi and I headed to the village part of Cannes up the the hill.



There is a church that is up at the top of the hill which overlooks the entire coastline where the film festival takes place. On the way down there is an iron mask. Dumas' The Man in the Iron Mask is said to be a mixture of fact and fiction. It is local folklore that this mask was his inspiration for that story. Near the bottom of hill by the bus stations there is a large mural that depicts all the the films that debuted at previous Cannes Film Festivals.



Naomi met back up with group later that night and I met some Korean girls that were waiting to see Jackie Chan. I joined in since there was nothing else to do. Jackie Chan did come out. He blew kisses and waved to the cheering crowds. It turned out that the Korean girls were staying in Nice at a different hostel, so we headed to the train station together. It turns out that they were all teachers in Korea and had just gotten done with college. So this trip was their vacation before becoming inducted to the real world.



The second time I returned to Cannes was with some Canadians I met at my hostel. Sacha, Tim, Jasen and Chad had been traveling Europe for a little over 2 months and now just happened to be in Nice. Dan drove us over again in the early afternoon. After departing ways with Dan, we ended up chilling at the beach most of the time. The beaches of Cannes are probably the nicest we've been to in Southern France. It is actually sandy and the waters are just as blue as Nice. On the last Cannes outing, Sacha and I were swimming and ran into a lot of jelly fish. They were purple and the largest one was about the size of a basketball. We were actually able to capture one of the smaller ones on a towel.





On our trek back to the train station we stopped by the red carpet to see if we could spot some stars. That night it happened to be a lot of them out. Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Clint Eastwood, Sharon Stone, and Tim Robbins. Brad and Angelina even waved at us. It started to rain so we headed back to the train station and grabbed a free trip back.

Nightlife @ Nice

Next to our hostel is smaller liquor store. The prices are about 1€ more than the Monoprix, but since the Monoprix closes early and these are actually cold it's well worth the price. Nice is one of those places where it feels perfectly normal to walk around with bottles or cans of beer in your hands. Kind of reminds of Vegas in that sense.



The walk from the hostel to the beach is about 15minutes and goes through the town center. There are large glowing human statues and fountains in the town center. The lights continually change colors. This location quickly became a marker for me to figure out where I was when I was lost. With its central location, we ended up making this spot where we would meet up with people because none of us had a cell phone.





Drinking along the beach seems to be the thing to do around here. That's what we did the first few nights. A group of people from the hostel would always head out there around 10-11pm after stocking up at the next door liquor store. We were able to run into a group of American college kids, a group of singing dancing Irish girls and a creepy old guy that followed us around trying to bum cigarettes and talk to the girls in our group. We also witnessed several fights along the beach as well. All in all it was a good time.



There are clubs and bars all around Nice. I wanted to stay away from the touristy ones at first. The first bar we went to was an outdoorsy one. It was near the beach in the market area. Drinks were about 5€. It was a nice chill time sitting outside enjoying the weather. The second night I met up with some people from another hostel and we ended up going to a club called Bodeguita. The music was live and the band was pretty good. They played hits from all over the world. The drinks there were pretty expensive at 10€ a pop. However the atmosphere and the good music more than made up for it. Sadly we had to leave early because one of the girls got really sick.

The next couple of places I went to several times. One was called Flashback which attracted the girls with free glass of champaign. It was convenient in that it was next to the town center and easy to find and figure out where you were. The prices weren't too bad, but it was hit or miss there. The other venue was near the market close to where I went the first night. It was smaller dance club and completely operated by the owner. I say completely because he not only served behind the bar, but also DJ'ed and was running the gig.

Nice Weather: Sunny

It's Sunday and like most places in France, everything is closed. The Monoprix (grocery store), H&M (clothing), and even the Kebab place where I get my lunches from are all closed. Sundays are for relaxing. Everyone heads for the beach and when in Nice, do as the... Nicians?



Today is also Giang's last day in Nice and since he is taking my roller blades back to Paris for me, I decided that I better make good use of my purchase in Paris. Giang and I strapped on our roller blades at the beach. Stephanie rented a pair of skates for something like 6€ for an hour and 12€ for the day. There is a wide sidewalk that runs up along the ocean side of the beach. A large portion of it is for walking while a narrower green two lane area is for bikes. The boardwalk is elevated above the rocky pebbles below and along side the road next to it. This boardwalk was used in chase scene from The Transporter. In fact Nice and Cannes were both used for the majority of the chase scenes.



The beach looks completely different than the first day. It is packed and there are tons of people walking along the sidewalk. Next to the sidewalk is a green path marked for bikes. So we cut in and out of that lane and through the crowds of people. The weather is great, sunny with a nice breeze. I forgot to put on sunscreen and in the short amount of time of roller blading in a tanktop I got some a nice burn going on my shoulders and neck.





Giang leaves after a while to visit Cannes on his way back to Paris. Stephanie and I decide to stay at the beach. I went for swim. The waters were cool and reminded me of California. Getting in and out of the waves barefoot was pretty difficult. The rocks tumbled around with the wake and stable footing was hard to maintain. We headed back to the hostel around 6pm.

Let's Go: Monaco!

A bus ride to Monaco is 1€ via bus and takes about 30minutes, just enough time to fall asleep to catch a power nap. Monaco is a sovereign state located along the Mediterranean just east of Nice. It is famous of racing and its congregation of tax-avoiding wealth. The next day Stephanie, Gene, Giang and I boarded a bus to Monaco. The weather called for cloudy rain so we figured it would be a good day to check out Monaco, rather than hitting the beach. I slept through most of the scenery, but woke up right before the final stop.



The streets of Monaco are narrower and remind me of what Europe should look like in mind. Souvenir stores line the corners of every street and all showcase items of bright red. From t-shirts to little replica racecars, its pretty clear what the main attraction of this town.



I ended up making several trips to Monaco and was able to see different aspects of the place each time. The first trip I found the Oceanographic Museum and Aquarium at top of a hill. For 6€, I decided it was worth a look. Everyone else decided it wasn't and we all went our separate ways after discussing to meet back near the Aquarium by the yellow submarine.

The Aquarium was pretty impressive and the museum was showcasing an Antarctica exhibit. The highlight was obviously the aquariums. The first tank you see is huge and is at the bottom on a flight of stairs. When I first got there, it was not crowded but soon people flocked in and pretty much covered the entire viewing glass. There were several other windows on the other side as well. It show cased live coral, reef fish, and as well as larger species such as sharks, green turtles and rays.





Six large metal halide fixtures lit up the viewing area and the live coral all had vivid color. Artifical waves splashed against the top of the viewing window. Below are some pictures of the main tank.





There are tons of aquariums on the lower levels, but none that even compared in size to the first one. Each tank showcased a different time of aquatic life. Of course all the display signs were in French so I really didn't learn much about the sea creatures. There was one tank in particular that was I was really impressed with. It was a larger rectangular tank that housed hundreds of clown fish and anemones. The clown fish darted around and the movement of orange and white was spectacular. I will try to setup a similar tank when I get state-side. I have always wanted to setup a salt tank, but hesitated because it is notoriously difficult. After mastering a freshwater planted tank for 3 years, I think my next setup will be a salt.









We ate at a cafe in the touristy area. I ordered a Stephanie, named after the Princess of Monaco. It was suppose to be salmon and pasta. But when the plate finally came the salmon fillet that I was expected were merely little chunks. Ever since Belfast I've been crave a good fillet of fish. The quest continues.







My second trip to Monaco was with some Canadians that were staying at our hostel. We didn't stay that long, but we were able to walk around on the racetrack area. I believe there was an event that day, as everyone was setting up tents and lawn chairs. Near the race track we could see pit crews warming up tires. F1 tires are different than the Indy slicks that I'm use to in the states. Rather than the large flat slicks, F1 uses tires with thread which is suppose to be safer since it reduces racing speeds.





The racetrack is situated along the bay and boats that are docked near the track have a pretty good view. There are tons of yachts and boats here of all sizes, including a giant cruise ship docked a ways out. Since the track is on the bottom of several hills there are many places to see the race from. Many people had already setup lawn chairs and coolers along the many paths that go up and down the hill.



Both times that I went we ended up taking a train back. The train station was probably one of the nicer ones I've seen and it was super clean.

Welcome to Nice-ville!

My friend Stephanie was able to make it out here to Paris to join Giang and I on a trip down to Nice, in southern France. The original purpose of the trip was to go to the Cannes Film Festival, but after researching it turns out that was not possible. Hotel rates skyrocket for this event, as the film festival is one of the only things that puts Cannes on the map. And furthermore most of the hotels were booked solid for this event. Thus, we settled on going to Nice and visiting the surrounding sights via daytrips.



Before Stephanie had visited I looked up train tickets from Paris to Nice. I was able to find one for 39€. However after finding out that Stephanie was coming I started to search for 2 tickets and the total price came to 40€, what a deal. This trips marks my first real train ride in Europe.



Upon arrival to Nice we discovered the weather to be overcast and dull. Nonetheless we head to the beach and to check out some views. The sun came out every once and a while but stayed hidden behind the clouds most of the time. We were able to meet up with Giang and Gene who were already there and after checking our bags into our hostel we headed for the beach.



The beach at Nice is rocky, full of flat stones. They were perfect for skipping. We must have spent a good hour chilling at the beach and trying to skip rocks into the Mediterranean. There weren't many people out as the weather was that good.




After almost throwing out my arm, we all decide to head uphill to Nice from above. We take a trail of stairs to several view points that overlooked the beach we were just on. Seagull hovered overhead hoping to be fed by the tourists. From the top I can see that there are several dive flags placed in the water. The water clear and changes to different shades of turquoise as the sun goes in and out of the clouds.




Around the back of the hill there is another view on to the ships that are docked below. I took a panorama here.

Other sights of Paris

I have many pictures that were taken in Paris that really don't belong under a single posting. So I'll just put them all in here.

Giang and I went to Jim Morisson's grave. We were hoping to meet up with Gene there but we never found him. After the cemetery, we stopped to get some ice cream. After sitting down we see Nate, Erika, and Gene strolling along the sidewalk, small world. here are some pictures of the grave, I wasn't that impressed. Giang had told me that it was suppose to have a lot of graffiti on it. Its kind of weird to see that a giant cemetery is now a tourist attraction.



There are several churches between Opera and the Arc de Triomphe. I was able to visit during my many walks around Paris. The Church of St. Mary Magdalen is the closest. I actually stumbled upon it while trying to find a store and I had no idea what was.


The other church is Saint Augustine's. I have used both of these church to help figure out where I am. That is another great thing about Paris, all the markers available to help you figure out where you are. There is something big and unique at most major intersections that when I did get lost, it didn't last that long.

Its also helpful that Paris is full of these tourist signs telling you which direction to go.

Sunset, saw this one while walking around near Opera. No editing straight from the camera with a resize.


Sample wine and cheese, check


There were several French holidays during my first week in Paris. During this time parks were usually packed full of people.


Sacré-Cœur during the day.



This picture is taken at Asiatic which is a clothing store near Opera.


I don't really remember where this was, but its a cool picture, no?