A visit to the French Riviera

Sunday, June 23, 2024

Cannes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France

Overnight our ship pushed its way through some fairly rough seas from Barcelona to Cannes, France. The heavy rocking of the ship assisted in keeping me in a heavy sleep, but poor Sharon was kept wide-awake for hours due to loud and disturbing noises coming from a child in the next-door cabin.

Our ship moored in the harbour off Cannes as we breakfasted. We were then tendered by mini ferries ashore to join a coach excursion firstly to the pretty village of Saint Raphael, one of the oldest resorts on the coast where wealthy Romans used to spend their summers thousands of years ago. Sharon's visit to Saint Raphael made her day when a local well-dressed lady stopped in the street to tell Sharon how elegant she looked.

The spectacular 90-minute drive back to Cannes was via the Golden Corniche, an iconic road thanks to the scenery on route such as its red cliffs and green pines bordering the turquoise ocean. And of course, a favourite location for the rich and famous to reside. At almost every corner, or new cove our guide told us about some famous person who had a villa right there on the steep hillside beside the road. The opulence of these residences sitting in such stunning scenery was mind blowing. Unfortunately, the road was so curvy that photography was difficult. I did get some good videos, but the blog doesn't seem happy in loading them.

Back in Cannes, we enjoyed the happy vibrant atmosphere as we strolled the harbour and beach fronts and its backstreets. We really liked what we saw today and would love to come back if ever the opportunity arose. A delicious meal in a little characteristic café accompanied by a whole bottle of one of the Riviera’s famous rose’s ensured the positive vibes kept coming.