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  • FRANCE 2018

CANNES 2018


Hello everyone!

Thank you so much for returning to my blog! Today, I am going to be writing about my recent Easter holiday in Cannes, which was a 'bon voyage'! Cannes is a city in the South of France, in the French Riviera, also called the Côte d'Azur. Cannes is a famous beach resort town, which is a popular tourist destination, due to its warm weather, tourist attractions, location and of course, the international film festival which is held there every year!

Although I was only in Cannes for a few days, and the weather was not that great, I did really enjoy my time in the city! I will be sharing some of my highlights of the two days I spent sight-seeing, and more!

To start my holiday, I arrived with my family in the Nice airport. Nice is a picturesque city and the fifth biggest in France! It was great that we got to spend a few hours there before we got a train to Cannes. Unfortunately, when we arrived, it was pouring with rain and so it was difficult for us to look around much. If we had stayed longer, I am sure we would have looked around some of the museums, that the historic city boasts.

However, we caught a train from 'La Gare' straight to Cannes. The train ride was only about 30 minutes long and was enjoyable. We arrived in Cannes on Thursday evening and immediately checked in at our hotel, which was 'The Radisson Blu.' After sorting out our luggage in our rooms, we went for dinner. The restaurants were all really nice, not too expensive, but they served amazing food! For our first evening, we ate at 'New York, New York.' It was a great restaurant which served traditional American food. I had a margherita pizza. It was really good, and was close to our hotel, as it was on the main street. After dinner, we went to the spa and swimming pool (inside and outside) in our hotel and then went to sleep.

FRIDAY:

On Friday morning, we got up really early, as the weather was finally nice! My family and I left our hotel early to get breakfast at a local bakery. We then headed up several streets which we hoped would take us to 'Rue de la Castre.' As we walked up the hill from the main street, we passed a small prison gate which had a plaque on it. The plaque was written in French and looked to be about the 'man in the iron mask.' I could not add an image of the plaque because, although I did take one, it is not clear enough to read and also it is in French!

After walking up several winding cobbled streets, we finally arrived at the top of the hill. We were at the top of 'Le Suqeut' which is the oldest quarter of Cannes! Le Suqeut is only a five minute walk from the centre of Cannes. The streets, which were

made at least 400 years ago, are lined with popular restaurants and lead to the Castle and Church. The Castle and Church are major tourist attractions in Cannes, due to their location. The castle grounds boast terrific views of Cannes and the bay of Cannes! Including, the port full of yachts and the beautiful houses and city centre.

After taking pictures of the panoramic view, we went into the Castle. Unfortunately, the tower was closed, but we did get to go inside the Castle and we got to look around the museum. 'La musée de la castre.' The castle was built in the 12th century by monks, on top of the hill, this was built for protection of the city and to watch out for invasions by sea. In the 14th and 15th century, the church was added, this was to be dedicated to the seamen and fishermen living there at the time.

La musée de la castre, although small, was interesting at informative. It included art work, historical objects and collections dating back from 100 years. It also includes information on Cannes, however, much of the exhibition is in French! (There are some English translations as well though!) Additionally, the museum is inexpensive and the grounds are lovely.

After we had looked around the museum, we took some pictures of the Cannes sign which can be spotted from the top of the hill.

We then went back down the hill to the 'Rue d'Antibes.' This is the main street in Cannes and is home to restaurants, shops and hotels. We then walked on the Promenade de la Croisette, which is the prominent road along the shore of the Mediterranean sea. We sat by the Croisette, which was built in the 1850's to satisfy wealthy tourists and tradesmen coming to Cannes. Today, the promenade is lined with luxurious hotels and palm trees. After looking around the Croisette, my family and I ate our lunch.

We then had an ice cream at an Italian gelato shop called 'amorino' it serves amazing ice cream and I have been to this ice cream shop on several occasions. Including in London and Rome! The ice cream is superb and there are so many flavours to choose from. I especially like how the ice cream is scooped up and makes a pretty flower shape around the cone.

We then went to the port (le vieux de port) and looked at the renowned and world-famous film festival venue. Here, we took several pictures of some famous actresses and actors hand prints.

The Palais des Festivals et des Congrès is the venue for the internationally renowned film festival, which is where new film releases are shown annually. The building was built in 1982 for the event, and can seat over 2,300 people. This year, the film festival will be running from the 8th of May and finishing on the 19th May.

Unfortunately, when we arrived, the venue was closed, and a conference was happening. A lot of the outside of the building was shut off and this made it difficult to get many pictures of the hand prints of famous actors and actresses. However, I was lucky to get a picture of Nicole Kidman's and many more!

Instead, we went inside tourist information and looked around at the souvenirs and green screens which we took pictures with!

It was mid-afternoon by the time we returned back to our hotel. We enjoyed another relaxing swim in the pool and then we headed out for our dinner. We ate at 'Tredici.' This restaurant was authentic and served the best traditional food! We ate Mediterranean, French and Italian food here. The restaurant had a lovely cosy feel, due to it being in the front of a converted living room. The restaurant is on one of the back streets, away from the busy party atmosphere of Cannes. It is extremely popular, and only a short walk from the city centre and the castle! Many tourists and locals ate at the restaurant, and it was always completely packed! We ate there twice and booked both times, as otherwise we would have been turned away. So many people were eating there! The starters were delicious and I enjoyed eating 'le plat du soir' twice. I especially enjoyed the guacamole (which was a starter) and the chocolate mousse (dessert) which were incredibly tasty! I cannot recommend this restaurant enough!

SATURDAY:

We left our hotel early and boarded 'le bateau' to take us to a small island off Cannes. The island called 'Île de Sainte-Marguerite,' was a small and remote island which was a short boat trip away from Cannes. It is the largest of the Lérins Islands and is where the museum and prison of the man in the iron mask is. When we arrived, we walked for a long time along the small paths until we found the picnic area. The paths are not too well signed and can mean we got lost at some stages! However, we eventually arrived at the picnic spot, which unsurprisingly, was empty. Most tourists, instead of bringing lunch, would eat at the restaurants on the island. However, my family and I, had brought our own salads from a sweet little French café called 'frensh' which we had found on the main street of Cannes.

After our lunch, we went to look around the museum and the prison. The main attraction on the island is the fort, and prison. The 17th century fort, is renowned for being the place of imprisonment of 'the man in the iron mask.' He was a prisoner of the time of Louis XIV and many believe he was forced to wear a mask to hide his identity because he was royal. His identity and reason for imprisonment is still a mystery, but many people and historians suspect he was the brother or half brother of the King.

The fort and prison were incredibly interesting. The prison allows visitors to look around the cells of which some prisoners were kept. There is a lot of information in the cells, especially the 'man in the iron mask's' one which refers to the infamous treatment inside the prison and the conditions. There are several prison cells and also a museum next to it (musée de la mer) which explains more about the island. In the prison cells, I took some pictures of the prison doors and also the view from the barred window. As well, the star at the end of the corridor which had been painted in the prison in 2013.

After we looked around the prison and museum, we went and had a walk around the island. It takes only a few hours to walk around the whole island. It is truly beautiful, there are many private beaches, a lake and woodland walks on the island. I especially enjoyed the scenic view of Cannes from the fort. I would really recommend visiting the island, as it is so educational and interesting!

Once we returned back to Cannes, we ate again at Tredici! Then we returned back to our hotel and enjoyed the roof top bar, over looking the palm trees, beach and sea! After our drinks, we returned to our rooms where we packed our suitcases and got

ready for our long journey home on Sunday. On Sunday, we arrived back in the UK. And that is where our travelling finished!

I had an amazing time in Cannes, because, it is such a beautiful and historic city! I would really recommend going. Did you go on holiday in Easter? Where did you go? Comment in the comment box below! Thank you so much for reading this travel blog. If you enjoyed reading it, then please like the heart at the bottom of the page, or share It on of the social medias below! I would also love some feedback. Do you want more travel blogs? Please tell me all your suggestions through my Instagram - @bethlucyblogs. Thank you once again for reading this!

Beth Lucy

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