A Whirlwind Day Part 2 - Cannes & Monaco
If you read my recent post “A whirlwind Day in Nice & Eze”, you’ll remember I promised to share the rest of that day trip with you soon. I still can’t believe Nate and I went from the Cannes Film Festival to Nice and Eze, France, and then on to the opening day of the Monaco Grand Prix in ONE day! It was such a wonderful and jam-packed time, and it’s taking two blog posts to tell you about it…so here I go for part duex!
The day started bright and early as our ship approached Cannes, France at 6am. I was very excited to be visiting during the 2019 Festival de Cannes (Cannes Film Festival). I have visited many film festivals, working for years in the motion picture industry, and it was a real treat to finally visit this famous film festival in the south of France for myself.
Our ship lowered its anchor just off Le Vieux Port and we had a front row seat of the De Helistation de Cannes, where we could watch famous festival goers in tuxedos and ballgowns land, making their way from private yachts to the festival red carpet (see my Cannes instagram story highlights for a peak at what we saw). Nate and I enjoyed the quick and easy five minute tender boat ride from our ship to the dock, and then we set off to explore Cannes early, before all the crowds started gathering for the day’s festivities.
We began by strolling into town on Quai Saint Pierre as we passed local cafes and took a glance at all the luxury yachts lining the waters edge. Then we explored the local market, Marché Forville, for breakfast as we picked out fresh flowers and produce.
By 8am Cannes was starting to bustle, so we made a bee-line for Promenade de la Pantiero and Blvd de la Croisette to catch a glimpse of the film festival setup before the crowds filled the street for the day. This famous area is lined with high end shops, including the famous #5 Chanel location, Doir, Hermès and Rolex, just to name a few. It was wonderful to enjoy a sneak peek of the festival day before things got busy...the city nearly doubles in size during the two week film festival.
After our time in France we headed to Monaco, the second smallest country in the world. Any guesses what the smallest country in the world is?... It’s Vatican City, and we actually visited it when we were in Rome the day before (see my Rome post here). So we ended up visiting four countries in 24 hours and two of them are the smallest counties in the world...we did not plan that! 😂
Nate and I didn’t realize we would be visiting Monaco on the opening day of the Monaco Grand Prix, so getting around was slightly more challenging than we had anticipated…and Monte Carlo was jam-packed! Even though I don’t know the first thing about Formula 1 racing, I enjoyed watching the cars zoom by and all the people cheering.
To escape the busy Grand Prix crowds, we headed up to the Prince’s Palace of Monaco to see the front entrance of the Royal Palace, where the guards stood watch. There are wonderful views here overlooking this second smallest country in the world.
To continue our little getaway from the crowds, we took a stroll through the Jardin Exotique de Monaco, a lovely Cliffside botanical garden featuring over 7000 different succulents and tropical plants. There is even a Museum of Prehistoric Anthropologie located inside the garden.
After perusing the many wonderful restaurants in the area, we stopped for a bite to eat and then indulged in some delicious gelato before we made our way to Saint Nicholas Cathedral. Inside this beautiful cathedral is the final resting place of Princess Grace, Prince Rainier, and the Princes of Monaco. It was a memorable way to end our visit in Monaco.
We would have loved to stay longer, but between the traffic for The Grand Prix and the traffic for the Cannes Film Festival, our guide Sue knew we had to give ourselves well more than the regular hour it would take to drive back to the port...indeed our travel time was nearly doubled, but we enjoyed the scenic drive and when we arrived back in Cannes while the evening festivities were already underway.
As part of the Cinema de la Plage, the film Boyz N the Hood was already playing when we arrived back in Cannes. Fans and photographers were crowding to catch a glimpse of the ballgowns and tuxedos gracing the red carpet as we made our way down Boulevard de la Croisette. With the sun setting, we headed back to our ship filled with wonderful memories
What whirlwind days have you enjoyed?.
