Cannes, France

Cannes … the only “new-to-us” port on this cruise.

Luckily, the sea state cooperated and we were able to get ashore on the tender boats. It was a cool, gloomy day, with rain spritzing throughout. Of course, every time we opened the umbrella, the spritzing stopped. No complaints, however … could have been worse.

By 9:50a, we were starting the slightly-steep hike up to Le Suquet. Suquet, which means “the Summit” in the Occitan language, is where Cannes was first founded. The area’s history, however, dates back to the Ligurian people who occupied this part of France in antiquity.

Our destination was Musée de la Castre, an art and historic artifacts museum housed in the medieval fortress atop the hill. Turns out that we had completely spaced out that it was Monday. Thus, the museum was closed. No matter. Lovely aerial views from the terrace made the climb worth while … as well as the ubiquitous big letters for a selfie op.

Walking through an arched gateway in the bell/clock tower, we found the Église Notre-Dame d’Espérance. A lovely little church with its entrance built into the fortifications. Construction of the church, which replaced an earlier one, began in 1521, but the work continued sporadically and took some 120 years to complete. A surprise find in the church was a painting by Raphael … located in the Sacred Heart Chapel.

From the church, we headed down into the shopping district. Walking past the Cannes Cathedral, we took a quick peek and found it less impressive than the church in Suquet … except for the beautiful stained glass windows.

Our route next took us out to La Croisette, the over 1-mile long waterfront promenade overlooking the beach clubs that, during the season, are packed with people — famous and not — who are in Cannes to see and be seen. La Croisette is best known for the Palais des Festivals where the Cannes Film Festival is hosted … closed today.

The beach clubs along the promenade were all locked up, tall berms of sand placed along the edge of the water to protect the structures from the winter storms that come ashore. On the way back, we walked along the other side of the road, peeking into all the expensive brand stores along the way … prices sky high; displays showing the latest runway fashions; well-dressed guards prominently positioned near the door, determining who could enter and who could not.

Our return stroll took us through streets lined with more modestly-priced though no less elegant shops, cafés, bistros, and patisseries. Even in the off season, these streets were crowded with locals … and of course, passengers off the only ship in port today … ours.

We had already decided that we wanted crepês for lunch. The question was … where? Google to the rescue. Mui found a highly rated bistro on the waterfront — Atelier Artisanal Crêpier. Despite the on again/off again rain, the tables on the sidewalk were nearly all taken, but we lucked out with one in the corner … under the protection of a large market umbrella.

Perusing the menu, we settled on savory crêpes … Bernard … filled with pickled eggplant and zucchini; fresh rocket and cherry tomatoes … and topped with a burrata on a bed of thinly-sliced speck. The burrata was presented through a hole in the center of the crêpe … decorative and creative. A glass of pinot noir completed our meal.

Though we were tempted by the offering of sweet crêpes on the menu, we opted to walk a short ways to a highly-rated gelateria instead — Niva … a Torino-based company. OMG! We both agree that it was categorically the best gelato ever. The good news? They have a shop in Lisbon, so if we are lucky, we’ll have another chance at this deliciousness.

After our sweet treat, we slowly made our way back to the tender pier. By 2:40p, we were on the tender, heading back to Oosterdam.

On the ship, we enjoyed some quiet time, making the most of the cell signal from shore. I was able to sit out on the veranda for a bit, but it grew windy and turned chilly quite quickly. It got worse when Oosterdam shifted around to put the starboard tenders in the lee so that they could be raised and secured in their davits.

By 5:15p, Oosterdam was on the move … leaving France behind. Next stop … Spain.Read more