au revoir, for now.....

after 5 months in what i can only describe as paradise, tomorrow marks my last day. we fly out at noon...

in the midst of hundreds of workers scrambling to setup the stages, tents and advertising screens for the infamous cannes film festival....david and i took our last walk along the croisette...for now.

the daily habits, food, sights and sounds of this lovely place will be missed. ever-present in my mind, the experience of being here for such a time pushes me forward on to new and exciting things.

i can only say thank you, lovely south of france. thank you for all of your beauty.

merci infiniment.

au revoir, for now.....




stick with me, my friends, to see what happens next....what beauty i will find in my next location, wherever that may be.....

joyeuse fête du travail ! !

today, may 1st, in france is the 'fête du travail', equivalent to labor day in the u.s.
stores are closed, people have the day off work and most people spend time with their families. or, as did we, flock to our gorgeous southern beaches in hoards!

anyone visiting on this day, not familiar with the 'premier mai' in france, may wonder why so many street-vendors and the markets are overflowing with 'muguet' flowers, ((pronounced mew-gay):lily of the valleys) for sale? it is customary to give muguet flowers to your loved ones, family, friends, etc. as they 'porte du bonheur', they bring luck!

i bought this muguet pot (my photos above and below) from the market here in cannes for my mother-in-law...pretty!




we got up decently early today to hit the local market. we bought tons of fresh fruit and veggies. yum! we also picked up some ham cut by hand off the bone and also some pâté called 'pâté de grand mere' - - delicious! we lunched outside on the balcony with our market finds and opened a bottle of red wine. what a way to spend lunch!

the rest of the day, we spent on the beach in théoule-sur-mer and driving along the road that is 'board de la mer', along the sea. a photo i took along the path shown below...



we had a wonderful day and if i could, i would have bought muguet flowers for everyone to wish everyone 'beaucoup de bonheur' ! ! !

joyeuse fête ! ! ! !

théoule-sur-mer, une vrai beauté

théoule-sur-mer is a mere 15 minute drive from cannes if travelling along the seaside road. although it is easily accessible by train and bus, it always seems to be quieter than say, cannes city centre.

on this rainy monday, i am happy to post a few photos from théoule that i took on a hike this past weekend with david. we hiked up a huge rolling hill on a super windy day....there were actually points along the hike (when we were waaay far up) that i was actually a bit frightened! doesn't help that i have a phobia of being up too high, at times the path was tiny and felt as though it was a little too close to the edge of the hill (i'm hesitant to say mountain, but i truly think it is a mountain...not a hill).....


after asking a random shopkeeper in town how to get to our starting point, la plage de l'aiguille (shown below), we started towards the hiking path. we passed a few public beach spaces, gorgeous, but vacant, because it was an outrageously windy day.


about half way up the hill/mountain, there were various path's jutting out into the ocean. below is a snapshot of some of the rocky decent towards a 'hidden' beach...which apparently is only accessible from these paths. it was a gorgeous site. i was terrified to get to close to the edge of the path, it was viciously windy and i was scared like a little baby. david was laughing at me....


shown below are two photos of the hidden beach, one from the left of the beach and one from the right of the beach, further along the path along the mountain.




after another 30-40 minutes along the path, along a winding road and into another off-the-beaten-path hiking trail, we arrived at the summit. it was windy, and when i say windy, i was almost tempted to actually sit on the ground for fear of being swept out into the sea from the top! again, david was laughing at me, he wasn't concerned about the wind in the least.

the view was beautiful and we could see for miles and miles, even as far as the lérins islands!


we crossed back into the hillside, where the path flattened out giving us the fresh scent of pine, eucalyptus and wildflowers. ahhh, the sweet smell of fresh air and countryside....


the path then took us back onto the opposite side of the mountain, giving us breathtaking views of the towns below, as well as insight into the lives of some of the most rich and famous....and their secret french hideaways.


the photo below is looking towards cannes. you can even see the cruise ship that docked in town for two days. this time of year it's very common to see gigantic cruise ships docked just off shore. they hover for a few days, out of town tourists crowd into town by hoards, and then jet off to their next mediterranean destination.


i took this next photo looking down onto a spectacular house privately nestled into the side of the mountain...i always wonder who owns the house, what they do for a living and if they know just how fortunate they are to have their house.

i mean, the view itself is worth a million dollars.....


we continued along the tiny winding roads oooing and awing at the houses...all of the infinity edged pools overlooking the french riviera, magnificent balcony's and vine-covered terrace's owned by who i can only imagine to be celebrities or the rich and famous.


looking down over the city centre of théoule-sur-mer, we descended back to where our little twingo was waiting for us.

it was a beautiful day to hike (although crazy windy) and i'm glad we were able to explore some more of the region!

out and about in cannes

some photos i took out and about the town....

iles de lérins - st. honorat

the lerins islands are made up of ile de sainte margeurite and ile sainte honorat, they are located just off the coast of cannes. we visited st. honorat a few weekends ago and it was a gorgeous escape.

the island itself is owned and inhabited by 30 monks from the Abbaye de Lérins, but they allow visitors on their island year round. they live, work and worship on the island, it is their home. to get there, you can take a quick boat ride from cannes - the shuttle boats depart hourly (or so) from early morning until 5 or 6pm.

so a quick boat ride from the city and you land on the shore of paradise. st. honorat is the smaller of the two islands that make up lerins islands. there are marked footpaths, benches and picnic tables scattered throughout. thankfully we went before the height of tourist season, so it was not too busy.

there are plenty of boats that we saw anchored around the shallow waters in the calm sea between the two islands. here are some photos of the rocky shoreline and boats.

we packed a picnic lunch, although there is a restaurant and 'snack' bar on the island too. we preferred to hike around, find a nice spot to eat and continue on exploring the island. the east side of the island is actually quite dense and somewhat like a forest, we found a nice shady spot near one of the many chapels on the island. we had a little picnic ;-)

the monks have various vineyards where they grow syrah, chardonnay, pinot noir and some sort of rosé grape also. the footpaths are throughout the fields, however it is not permitted for guests of the island to walk too close. the sell their wines (as well as handmade liqueurs) at a store near their monastery and also in surrounding cities on the mainland. this is part of the way they support themselves financially on the island. some of their wines are such good quality, that they are offered at some of the best restaurants nearby.



the island is such a beautiful escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, you almost feel as though you are thousands of miles away. it is serene, quiet, wildflowers and bugs and birds (including beautiful pheasants - we even saw a few!) flutter around you while you walk along the shore. we saw jellyfish, butterflies, bunnies and all!







as we headed around the back of the island, we came across the old fort tower, and then the actual monks monastery and working distillery where they make their wine and spirits (delicious natural alcohol drinks). it was so beautiful and on top of the tower was magnificent, i was swept up in it all as the wind wrapped around us.




the monastery itself is gorgeous....





at the end of a wonderful relaxing day with my sweetheart, we stopped for a drink at the beachside bar, i had a glass of wine, david had some of the monk's liqueur. deeeelish.



then we had to head back to reality. *sigh.

more adventures, spring has sprung!!

i apologize in advance that it has been almost 2 full weeks since i have last posted an entry. i have been a busy little bee indeed. above is a photo i took at st. honorat island, makes me want to jump right in!

between immigration procedures, visiting friends, boating to nearby islands and enjoying this gorgeous weather (not to mention birthdays and easter)...i have managed to keep surprisingly occupied while unemployed.

i actually have lots to write about, it is just a matter of finding the motivation to sit down and just do it! (note to self: step 1 = get out of bed early). for those of you who know me pretty well, also know that i love to sleep....a lot.

i am finally at the last leg of my immigration process, whew! what a haul. well, i still have small things to do like exchange my drivers license and translate some documents...but nothing major. this thursday will be the final 'full day' learning about ma vie en france. not to mention that it includes a full hour and a half sit-down lunch in the middle of it. typical, ha! typical.

so i promise that i will write about the lerins islands, our recent visit to marseille and also what life is like in cannes now that the beginning of tourist season has begun. out on my run today i played 'spot the tourist' to keep myself occupied. residents of cannes (including me and david) are still wearing jeans/long pants and cardigans/sweaters in the evening. tourists have shorts, flip-flops and tank tops. but i don't mind, i was one of them not so long ago ;-)

this purple little guy was happily swimming around in the shallow water with some other buddies and he was so cute i had to snap a photo. just watch out and don't get to close! they are cute, until you touch them. ouch!!

happy birthday today mom :-)

here's me opening up an easter egg, france-style. delicious!!!

springtime in cannes, trés jolie!

gorgeous purple flowers are in full bloom right now - - they smell heavenly!

please check back soon, i'll have more posts up this week and next....
thanks for always staying tuned :-) the adventure will continue, no doubt about that.

take a deep breath, relax.....

in a world of uncertainty, constant change and self-discovery where the road can be long and winding.....we may sometimes feel lost, many times worried or unsure what the future may bring us. if you are like me, and find the search exciting and very much worth the effort, you may also feel the pressure (even if only our own on ourselves) weighing in heavily.

we all need to take a break, take some deep breaths and realize that everything works out in ways sometimes we don't, or can't, understand. the outcome may not even matter - - we are not reader's of the future, of our own or others. happiness is not fleeting....it sticks around, if you let it.

in those times of self-doubt, which i know everyone has, albeit probably more often than we like.....a break, an escape, a parting with life's bothers is greatly needed.

let me take you to a place that can make those worries a faint whisper, a long parted trouble and taken away in the wind. a place that has the ability to pull out of you those nagging troubles, no matter what they may be - - however insignificant or faint.....

beauty has that affect on me, at least. i arrive with more than what i leave with. the hands in the wind grab at what nags at me at takes it away, lifts it off my shoulders. launches it into the horizon, far, far away.....

i can only be eternally thankful for what i have been lucky enough to experience in my life. the sights, the sounds, the people. and these i will hold dear and never let go......

for they provide me with solace, escape and utter happiness. they have given me insight into myself and they are part of the pieces of me. what makes me who i am.



so let me take you to a place that can make those worries a faint whisper...

take a deep breath, relax...

inhale the beauty and let your worries drift far, far away into the wind....and beyond.










it works for me......and that is why i love cap d'antibes. this one gets tucked away for safe-keeping. i know i'll need to look on it again, when i just need to relax.