Cannes, France and the Golden Corniche

I mentioned in yesterday’s blog that we were indulging in a massage in the afternoon, and for the immediacy of it, I couldn’t have felt better. Back to the cabin to shower before dinner, and things went downhill. Apparently the massage triggers all sorts of internal heating, and the hot shower, and warm room to follow made me absolutely wooky! That’s a combination of dizzy and nauseated which, the latter, was compounded by the ship tossing and turning in very rough waters.

Cheryl called the nurse who thought I should see the doctor, and he promptly arrived at the room – no telling how much THAT will cost! At least 6’6” and a Spanish-looking version of James Arness (Matt Dillon), he did a thorough physical after taking my history, and ordered some sort of intramuscular injection to calm my upset nature. Somewhere in the middle of that process I convinced him that I really didn’t feel great with a loud and vigorous vomiting.

So, we didn’t make it to dinner. Instead, we called it an early evening with some minor room service and waited for a new day.

That day arrived this morning with our docking in Cannes, France, and a bouncy tender (a small power boat) ride from ship to shore. Visible in the distance were the snow-covered Alps which we don’t see anything like in Columbus, Ohio.

Cannes is a busy tourist city in the French Riviera (Cote d’Azur – Coast of Blue) and famous for its film festival which is coming soon in mid-May. The “Man in the Iron Mask” was imprisoned in nearby Ile de Sainte-Marguerite, and the subject of countless films.

We boarded a bus and headed away from Cannes toward St. Raphael, a small seaside town about an hour away. After walking around there for an hour, and having a delicious cappuccino at a seaside café, it was back on the bus for a trip on the Golden Corniche.

A seaside road built by Napoleon near an ancient Roman road, it was windy with tons of switchbacks that promptly made Cheryl queasy. Mostly it looked over the Mediterranean down sheer cliffs. The scenery was spectacular, though, along with a “Scenic Overlook” (as they call them in the U.S.) for pictures, and also passing by a villa overlooking the Mediterranean once owned by Laurel and Hardy. And, indeed, the Mediterranean is a beautiful color of blue!

One very touching moment was our stop at the beachhead where, on August 15, 1944, the Allied Forces led by the Texas Division of the US Army landed in Southern France, aided by the French forces. 100,000 men landed over two days, with 1,000 killed – small numbers compared to Normandy, but still made me think of those same “swashbuckling Americans” who came to save Europe. There was a beautiful monument to them there, but alas no American flag and even a campground – sacrilege – next door!

Eventually the Golden Corniche led us back to Cannes, and Cheryl and I got off the bus midtown to look around. They’re about three weeks away from the big shindig – the Cannes Film Festival – and we saw the large auditorium where all the screenings are held. And, the availability of spectacular hotels and villas is obvious, as is the amount of money wrapped up in this resort town.

Cheryl’s birthday is in two days, and I finally divulged that it was my plan to buy her a Rolex watch, and I wasn’t too discouraged after seeing their price tags (which, gulp, ranged up to as much as $20,000)! Wonderful person she is, though, she told me that she really didn’t want a Rolex and, instead, the black pearl earrings on board the ship were much more desirable. We’ll see.

As we arrived back on board the ship about 3:00 p.m., the captain was making an announcement. He said that our stop tomorrow, scheduled to be Sanary sur-mer, France, is now off limits because of the windy weather and an alternate site is being scheduled. Just hoping we don’t get too much of that up and down motion when we raise anchor tonight at 10:30 p.m. See you tomorrow!