Toulon
We wandered around the train station looking for Stephanie and Emily until eventually they found us. They had spent some time looking around Cannes while they waited for us, and they herded us off in the direction that they figured was where our condo was. We had the address, and on the way we met a guy who just told us exactly where it was. Convenient. It was a bit of a hike, with our bags and all, but we made it safe and sound. We thought we weren't going to be able to check in until five, but in fact our rooms were ready. We had reserved two rooms, each with its own toilet, shower, kitchen and balcony. When we got up there, however, we realized that one room had two twin beds and one room had a futon. Emily and Stephanie graciously took the futon so that Jim and I could have the twin beds.
As soon as we put our stuff away we headed down to the beach (on La Croisette). It was really not that far from our condo. We laid out in the sun and went swimming in the Mediterranean! It was wonderful. We even got burgers and fries and ate them on the beach. Mmmm, vacation.
Walking to the beach
Thumbs up!
Stephanie is really excited to be in Cannes
Emily is confused
We're really white.
Captain Bobbie Sparrow
Captain Jim Sparrow
On our way back we stopped at a little grocery store and got some things to eat for dinner, as well as beer and wine. We sat out on our balcony and ate and drank and were merry. I had brought my iPod speakers, so they got quite a bit of use as well. After dinner there was a little bumpy air with me getting upset over something trivial, but eventually we moved past it and went for a walk.
Dinner: Stephanie is thirsty
Emily and Jim
The view from our balcony
We walked down to the beach in the dark. We laid out on a wooden platform in front of a tent that was being set up for the film festival until someone made us leave, and then we went over to the beach. Emily drunkenly befriended many many French people, and Stephanie and Jim and I all ran into the Mediterranean in the middle of the night in various stages of undress. This seems to be becoming a regular thing for me. In which sea shall I take a nocturnal dip next?
After that we were wet and cold and ready for showers and bed, so we made the trek back up to our condo and showered and shook the sand out of our hair and collapsed.
Sunday morning was beautiful and warm and sunny. We kind of lazed around for a lot of the morning. When we finally did get up, we went to try and find a bathing suit for Stephanie and then what did we do? We went to the beach! My bathing suit wasn't really fitting me very well but I didn't feel like buying a new one so I went in shorts and a tank top. Bad idea. There's a reason we have special clothes for swimming. By the end of the afternoon I was extremely sandy and uncomfortable and unhappy, but I did get some sun and Emily and Jim did build a sandcastle and then donate it to a small French child. Stephanie had to leave to find an internet café to do some sort of job interview over the phone, so Jim and Emily and I headed back to the condo without her. We decided it might be nice to go out to dinner just one night, and Emily wanted to see some celebrities, so we all showered and decided to head down into town. I'm not sure what we expected Stephanie to do, but I had her phone number. Luckily we ran into her on the way down. We went to the beach where Emily thought the celebrities would be, but we didn't see any. We did find some cool handprint things though.
Excited to be in Cannes
Peace.
What?
Sharon Stone
Michael Douglas
Tim Robbins
Vanessa Redgrave
Eventually we set out to find a not-too-expensive restaurant. Of course, every restaurant in Cannes is expensive, but when in doubt, do Italian. Pizza is always relatively affordable.
So we settled into a nice Italian restaurant. Jim and I both got pizzas, Emily got some seafood thing, and Stephanie (who had already eaten) got a banana split! Mmm. We also got two carafes of wine. Gotta love France. I'm going to miss the wine.
Banana split!
I'm a little hazy on the post-supper details. I think that was the night that we tried to find the little grocery store again and couldn't, and Jim and I separated from Emily and Stephanie and laid on the grass in some square and then went to Haagen-Dazs. I also think that was the night that we all had to rub burn cream on Emily's sunburned butt while we played a French card game called Jungle Speed... but I may be wrong. The days were all sunny and wonderful and the nights were all full of wine, so they kind of blur into each other. All I know is that eventually we went to bed.
Monday seemed like a good day NOT to go to the beach, since Emily and I were both pretty burnt. I don't remember which happened first but at one point Steph and Jim went grocery shopping, and at another point Jim and I went for a walk. It was really nice. We found a pirate themed candy store called Les Bonbons du Pirate, which was pretty awesome. We got some candy and brought it home.
Out for a walk
This man walks funny.
This man was bursting out of a building.
Back at the condo Emily and I were starting to pack up our stuff because we had to be on our sleeper train at 8:30 pm. We ate one last dinner in Cannes, with some wine, rubbed some more burn cream on Emily's back, and eventually headed out for the train station. Emily and I caught our train with no problem. I didn't sleep much at all, but Emily did and we got to Gare d'Austerlitz at 7:20 AM. Getting back from Austerlitz to the Cité U was surprisingly easy, and I had time to shower and relax before class.
All in all, I'm glad I went. It was extremely stressful to plan and I am poor now, but it was totally worth it. It was pretty much the best decision I've made all year. Or at least a close second.
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