Cannes and its tiny Iles de Lerins

With absolutely no wind we motored 12NM´s across to the Port of Cannes…and opted for a safe mooring in the harbour so we could relax and enjoy Cannes without any worries… well that would be after spending 2 hours cleaning the mud out of all Seaclusion´s nooks and crannies, doing the laundry and provisioning!

On our provisioning trip we also came across the most amazing food market which sold everything fresh you could want, from huge slabs of nougat, enormous tomatoes, every kind of spice, weird and wonderful mushrooms, meat, ravioli in all shapes and sizes and even zucchini flowers!

Fully laden, we returned to Seaclusion and dinner on board was about all we could manage that night, besides the sun was meant to shine in the morning!

Cannes

The next day we went walkabout..in the sunshine!!!

Cannes is essentially divided into 2 parts with the harbour splitting them nicely in 2. To the West is “Cannes of the Cannois”, the old town, and to the East, what is known as the English enclave with large villas, wide boulevards and posh shops which is where the annual Film Festival is hosted.

We of course turned to the West to visit the old town, by far the prettier and cuter part, starting first by walking up the the hill to the old church to see the views across the city and rooftops of the old traditional homes, taking in some wonderful murals on the sides of the buildings.

and yes it was worth it!

The View across the City

We then wandered down the tiny streets that made up the old town, stopping for a beer and glass of wine, as one does, and checking out places to eat for the evening!

Cannes of the Cannois

Our neighbour, whilst having our beer and vino!

Suitably refreshed, we then headed down to the beach, flocked with sun worshippers, the new part with its glam shops for some window shopping, its casino which was built some years ago although not without some opposition from the resident clergy, and the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, a modern building complete with red carpet and Allée des Étoiles – Cannes’ walk of fame.

We finally returned back to Seaclusion to put on some glad rags to head back into the old town to find a little place for a simple bottle of french red wine and a plate of charcuterie, cheese and salad. We thought we had found just the ticket until they gave us the wine list, a pichet of their local wine not being an option, the cheapest bottle was 48 euros. A very good deal was however done when the waiter saw us get up to leave and we watched with amusement as the same ritual was done with just about every other diner as they sat down…clearly an owner wishing to take advantage of the tourists, but without much success!!! Even so we still had a tussle over the bill when they tried to charge us for 2 plates of charcuterie, when we had clearly only ordered, and received we might add, one!!! But the waiter was an amusing chap who kept us entertained, constantly blaming the boss for the all issues we had… The other highlight was a groom to be on his stag weekend from Rome who was giving out 1 euro coins to the ladies who kissed him, Chantal did partake, but evidently he wasn’t into men !!

An ice-cream on the way home saw us fit to return to Seaclusion for some much needed shuteye, if a little tipsy by this stage!

We loved Cannes, not sure it would be the same in August, when Rod Heikell who writes our sailing almanacs describes the place as “a crowded resort, its streets choked with traffic and its hotels full to overflowing, with crowds that would exhaust you and food you would be appalled to call French!”, but hey hoy, we are sure we will give it another go on our return!

During our stay we also met an interesting couple, Fred & Zoe from Old Portsmouth, who had a beautiful old motor boat called Chartwell and their tender, Winston.. which made us giggle. No doubt our paths will cross again during the summer when I am sure we will learn all about the reasoning behind the names over a fat cigar!

On the 23rd June we motored all of 3 miles to drop anchor in between the Lerins islands, & Ile de St-Honarat. Due to the inclement weather we didn’t actually go ashore to either, but this is definitely a place we will come back to for a few days later in the season and will then go walkabout, and no doubt partake, (once again!) in the pizza that is cooked onboard a Catamaran yacht in the anchorage and delivered to your own …

We had a peaceful night at anchor with full tummies, but woke to the east wind blowing making our stay there rather untenable, and so headed off to our next port of call, Villefranche, giving Antibes and Nice a swerve for now, well we have to save some places for later!

24th June 2024