Antibes and Cannes

This morning we enjoyed a nice breakfast before heading out the door with Sandro and his brother.  They took us around their hometown of Antibes and allowed us to browse the stores along the small streets and alleys.  We strolled along at a pleasant pace and just took in all the sights and sounds.  From the village center we went to the port of Antibes and saw all the sailboats and yachts docked there.  The fortress-like structure that separates the water from the town actually wraps around the perimeter of the city and we were able to make our way around it.  It was nice to listen to the sound of the sea as we ambled along.  Both Sandro and his brother are great tour guides and they pointed out hidden parts of town and answered all of our questions.  As the afternoon approached, Amy (Sandro's girlfriend) joined us and we all had lunch together.  Kenny ate some pesto gnocchi and I had a salad that looked amazing but actually didn't taste very good (I think it was just the dressing that I didn't like).  Amy went with us as we wrapped up our ventures in downtown Antibes and after we dropped Lorenzo (Sandro's brother) off at home we were off again, on our way to Cannes.

I'm sure you all know this, but Cannes is where the annual film festival is held.  As we drove along the main road we were able to see many of the grand hotels that the stars choose to stay at when they come to visit the city.  We parked and got out to walk around and as we did so we saw cement handprints in the ground just like you would see in Hollywood.  Even cooler was the fact that Kenny and I got the chance to walk along and pose on the red carpet that the stars walk on on their way into the grand ceremony.  The rest of the town is lively as well and full of many expensive, name brand stores (Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Jimmy Choo, etc.).  We walked along Antibes Street and went window shopping...unfortunately there's no way that either of us could afford such high end apparel.

After we wrapped things up in the streets of Cannes we sat down at a café to enjoy some drinks and a crêpe.  We then stopped at the local grocery store in Antibes to get a taste of what that is like; it's huge and super, super busy.  It was hard to stay together and I have no idea how one can successfully manipulate the place.  Kenny and I each bought a package of our new favorite breakfast treat (some sort of cracker/biscuit...it's hard to explain) and we're going to do what we can to refrain from eating them all before we get home so that we can share with our friends (no promises though).  When we got back to Sandro's house he ordered pizza and we enjoyed that for dinner, followed by some amazing homemade apple crisp.  Sitting here right now I can honestly say that I'm stuffed to the gills but a very, very happy girl.

Tomorrow morning Kenny and I have to say goodbye to Sandro and his family.  They have been great hosts and this was probably the best way we could have started off our European adventure.  Sandro will be taking us to the train station so that we can start making our way to Cinque Terre, Italy; we'll be there for a few days before making our way to Rome.  Unfortunately I don't think we'll have internet access for a few days, but I'll be sure to make an update as soon as I possibly can!!  :)

PS - In case you would like to check it out, here is the link to all of our pictures from this part of our venture:  Southern France Album.