Walking Tour Provence Day 2
Walking Tour Provence
Day 2 - Saturday, April 27, 2013 - Explore Cannes; Visit Le Suquet and Château de la Castre; Introductory Meeting; Welcome Dinner
Our Saturday in Cannes was very relaxing. After breakfast we set out to find the Le Suquet or the Old Town and the fortress that one sees up on the hillside. The temperature was 63° and the humidity was 85%, the forecast called for rain; we brought our umbrellas.
We stopped at a flower market that had beautiful Lilies of the Valley, one of Gennie’s favorite memories of her home in Iowa. We also browsed at the Saturday Flea Market and Art Show. We walked to the Hotel de Ville, an impressive building that is the City Hall.
There was a young couple coming out with a double stroller and twin eleven month old girls. We talked to them, the woman was from Spain, the man from France, and they were leaving to go to Dallas where he was starting a new position with Texas Instruments.
Back on our quest for the Old City, we climbed the steep steps and found the Château de la Castre. This medieval castle originally built by the monks of Lérins is the focal point of old Cannes. The fortress has been dominating the hill of Le Suquet since around the 12th century.
The Musée de la Castre was free today! Now owned by the city, the museum has an incredible collection of artifacts gathered by noted 19th Century travelers Ginoux de la Coche and Baron Lycklama.
After climbing the tower, we could see the layout of the town below and get our bearings of where we had walked the past few days. Strolling through the residential neighborhoods gave us a feel for the “real Cannes”; not just the tourist areas one usually sees.
We stopped at an Expressmarket, a convenience store that is totally coin operated. Gennie just bought a soda, but it has everything from food to laundry soap for sale! Just pop in your Euros (€) and the product is yours! Another new experience!
Back at the hotel, we had a little lunch and then began looking at photos and getting the journal ready to post.
At 5:30 we met our Go Ahead Walking Tour group and our Tour Director, Jean-Sébastien Saito in the breakfast room. He gave us a chance to introduce ourselves and then he presented the vital information for the next seven days together.
The group is much smaller this time, only 17 which will be much more manageable that our last group of 42. With the exception of the two of us, the other 15 came in to Nice today and then they were transferred by van to Cannes. Most were pretty tired, so the evening was not a late one.
We walked to the Pierrot Restaurant for our first meal together. After dinner we took a short walk with Jean-Sébastien up to the Castle Overlook to give our new friends a look at the city. It was a good time for a little night photography for Vic.
At 9:30 we came back to the Novotel for our last night in Cannes. We will be sorry to leave the city and the hotel. Director, Patrick Surault, and his crew; Vanessa, and José have treated us well and we truly appreciate their assistance in making our stay a pleasant one.
As this is a "Walking Tour" we would be remiss if we did not keep track and report the number of the miles we walk each day. Today was mostly on our own, but Gennie's pedometer and my GPS averaged out to be 6.2 miles for our first day of the tour.
Accommodations: Suite Novotel Cannes Centre - - - Meal: B & D - - Rating: A
Go Ahead Tours: Walking Tour of Provence
Comments
Tower at Château de la Castre
Musee de la Castre
Cannes from Le Suquet
The Real Cannes
Cannes at Night
Featured Journal
Day 13: Azores & Madeira: Portugal's Unspoiled Archipelagos
Day 13 - Saturday, April 22, 2022 - Depart for U.S.
The hotel prepared a box breakfast for us as we had to be in the lobby way before the breakfast room was open.
Last night we found out that our departure flight back to...
