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POSTCARD FROM FRANCE  2015  #5

 

May 20 - Riviera, Cannes  A brief stop in Saint Tropez proved that whatever authenticity it may have once had, it was now overcome by commercialism and conspicuous presumption. Every shop, magazine, T-shirt, postcard featured skimpy photos of Brigit Bardot when she was 20 years old – she is now 80!  What wasn’t lined with tourist shops was lined with pretentiously rich yachts and autos. I split after a brief cycle around town, spent the night in a RV area in St Maxime. Next morning drove up the spectacularly beautiful coast to S. Rafael: 10 miles of bright blue waters cupped by bold, sienna cliffs tumbling off the great red mountain called Massif de l‘Esterel. If you want to hike, bike or swim through a sunny Eden this is it! And Saint Rafael is one of my favorite, unpretentious towns for yacht harbors, markets, beaches, restaurants & casinos; a  relaxing evening and nighting in the port. All the high speed and local trains stop here, before leaving or rejoining the Riviera, if you want to connect.

Next day I drove to Cannes and found my strategic parking spot in a forgotten lot just two train tracks and a seaside boulevard from the beach, less than a kilometer from Cannes Old Town and the Festival! I was able to bike to the Palais where I people watched & met with Jacqueline and the Lithuanian Film Queen, Liana (Director of Film Promotions in the Cultural Ministry.) She is always so gracious, busy and fun, we attended the Polish Film party on the 9th floor of the Grand Hotel.

I took time to explore the shores East toward Golf-Juan and Antibes. The Ferdinand Leger Museum is located in Biot, a small town nextdoor – so I spent an afternoon walking through rooms full of FL originals and a wine in the garden! A contemporary of Picasso, Matisse & Braque, who worked also with sculpture, mosaics and architecture, he is an often over looked treasure:

Having no entre’ to the Festival this year, I was confined to meetings with my friends and life on the Boulevard. Fortune brings many chance meeting at restaurants and museums with different but interesting people from all walks of life – too many to recount but insights on things we all seem to share in common. I offer this flip-book of faces from the Cannes Film milieu:

 

I’m off to Sete and meeting with brother Frederic.

Peace, love, fun

Loren

 

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