Today is going to be a packed day. We get up at 6am to squeeze in the market at Cotignac, it has a very good reputation and even though slightly off route we feel it is a must see. We are not disappointed and manage to stock up on Swiss mushrooms growing in a box , so I am actually picking them myself, some really fresh strawberries and we get a huge bag of fresh , spring broad beans.
This is also my first🥐🥐🥐🥐🥐 Boulangerie in Rue Grand. She makes these tiny croissants filled with lemon or nut and chocolate or fruit of the forest fillings yummy 😋. The baguette turns out to be amazing.
We bring our loot back home and it’s time to leave for the coast as we have tickets to Madeleine Peyroux tonight.
The road we choose is one of those thin, green stripes on the map and it gradually meanders through the hills and forests of the 120km to the coast. As we get closer to Cannes the hills start filling up with large mansions perched high on the hill but still with sea view of the Mediterranean.
It is only 8 days to the start of the Cannes Film Festival and we decide to soak up the atmosphere along the promenade.
There is the Carlton with its main entrance already covered with a large TV monitor, getting ready for showing the arrival of the paparazzi and the Rolex clock above the entrance.
We keenly scan the promenade and surrounding streets in search of spotting Hugh Jackman or Gerard Butler but no luck so far.
There are lots of preparations and many white tents are being erected along the promenade which will obviously host different events.
We wonder whether it is worth coming back here when the Festival is on but as I have no Gucci or Versace dresses with me, I might not be allowed in to any of the venues:)
We gradually make our way to Cagnes- sur – Mer where the concert will be in a very large shopping complex with Casino and cinemas. The coast heading from Cannes to Nice is a little less opulent and so allows for a couple of locals to chill out.
You may notice we are not talking soft, golden beaches here, you need a mat or sun chair to enjoy the beach here!
The shopping complex is actually amazing, and we enjoy wondering around. It is built like a huge park, all the shops come off the centre, landscaped park/ gardens with fountains and lots of birds are around. It basically is all open air and you move around from shop to shop enjoying the open space.
At 9pm is our concert, the venue is full and we are really looking forward to the concert.
Both Madeleine and her support are wonderful, talented musicians, but we actually find her new style and the improvisations she does on her older music not entirely to our liking. She has an amazing voice but lyric content in her new works seems quite harsh and is delivered with some angst. A new phase of work for her we guess.
It is 11pm when we leave the concert and we still have that 120km to go home, so this time no green lines on the map, we jump on the autoroute and are home barely an hour later. What a day!