Cannes and The Red Carpet

Apparently Cannes built the first marina in Europe and they sure knew what they were doing. They created the ultimate red carpet welcome for the rest of the world. There are so many million dollar yachts tied up and floating around, it was hard to take our eyes off the water. But Cannes is incredible. It looks like Paris (image that) with the narrow, winding streets and tiny cars and scooters and architecture and flowers pouring off of the balconies and cafes, cafes, cafes. We strolled around through the tree-lined streets on a gorgeous day – cool and breezy. We stopped for a little snack and espresso, then continued taking a look around. The people are very chic and fashionable, lots of designer stores and then, oh yeah, the Film Festival. The place was abuzz with massive billboards, photo shoots, and big white tents with florists and caterers running around. Most people had their cool glasses and hip looking name badges and passes to the event. The Red Carpet was rolled out everywhere, at all the hotels and conference center. We had some delicious crepes for lunch in a quaint, totally authentic family-owned restaurant. We took an embarrassingly touristy open-air bus ride all around town, down by the beautiful beaches and up to the castle on the top of the hill overlooking the city – spectacular views. We got on our own little boat for the ride back to our ship, which looked amazing from down in the water. Tonight was formal night and the restaurants and the Promenade were full of cruisers in gowns and tuxes strolling about. We may not have seen any celebrities during the day, but tonight the ship felt like The Red Carpet, indeed.