Tag Archives: beach

May 14 2010
Leave a comment
Cannes, Cannes Film Festival, Food Porn, Movie Reviews

Day Deux

Day 2 of the Festival started off beautifully. Crisp air, blue sky, sun shining.

Sophie, Lily, and I headed in to Cannes around midday to catch the Market Screening of “William Vincent,” a film that James Franco both starred in and produced with his company, ‘RabbitBandini.’ I’ll be honest, we (along with the students who showed up for the screening) were mostly holding out hope that the present-day James Dean would show up in-person to present his film to the 60-person market screening audience. He did not – and the film was beyond awful, soooo… 1 point James Franco, 0 points us.

Synopsis:

From James Franco’s RabbitBandini Productions comes the story of William Vincent, a man (Franco) who assumes a new identity for the sole purpose, it seems [read: NO purpose], of disappearing in plain sight. He is living in the shadows of New York City, until one day chance brings him in contact with a vague crime syndicate [keyword: vague] made up of a trio of unlikely criminals [read: uninteresting people], one of whom is Ann, the couresan/confidant of the syndicate boss. William and Ann fall in love almost immediately [without explanation – about as much build-up of a paltry RomCom], to the great displeasure of the Boss. When the Boss prohibits William from seeing Ann [senselessly], the reluctant criminal’s reaction is swift and extreme, and forces him to flee the city, leaving behind Ann and whatever small life he had constructed for himself [keyword: small (read: uneventful, hardly making a dent on anyone or anything, pointless – just like this plot)]. The film begins when William, after four years in exile, returns to the city to rescue Ann from her enslavement by the Boss [interesting’ish premise uninterestingly played out].

At least we all got a free glass of wine out of enduring the “my first film school” film. While we waited in line before the screening we were handed some petite glasses of vino by a couple of Festival waitresses. Methinks this was an attempt to drug us so we would enjoy the film. Unfortunately for them I don’t think we would’ve enjoyed it even if they had passed out pills of ecstasy and free passes to Euro Disney. This flimsy, painfully dull, wannabe-existential movie did not stand a chance – it tried WAY to hard. Better just stick to soap operas and weed movies, James.

Après le film, the students scattered to go catch more screening and Sophie headed back to Juan for dinner. Lily and I strolled along the International Village and walked through the park to grab some food at the little outdoor café by the carousel and fountain. (Same place I had that meet’n’eat session with Dr. Smith and those students a few days prior).

Feeling a bit Frenchy I ordered a classic dish, a Croque Monsieur (which is basically a glorified ham and cheese). Lily and I ate and enjoyed the bustling scenery before heading over to the Cinéma de la Plage (aka- Movie on the Beach).

We flashed our badges, were handed a plush, white, fleece ‘Stella Artois’ blanket (which now sits in my hotel room after I expertly smuggled it out – hey, gotta get souvenirs where you can!), and made our way up towards the front to grab a couple primo seats in the rows of cloth folding chairs.

Before long the familiar sounds of a man yelling, “Shoo-shoo! Shoo-shoo!,” reverberated into our eardrums. This is exactly what I had been waiting for. This same guy is here EVERY YEAR walking the aisles of cloth beach chairs selling his “shoo-shoos”, which are basically little plastic bags of praline-covered nuts. It’s 2€ for one bag or 3€ for two. Of course I opt for the two-bag option, so Lily and I can each enjoy a treat during the movie.

The movie playing on the screen out over the Med tonight is, “From Here to Eternity.” Ahh…a movie about Hawaii and the U.S. military as I sit on the beaches of southern France…could this BE anymore perfect for me?!?!

About halfway through the film we are distracted by the booming music and flashing lights of another projection. It seems that a Chinese cinema party is on and popping just a little ways down the beach from us. Lily and I attempt to stay focused on the large screen in front of us as best we can – we don’t want this to ruin our beach movie experience.

A half our later, just when we had successfully zoned out the noise from the neighboring party – FLASHES of FIREWORKS appear above our screen out over the waters of the Mediterranean. It was truly a moment worthy of “oos” and “ahhs.” We were mesmerized and taken aback as this would turn out to be the BEST fireworks show that Lily or I had ever experienced in our lives. Hands down. I immediately mentally apologize to the Chinese party people for the mean thoughts I had toward them earlier — because THIS was truly a spectacle. I’ve never seen anything like it. Amazing.

Tagged , , , ,
Jun 07 2009
Leave a comment
Juan-Les-Pins, UGA Students, Visitors

Last day in Juan

I already did one post on my last day in Juan-Les-Pins when I was checking all of the students out of the residence. Beginning with check-outs at 4:30am that morning, I was finally done with the last of them around mid-day. Instead of going up to bed to sleep, Dan and I made the most of our last day in the south and paid 15euro a piece to rent padded beach chairs in the sand. It was unnaturally windy this day so the waves were choppier than I’ve ever seen them on the Med. It was warm in the sun, though, and we soaked up every last ounce of our last day before Paris.

Tagged , , ,
Jun 01 2009
Leave a comment
Travel, UGA Students, Visitors

"Travel Weekend"

Having been given the Friday off from class creating a 3-day weekend students ventured whimsically to places like London, Amsterdam, Venice, and Avignon.  Meanwhile Dan and I used this time to take quick train trips to Golfe Juan, Monaco, and Antibes – each enjoyable in their own right.  I’ve already written about our first day of lounging (topless!) on the beaches of Golfe Juan and I planned to write about our Monaco experience this morning, but considering my camera’s juice is completely dissipated at the moment I guess I’ll just give you a little taste and divulge the full details with accompanying pictures later.

Monaco was fantastic.  I don’t know if I’ve even visited a place where everything down to the sidewalks is so ornate.  The remnants of the Grand Prix race from a week ago are still intact in the streets.  We walked around for about five hours exploring the winding streets of the world’s second smallest principality (Vatican City holds the title of smallest).  We documented every square inch with 300 pictures or so.  I promise to only post a miniscule portion of those.
Yesterday from noon to eight we journeyed through the tiny, old streets of neighboring Antibes.  I’d spent a day there before when I was here three years ago – lunching with ladies from my program and snapping goofy model-esque picture poses atop a scenic overlook by the sea.  This trip with Dan, though, was somehow different.  We took more time to notice the small things – exploring many more nooks and crannies than I had previously.  The local artists in the open air market, the myriad of hats for the taking at the hidden absinthe bar, and the rocky shoreline with white crested waves crashing beneath the walled city were just some of the things we admired.  
I’ll post more in-depth stories of our adventures along with pictures later on when I get a chance.  For now we’re going to grab lunch, charge my camera battery, and head over to Cannes for an afternoon of sightseeing, shopping, and maybe a movie in one of its many theatres.  I can see out the window of our rooftop classroom now that there appears to be a threat of afternoon thunderstorms as the sky goes from a light white down to a deep purple off in the distance behind the harbored tip of Golfe Juan……hopefully we can do a quick raindance to hold off the looming showers.  
Anyway – time to run.  Will report back later.  A tout a l’heure!
Tagged , , , ,
May 30 2009
1 Comment
France, Juan-Les-Pins, Travel, Visitors

Danny has landed!

 After an 8-hour flight, a 6-hour layover in Paris, and another flight down to Nice complete with a 40-min delay…..Dan has made it to me in the south of France!

He arrived jetlagged, yet excited — so we hit the ground running in my home base of Juan-Les-Pins right away in an attempt to prolong Dan’s head hitting the pillow and get his body clock adjusted to France time.
Living just half a block up from the blue Mediterranean Sea makes for a lovely view from my balcony as well as easy access for strolling along the boardwalk.  Dan and I did just that as soon as we unpacked his very well organized suitcase.  🙂
 
On the way to the restaurant-lined beach we made a quick pitstop for some mid-afternoon gelato (which I seem to have adopted as a daily ritual).  Dan LOVED his cone full of Snickers and chocolate goodness.  We then walked out on a rocky point to admire the distant yachts and crystal clear water just at our feet.  Dan can’t get over the scenery of Juan-Les-Pins…restaurants with couches and tables that allow its patrons to dine with their feet in the sand, colorful awnings from the shops and apartments looming just behind, and not to mention topless French sunbathers as far as the eye can see.
We got him some good handmade French pizza that is as thin as our Arby’s FSI’s.  He LOVED that too.  We had a great (cheap!) bottle of French red wine with our pizzas which you could’ve mistaken for warm milk as it began to lull Dan to sleep while he was still seated at the table.  At one point during our conversation I had to inform him that only one of his eyes was still open — I’m pretty sure he doesn’t remember most of that first day/night as I’ve had to repeat a lot of what I said – but I can understand.  I’ve already dealt with the exact same thing with our 25 students when they arrived.  I’m a pro now.
The next morning we got up and went to my favorite spot for breakfast crepes – “Pan & Cake.”  We enjoyed ingredients like ham, cheese, mushrooms, and egg warmly wrapped into our soft crepes.  Yum!  Grabbed two ‘pain-au-chocolats’ to go and headed toward the train station for a day on the beach in the neighboring town of Golfe Juan.  Below are some pictures from our afternoon – it was great and so relaxing.
                       
 
Today is Dan’s third day on the ground here and the students have been given a day off class to allow time for a “travel weekend” of their choice.  We are going to use this time to take a day trip over to Monaco and hopefully stop in Eze on one of the legs of the train ride.  It’s another beautiful day with a bit of a breeze so it should be perfect for walking around and exploring new areas.  I’ve never been to either of these places, so I’m excited to see them for the first time today with Dan.  I’m sure we’ll have SO many pictures to post after today.
Okay, better go check the train schedule before the entire day gets away from us on the internet.  Talk to you soon.
-ab & dd
Tagged , ,
May 08 2009
5 Comments
Juan-Les-Pins, Reflections, Travel

One is the loneliest number

This is the first post I’ve been able to do since I’ve been here.  The internet has been down all along the coast for my past three days in France, so voila – just pretend like I posted this on Wednesday, May 6 (my true first day in the country).


One…(o’clock) is the time I got to Hartsfield-Jackson airport in ATL on Cinco de Mayo.  Three (o’nine) is the time I made it to my gate for my 3:20PM take-off.  *Note to self- Do not eat at the airport Houlihan’s for a pre-departure lunch no matter how bad you want the greasy American potato skins before you leave.  The only “skin” I will remember from this experience is making that flight by the skin of my teeth.  Never again…

One…bag made it all the way through with me on my journey to Nice (which, as you know, began in Atlanta and then connected in Paris).  It is important to note here that I was expecting two bags to meet me in Nice.  For reasons why I had to end up checking a second bag please refer back to paragraph ONE.  For future reference: if you arrive at the gate that late there will not be any more overhead compartment room on the plane and the lady at the gate will throw your bag under the plane with the other checked luggage and that lady will forget to enter your bag into the online airline/airport system of all-knowing all-important information….thus, your bag will take a detour in Paris for longer than the four hour layover you had planned.

One…day is how long your bag will spend in Paris without you.  (Lucky bastard.)

One…is the number of passports a person has in their name at any given time in their life (pending they are not a criminal with multiple identities).

One…is the number of passports that I had going into this trip.

One…is the number of passports that I left on the seat of my taxi that drove me thirty minutes from the Nice airport to my residence in Juan-Les-Pins.  (Given what I went through a mere two weeks before this trip with my passport at work involving a moment of severe ADD, a dumpster, and a really nice Mexican cleaning lady who deserves a major raise…this is not a good pattern of behavior for me and my beloved passport.) My dad will likely kill me and assuredly roll his eyes when he reads this because it will remind him of another not-too-fun story of a

One…hundred dollar bill that I haphazardly threw away (on accident) on a flight to Honolulu about five years ago with my family.  That was a Christmas present from my parents that I never saw again (and a $100 tip that some lucky stewardess got for some last-minute Christmas shopping). *Note: to any current/future employers who may be reading this – I am superbly good at organizing people, events, and figurative things…but on occasion the palpable things in my life can get a little messy.  *Note: to any current, licensed doctors who may be reading this please consider making me your poster child for ‘Adult ADD’.  It should also be noted that I will accept (nay, I desperately need) your free samples – hint hint.  Anyway, back to the situation at hand-

One…heart attack is what I nearly had when I realized my passport was gone.

One…(billion) is the number of phone calls I and the kind sweet French girl, Charlotte, and I made (combined) to the taxi company and the Nice airport trying to find and retrieve my passport.

One…crazy emotional phone call is what I made to Dan in a telephone booth on the street of Juan-Les-Pins, crying my eyes out amidst a jetlagged haze I can barely remember and will absolutely choose to forget.

One…is the number I have assigned to the angel-of-a-woman working this day at the Nice airport Air France desk — she searched the airport bathrooms for my passport, spoke to me slowly and calmly in French throughout my debacle, and ultimately arranged for my passport (which was later turned in to airport ‘Lost & Found’ by my female taxi driver, another angel I might add) to be delivered to me at my residence along with my lost luggage the following day.  Yes, this lady is #1 in my book.

One…place setting was set on the beachside restaurant dinner table at which I ate this first night in France.

One…beer and beautiful Mediterranean sunset is all it took for me to settle my nerves and remember, ‘Hey, I’m in France.  Life could be worse.’

One…minute is all it took for me to fall asleep on this neverending day/day-and-a-half that started in Atlanta on the 5th and ended in France on the 6th.  Beginning this trip in a very “me” fashion surely made today feel like a lifetime.

So in conclusion and on the bright side – I am here – in France – and I made it in ONE piece (‘one’ being a very strong, yet loosely defined word in this sense). At the end of the day, after the ups and the downs, I still know that I am a strong person and I can definitely handle this, however, the saying 100% reigns true that “ONE is the loneliest number.”  But hey, it’s only day ONE and things can only get better from here.  Tomorrow being day two is a fantastic start…

Tagged ,