1980 Côte d'Azur/The French Riviera (7/13-14/1980)

Sunday, July 13, 1980

Woke up late along the French Riviera. The customs officials had awakened us earlier to glance at our passports. We changed trains in Nice to go to Cannes. Had breakfast on the train, of salami and cheese sandwiches. At Cannes we headed toward the beach to look for a hotel. Many were full, we think, in anticipation of Bastille Day tomorrow. I sat with the baggage in one of a long row of chairs along the '"boardwalk" promenade, and later was told by a vendor that I had to rent it! So I moved to sit on a low wall.

Cannes Boulevard de la Croisette

Postcard of Cannes

(The postcard we sent from Cannes stated: "Well, tempers have been flaring. We should have brought Kathy a bed, doctor, a plate and silverware set, and a complete bathroom... Loud complaints of being tired and feeling yucky, so I had those two find us a nice hotel here in Cannes...")

Terry and Kathy went in search of a hotel, and after much confusion we finally got a room for a ridiculous $100 including only breakfast (no board), a handheld shower, no beach, and they did not take my charge cards. We settled in, washed our clothes, ate a lunch of jelly sandwiches and potato chips, and the sweet roll, then went to the public beach. It was very crowded, and we heard many different languages spoken. It seemed only the French and Germans, and a few hesitant Spaniards were going topless. I considered taking a general beach picture until I remembered it would be R-rated!

Cannes beach scene

Kathy and I went in the water a few times, which was cool and very clean with gentle breakers. After a couple hours on the beach, we went back to the hotel to really clean ourselves up. At about 17:30 we left to go to the train station to take a trip to Monaco. From the train we were able to view the rocky shore of the French Riviera with the exotic plants in the gardens of all the tiny stations. We got off at the equally tiny Monaco-Monte Carlo Station, and signs directed us to the Line #4 bus. It was a "mini-bus" said to go to the Casino as well as other spots in Monaco. We paid the $1 fare each, and took the ride.

Monaco bus ticket

Since we had no idea where we were going, as the bus wildly wound up and down curves, we missed our stop. My impression always was that the Casino was up on a Monte Carlo, but when the bus reached the end of the line, we figured it wasn't! The bus driver made us pay the fare again to take the return trip, and he never did tell us when we reached the Casino stop. He would have been content to collect fares from us as we rode back and forth until we figured it out ourselves. Fortunately we figured it out on the initial return trip. In tiny letters above a fancy building it said "Casino - Monte Carlo," and it was on one of the lowest points in Monaco.

Monte Carlo Casino

We went up to the glass doors and peered in trying to find any indication of when it would open. A uniformed guard inside waved, made kissing gestures, before finally signaling that the place was closed (obviously!). We went to a nearby cafe for dinner. Terry and Kathy each had a "well-done" (still very red) hamburger patty with a fried egg and French fries, and I had a pork shish kebob on rice. The waiter was very friendly, and figured we were millionaires because my Visa card was good for four years when usually here it lasts for only six months. (All understood conversations in France were in English!) He also seemed to be fishing for a big tip by telling us about all his children. After dinner, we looked at the bus stop sign map to figure the route we would have to walk back to the train station since the bus service had ended. Then we joined the crowds milling around the Casino square. We later took a walk along a promenade to get a good dusk view of Monaco, and the royal residence across the harbor. At 21:30 we wandered back to the Casino hoping it would open. We saw a fireworks display up over the mountain, and saw a lot of Rolls Royces! But the Casino still wasn't opening. We noticed people peeking into the windows of a fancy hall of the hotel on the square, so we peeked also. It seemed to be some kind of convention, People in the crowds kept asking each other when the Casino would open, but we figured it was closed because it was Sunday. So at about 22:00 we started back to the train station, and saw a castle nicely lit up on the promontory. The station wasn't that far, so we had a bit of a wait until the last train to Cannes at 22:55. It was noticed in these tiny stations how locomotives, express and freight trains rumble through right past the platforms at seemingly top speed! Back in Cannes, a couple singing guitarists were entertaining on the promenade, but nothing else was happening so we returned to the hotel. We had to ring the doorbell to have the night clerk let us in. We went right to bed.

Monday, July 14, 1980

Happy Bastille Day!

Woke up at 08:00, prepared to leave, and had breakfast of croissant rolls and tea in the garden. Terry paid for the hotel bill with her travelers' cheques, then we headed for the train station. It was a holiday and some shops were open, but not any grocery stores. So we may really need the bread and jam we saved from breakfast. We planned to head for Spain, and took the 12:25 train to Marseilles. In our non-smoking compartment we had a couple of inconsiderate smokers, which seems to be typical of France. Plus, out in the corridor some people did not understand aerodynamics as they flicked their ashes outside an open window, only to have them blown back into the train and often through the open compartment door onto us. In Marseilles we had a couple-hour wait for a train traveling farther south to Narbonne, so I joined a very long line at the money-exchange window. A couple people were serviced, then the window was closed. Signs in the window indicated there would be no money today, but the long line of people seemed to believe otherwise. Terry went to look for food, but could not find anything. Finally the window did open up again, and the surly man behind the counter was picking and choosing his customers. People waved their money at him as he deliberated how much of it, if any, he would change. When I was two persons from the window, he flung up his hands and closed the window again. I decided not to bother waiting any more, and we all went in search of food, this time more successfully. For a late lunch we had ham sandwiches and Cokes. We then boarded the 16:25 train to Narbonne, and were joined by a bleach-blonde fellow with gaps between his teeth, who after finding he couldn't converse with us just stared. He, too, smoked in our non-smoking compartment, "but" he offered us cigarettes. He departed, then we were joined by another guy who tried more persistently to talk to us in French. Apparently he didn't believe we were from New York, said he was a communist and a Basque, and told us Carter should be shot. Well, well. At Narbonne we went to the station café during our two-hour wait for the 21:54 train to Toulouse. We shared a Salade Nicoise and two omelets: one ham and one asparagus. Arrived in Toulouse at 23:30 and settled in the waiting room for our train due to leave at 04:47 in the morning, hopefully for Andorra.

Next: Andorra.