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The French Riviera of Cannes and Juan les Pins

Angela Louie and Allan de la Plante

Like Monte Carlo, driving into Cannes was a slow, snail-like crawl into town. I was now used to this pace and settled myself for the hour it would probably take to get down to the waterfront. I was also used to watching for the blue “P” sign that represented a parking lot. “Ouvert” with 7 spaces!

I had to think about Cannes as the mecca of movie stars during the Cannes Film Festival. People would flock here to get a glimpse of the latest and greatest films and stars. As it was not a festival weekend, it was mostly tourists lining the beaches of this French Riviera hotspot. Restaurants commanded private stretches of beach for their customers. One thing was for sure, the French love their beaches!

We had a wonderful lunch at one of the many restaurants before moving on to the next town, Juan les Pins.

Juan les Pins had personal significance for Allan during his years shooting the race at Monte Carlo. He would stay in a small hotel near the train station. It was much easier taking the train in than to deal with the insane traffic. Juan les Pins was also a pivotal location in Allan’s novel The Summer of Arnie Trout.With an uncanny sense of direction, he located the old hotel, which had been converted to old apartments.

We wandered down to the beach to a local grocery store and were surprised at how reasonable the prices were. It cost him more to use the outdoor toilet than to buy two bottles of water. This was the last piece of French Riviera. Next stop: Italy.


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