Day #75 - Cannes, France

Cannes, France - gloomy day

One of the film viewing locations

Upscale feel

Sun came out later in the day

Friday, May 28th

Today was a little rainy on the French Riviera. It was going to happen soomer or later - no way I could keep the weather stretch I've been having. That's OK. I'll deal with it.

I first had some late breakfast/lunch down near the beaches. This older couple sat down beside me and we started talking. They were from Ontario, Canada. They were having a drink while I was eating. We talked for 45 minutes or so. Interesting people. The lady had done a similar trip to mine when she was younger. Her and a girlfriend spent 6 months in Europe - spending the first 3 months skiing all over the Alps. They had rented a car and just drove from 1 destination to another. Awesome. They were intrigued by my plans - thought it was pretty cool. I found myself answering most of their questions. Great lunch. These 1-hr sessions meeting new people -- these are one of my favoritie things on the trip.

I then took the train to Cannes, France (Trains fully operational today). Cannes - many of you probably just saw the Cannes Film Festival on TV this past week. It just ended on Sunday, May 23rd. This is where all the movie stars come to promote films, etc. It's a flashy location - no doubt. I found the beaches here much nicer than in Nice, France. They are sandy and have a more upscale feel about them. The Hotel Carlton Inter-Continental is one of the huge hotels on the palm-studded seaport. This hotel is stated to be the "command post" for the film festival. I'm sure a celebrity or 2 has spent a night in this facility.

There were very few people on the beaches today. The rain was light and sporadic, but enough to keep people away. It's amazing how much weather plays on the economic prosperity of the beach vendors. Many people spend the day at the beach in private party areas. These are scattered everyone up and down the coast. They have food and drinks, lounge chairs - the whole package. According to some guide books, this is really a great option to spend the day as opposed to the public areas.

I took yesterday off from training entirely, today I decided to just get miles in by walking the coastline. I walked for nearly 4 hours. I ended up in a different town past Cannes. I'm not positive the name - I just know I saw the sign stating I was leaving Cannes. I finally made it to a train station to get back to Nice (I was a little worried because I had no intention of walking back the distance I had just covered)

When I got back into Nice, I jumped on the tram to get me close to my hotel. I bought a ticket like in most cities and boarded. It was packed, I could barely get in the door. About 3 stops into this trip, a bunch of security guards get on board to check our passes. I hand him the pass and he keeps it and aksed me to stand to the side. I'm thinking: "What's going on - what's the problem" He does the same with a few other people. At the next stop, he has us get off the train with him. I'm asking what the problem is - he wouldn't answer me - I was getting angry at this scenario. He finally tells me that my tag was not "validated"; therefore, I will have to pay a fine. Supposedly, there is a validation machine on the trains I was to put the ticket into upon boarding. First off, I did not know this. Even if I had, I couldn't have gotten to the validation machine if I wanted to because of the packed car I was in. I've seen such validation machines in other cities. Typically, these are for people with long passes, that ride daily. I remember trying to put my card in one of these machines, and I was told I didn't have to - it would not work. The security guy tells me I owe a 28 euro fine. That's like $35. I try to explain my situation - nothing. He would not even look at me. I hand him my credit card to pay. He runs it twice and says: "This doesn't work - you must pay cash" I have to take deep breaths at this point, because I'm on fire. This guy is disrespectful, rude, and he's telling me my card doesn't work when I've used it for the past 74 days in Europe. He tells me I must hand him my passport and go to an ATM and bring back the cash. I had to run down the street and come back and pay the guy. Scam money - this is why you budget for it. People have and always will take advantage of the weak and less educated - no question. I just got a $35 fine because I didn't know the rules - pure and simple.

Back in the hotel -- cooled down. Learning experience. Tomorrow's a new day. I have plans to head further down the coast past Cannes.