Walk around Cannes with me!

I've tried this year to write a little bit more about my everyday life instead of only writing long travelogues about everywhere I visit. Of course, long travelogues filled with pictures are still my favorite thing to write, so that's not going away! 

Here's a look into what I do during a normal week.

There are usually 2 main things I do to get out of the apartment and amuse myself: hanging out on the beach with my book, or walking around downtown Cannes. 

We live in Cannes but not close enough to the downtown area to walk there. Well, I did one time when I was really bored- but it took a whole hour. Taking the train is pretty easy though! 1 euro and 4 minutes later, and you're right downtown.

If I'm in a sightseeing mood, I go to Le Suquet, the old part of town.

If I'm in a window-shopping mood, I go to the Croisette and stalk Chanel or other equally expensive store windows.

If I'm in a shopping mood (which I usually am) AND I have money to spend (which I usually don't), I go to Rue d'Antibes or Rue Meynadier. 

Rue d'Antibes comes very close to having every store I like in Europe and then some. It has TWO Zaras, so that's already a good start. 

These are the Zara KIDS clothes. So imagine how cute the grown-up clothes are.

If I need a shopping energy boost, I stop at Ladurée on Rue d'Antibes for a macaron (or two).

Mmmm tastes like Paris

But my favorite street in Cannes is Rue Meynadier! It is a narrow, pedestrian-only street. Cannes is not a historic city. It's easy to get spoiled in France visiting centuries-old places all the time. This is the street in Cannes that feels the oldest and "most European" to me, and that makes me happy.

So what can you find on the Rue Meynadier? A little bit of everything! 

Restaurants line about 1/3 of the street. The French LOVE to eat outside, so tables and chairs take up a lot of space on this narrow little road.

If you want typical Provence souvenirs, you can buy local fabrics or handmade soap and potpourri made from local flowers.

You might want to bring the potpourri along if you're planning on stopping inside the fromagerie :)

If you want hit up the beach later, there are a half-dozen stores selling swimsuits, flip flops, and other vacation wear.

The souvenir t-shirts are more glamorous than what you'd find in other cites. They look like something you could wear on a yacht. There are hundreds of yachts parked a few hundred yards away in the port, so that makes sense.

Cute shoes are pretty much a given on most French streets. 

Not pictured are the bakeries, a bookstore, a grocery store, 3 makeup stores, and several well-dressed old ladies wearing fur coats accompanied by their well-dressed little dogs. We've learned living here that most of the locals are rich old people. So we don't really fit in too well.

I didn't know much about Cannes before I moved here in October. It's a pretty small city, but I enjoy the glamour. This week it's the 70th annual Cannes film festival. I will be checking out the craziness and paparazzi downtown next week with my whole family in tow! We're flying to Geneva tonight to meet up with my parents, sister, and brother-in-law. After a few days in Switzerland with David's family, they'll get a tour of our home turf here in Cannes.