Can you imagine that I bumped into the man that wanted to join me on my journey in my van? What a coincidence, or not?

I was on my way to the ferry to Island st. Honorat with Tania, my coach and friend for the site inspection for the grieving walk. Next time, I will take a picture of us together!

Already two weeks in Cannes and it feels like an eternity… in a positive way. 

I feel at easy, relaxed here. Of course the climate plays a huge role here, but the people I have met (me, meeting people?!??) are very open and helpful. I slowly started to understand that the Cote d’Azur has its own micro climate and culture. 

Just finished having a coffee with a local in Antibes. Yes, they are always men!! No proposals this time :-) This man, 75 years old (confirming, the trend in age is going down…) had a very interesting story. He had a restaurant in front of the Palais de Festival in Cannes and met many famous and international people during his career. He visited the Netherlands in the past when he was young for a very particular reason… His French girlfriend was pregnant and abortion at that time was forbidden in France, so they went to the Netherlands. Not just an incredible story but moreover that he had the courage to share this with me. Again, people are so open and warm. This is for me very important, not only to feel welcome but it makes our lives as event professionals much easier if you work with people who are open minded. And I couldn’t have this experience if I was here just for 2 or 3 days.

He offered me a cup of coffee and we chatted for more than an hour. My intention was to visit the Picasso museum but he told me it’s better to visit the castle. Well, the castle is a one and half hour walk away. I decided to stroll around the city, which is lovely by the way. I was lucky and jazz bands were playing in the streets which gave a nice buzz in town. I got emotional (Christophe was a jazz lover) but also reminded me of our trip to New Orleans.

My second week in Cannes was great. Starting the week meeting my friend and business coach Tania live for the first time and many more….

• The first edition of our walk was a huge success!! No participants

• Visited the Carlton hotel in Cannes 

• Visited the Martinez hotel in Cannes

• Visited Grasse and Antibes as a tourist 

• The public transport in Cannes is excellent (and no strike!!)

• Exploring Cannes as a tourist 

And I thought that Cannes was unaffordable

After dinner with Tania, I took a taxi from the boulevard (this is called the Croisette) back to the camping. Monday evening, and it was empty, can you imagine? Just one week not even, a few days before Easter? And the taxi price (Uber) was only 15 euros, a very reasonable price. Again I thought, at least I was convinced, that Cannes was very expensive. This is totally not true! In the beautiful Carlton, top class hotel you pay 7 euro for an espresso. Including the 5 star service and not to mention the location. If you go to Le Suquet, the old town, you will get a cup of coffee for not even 2 euros.

And if you want to have lunch in one of the cosy beach pavilions, which have been renewed and are all built in a similar style since last year, the main course of the day is around 20 euros. Of course it depends what you will choose. Just want to stress this because I thought that this city was only for high class, not true. I had lunch twice on the beach in two different locations, the Mome and Mondrian, and the most important thing is that I feel at ease here, good service, good food and stunning location.

The iconic blue chairs

It’s about the details. If you don’t want to sit in one of the beach clubs, just pick one of the blue chairs and put them anywhere you want on the Croisette. Also chess tables are available.Elderly people, students, families, you see everyone which makes the destination easy accessible.

The successful grieving walk

The first edition of the grieving walk in Cannes together with Tania was a huge success! Just no participants at all. Yes, we have shared the updates on different social media channels, but not enough. To be honest, if I look back, not a surprise. In the Netherlands I had the support of the local media, and moreover, people know me and Lianne, the person with whom I organised the event. Now, here in Cannes, nobody knows me or Tania, and we have only published the event in English. It looks so easy to copy/past an event into another country, but in reality it’s not that easy. Cultural differences, languages and other elements do play a huge role. My aim is to organise at least 1 edition of the walk during my stay here. I have until 11th may.

Did you know that Cannes started as a winter destination?

Before I left for Cannes, I decided not to read anything about the destination. I wanted to enter the region including Cannes with an empty page. Despite that I already had that glitter and glamour image in my head, I absolutely wanted to create my own experience of the destination. I came at the perfect moment as the Carton was closed for more than 2 years for a complete make-over. I never saw the property before, but what a beauty. Laura, who showed me around told me that the Carlton in the early years (we are talking about 1913 when it opened) that Cannes was a winter destination, and was closed in the summer. Incredible! I do see that Cannes could become busier in the winter times. The climate is nice, it’s calm.

The hotel is stunning, and the beauty is that they want to host the locals. I will go back this week to have a cup of coffee. And also here, the prizes for what you get are very reasonable.

Just forget to mention for the event professionals that the hotel expanded their meeting capacity and now has the largest meeting room without pillars (important detail to mention) of the city.

Hotel Martinez

Did you know that every 5 star hotel has its own private beach? Just an important detail if you want to host an event. All the hotels I have visited, including the Martinez, have their own beach club. Also this hotel is constantly evolving. Since last year they created a garden in the backyard, including a spa, pool and fitness. Which is not only an added value but also the view from the rooms in the back is now very charming.

The hotel has a huge meeting room, which they were working on creating a 360 screen, the first in Europe. They want to launch it before the Festival in Cannes.

And again here, the hotels in the city work closely together to gain business. In March this year the city hosted a huge event of 26.800 participants called Mipim This is only possible if all hotels and other partners collaborate. As Cannes is a village not a huge destination, but they managed to host such a large event, which is incredible. And Mipim is back next year in Cannes which says a lot about their mentality, way of working and of course professionalism.

Looking forward to exploring my third and last week in Cannes.

Sending you sunny vibes from Cannes,

A plus,