David

Today’s program began with a lecture from Alison Bracker of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art on “Visionaries of the French Riviera”, followed by a walkaround with John Meffert (our National Trust leader) showing us aspects of the recent major renovation of the Hotel Carlton, which had hosted the G20 in 2011 but fell on hard times only a few years later. Many million euros were spent bringing it back to its former glory, culminating in its reopening in 2023.

Diane and I went our separate ways today; she went to Grasse and mixed perfume, while I went to Antibes and the Picasso Museum in Castle Grimaldi, where Picasso had produced over 100 pieces during the fall of 1946…most of which are still there.

We finally reached the Picasso Museum. Their collection isn’t limited to Picasso’s work; our guide had pointed out the home (about three blocks away) of Nicolas de Staël, a French painter of Russian origin who leapt to his death after a meeting with an art critic. This is his last painting.

Le Fort Carré d’Antibes (oil on canvas), de Staël, 1955

But most of our time was spent with Picasso.

Les Clés d’Antibes (charcoal on wallboard), Picasso

La Joie de vive (oleoresin on concrete), Picasso, November 1946

Le Gobeur d’oursins (oleoresin paint on reused canvas), Picasso,

Nature morte à la chouette et aux trois oursins (oleoresin on p

Nature morte à la boutelle, à la sole et à l’alguière (oleor

Nature morte aux poissons noirs (deux poulpes, murène, sole, ou

Satyre, faune, et centaure au trident (oleoresin paint on concre

La Chevré (charcoal on plywood), Picasso, October 1946

L’Aiguière au fond étoilé (oil, gouache, and pencil on wax-mo

Nu couché au lit blanc (Oleoresin paint on concrete), Picasso,

After leaving the museum, we spent a few minutes exploring the Antibes Sunday market (almost entirely food; they have a big general market on Thursdays).

We walked through the main square of Antibes, where our guide pointed out “The Lovers of Paynet” outside the Paynet and Cartoons Museum.

We had a lavish lunch at Restaurant Ferni; I was impressed with how well they handled dietary restrictions (for example, they gave me a salad instead of the calamari). I was also amazed at the amount of food they served; I felt slightly guilty for not finishing everything, but only slightly…and it was nice to be able to walk out of the restaurant instead of waddling out.

They had some unusual plumbing.

And then it was back to Cannes to meet up with Diane and go out for a long walk. After dinner, we followed John Meffert’s suggestion and took a look at the lobby of the JW Marriot, about a block from the Carlton. I thought it was sterile and not very welcoming, but I guess that’s the vibe they’re looking for.

We had just enough time to take a short walk on our street before leaving Cassis this morning; it was, as always, beautiful.

Our host Denise gave us a ride to the Cassis train station (it’s about two miles out of town). If you’re looking for a place to stay in Cassis, I cannot imagine a place better than her AirBnb!

Our trip from Cassis to Toulon was fine, but soon after we got to Toulon, the whole station was evacuated to make sure that there were no bombs after they found some abandoned luggage. It was a nice day, so waiting outside wasn’t too painful, but the lack of information (especially in English) was annoying.

They let us back into the station about 45 minutes after closing it; the message boards slowly flickered back to life.

But they lied – our train arrived well before 2, and we had to scramble. We couldn’t find the car with our reserved seats, but the conductor said “just take any seat”, and we did. No one ever checked our tickets, either.

We reached Cannes 50 minutes late and walked to our modest hotel, the Hotel Carlton.

The hotel was built in 1913 by the grandson of the Czar, who’d fallen in love with a commoner, reliquished his claim to the throne, and moved to the South of France with his love. He didn’t find any suitable hotels there, so he had this one built! It has hosted some interesting conferences over the years, including the meeting which led to the organization of the League of Nations.

The service so far has been impeccable; our luggage was delivered about five minutes after we got to the room (no “hint” for a tip, either); I’m having some shirts pressed for free, and every time we turn around, there’s a new goodie in the room.