Au revoir Cannes

Well I’ve come to the end of my 16 years living in Cannes and France. Its been certainly been an interesting experience. So long and thanks for all the croissants.

Daylight Savings Time (again)

Its that time of year again when many of nations switch to Daylight Saving Time. The idea being that summer evenings will have more day light. Personally I prefer more light in the mornings, since I tend to be a morning personal and get a lot more done in the morning. I detest afternoons, just can’t concentrate. About the best I can do is either have a siesta or play a computer game to take my mind off the day.


Some of the haiku I wrote this week were tagged #haiku #humour #yoda and they were an amusing attempt at writing haiku as the character Yoda from Stars Wars might do, with his odd endearing manner of speaking and succinct wisdom.

In The Snow

I really should have posted these back when we had a second rare snowfall in Cannes back in February. I guess I was hoping there might be a third occurrence to wrap up the winter, but unfortunately no joy. Still I wanted to archive these as they’re so pretty.

   

   

   

Nature’s Pastel

The August summer heat and humidity in Cannes is always difficult for me. Lots of tourists, half of which seem to leave their brains at home. Combine that with all the noise from summer renovations (first there was a new real estate agent across the road, followed by a tanning salon that went on and on, and finally an apartment downstairs). Everyone likes to think summer is the time for wonderful warm and peaceful vacations, yet for myself peace and tranquillity come in the autumn and winter months; when people resume the rhythm of their day-to-day lives.

Still, Cannes does have many a calm moment: sitting in cafés drinking tea or wine watching the world go by; walking along the Croisette in the early mornings or late evenings; just being at home watching the sun set over the Estérel hills.

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Green Spaces

A warm blustery west wind, Le Ponent, was blowing back and forth through my apartment, tapping and slamming doors and windows that refused to remain wedged open. The rustle of the trees below my balcony at times was the only sound to be heard.

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Shawna Coronado is an avid gardener and green fiend. She’s probably one of the few who is not tweeting a marketing agenda on Twitter and actually says something about her life, hobbies, the environemnt, and her cute dog, Harry The Pug. Though Baka The Bichon is cuter IMHO 😉

Now I’m no gardener. I have neither patience or temperament for it, plus allergies tends to put me off the idea. However, I still appreciate both tended and natural green spaces; the calm that can be found in a garden, park, or forest, away from the hustle and diesel of busy streets. I try to appreciate them when ever I can, particularly while out walking Baka.

The neighbourhood I live in Cannes (just below SuperCannes) has many green spaces, typically on the grounds of private homes and estates. In between them are many natural spaces in areas where it is very difficult to build like step ravines and gullies. I like these particular spaces, as they’re woody, shady, almost magical, as though they are home to Kami.