| Following are the photos I have taken during my recent trip to Cannes, France last March 24 to April 02, 2004 to attend the annual MIPTV market. If you have seen the movie French Kiss which starred Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline, you've pretty much seen the place I have been. Cannes is an upscale community located at the Southeast of France, regarded like the Beverly Hills of United States or the Ayala Alabang of the Philippines. In the following photos you will notice that in France, all their pharmacies have a (+) sign in them. I am not sure whether this goes the same for the rest of Western Europe for I did not have a chance to travel to other European states. Perhaps next time when I go to visit again for the next film market or bettter yet when we (Dawson, David & Grace) are ready to travel to Europe. (wishful thinking!) At any rate, France being the largest country in Europe is known for their love of cheese. I find it amusing that they have 365 different kinds of cheese. They have great cheeses! Don't miss out on trying several of them if you get the chance to visit the country. They also like to savor their meal. I believe it is a French right to savor a meal and eat the food at your own pace whenever you are taking your lunch or dinner. It reminded me of the way I've enjoyed my lunches while I was still in the Philippines. I guess this is one common thing Filipinos have with French; we like to chat while eating as if it is just another form of socializing. In addition, French or any visitor for that matter can sit and loiter around for even an hour or more at the restaurant and not be given their bill until the customer has requested it. Not only this, they are allowed to bring their pets at any restaurants - even at the finest restaurants at that! If a person is scared of big dogs, hey too bad for you! Oh! Don't forget, restaurants serve their lunches and dinner by the dot - lunch is serve only from 12NN to 2PM whereas dinner is from 7PM to 9PM. If you happen to miss these hours, too bad! Wine...Hmmmm.. By far wine is the most popular alcoholic beverage in France. Most French like to eat their meal with wine. They have the best tasting wines in the world. I presume it is the reason behind France is tagged as the "The Wine Country." They have the best tasting wines in the world. Matter of fact, even I who is not fond of alcoholic beverages drank quite a handful of their wines. I will have to charge this experience to the old saying "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" and I say "I toast to that!" France uses 220 electric voltage, just like Philippines. The only difference is that most of their electric plugs are three-pins whereas in the Philippines we use two-pins. The streets are narrow and their cars are small; admittedly though they have cute cars. The narrow and steep hill street goes the same for the rest of France (so I was told). The old and fancy architectural sytles were kept intact. They try to safeguard their architectural and picturesque buildings as much as possible. I guess this is on of the main reasons why people ponder to visit Europe, because Europe consistently reminds us of another lifestlye from years way before us! Sunday is a big day! Nobody works! Ninety-nine percent (99%) out of 100, stores are close. So if you happen to forget your weekly grocery shopping on Saturday, hey the good thing is "there is always a Monday!" Another amusing fact, their paper bill gets larger as the amount gets bigger. The one important thing that I've learned in France to enjoy the trip is to "Try to learn French!" I must admit it is not a piece of cake to learn French! Enjoy the photos. Grace Pearson HOME PHOTOS |