September 07, 2006

Bonjour from Cannes

I flew Ryanair from Dublin to Marseilles. The flight was on time, the passengers pretty evenly mixed among Irish and French travelers.

Ryanair is one of the great Irish/European success stories. I've flown them three times now ( London-Dubln, Brussels-Dublin, and now Dublin-Marseilles ). Each flight was on time, and very cheap. I even like the fact that their seats do not recline--it keeps the person ahead of me from crushing my 6 foot 3 inch knees. I wish we had a Ryanair going into NYC. Some Europeans are critical of their rough and ready style, but anyone who travels here should be thankful that they more than any other airline, introduced competition and lowered prices in Europe.

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Took the ( hot, non-airconditioned ) bus from Marseille Airport to the town. It left us at the St. Charles train station where I intented to get Euro from the ATM, but where there astonishingly were no ATM machines. Ultimately, I found one after walking with luggage on the baking hot streets.

Stayed at New Hotel Bompard, away from the city center a bit along some winding streets. Took a really long walk down Avenue President John F Kennedy, a very pretty road along the coast. It connected to a street that took me to the Old Port.

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Yesterday, took the 1158 train from Marseille to Cannes. Just an ordinary train here, but far better than most US trains.

Cannes is a pretty little town with all the resources of a city at your fingertips plus Mediterranean beaches at your doorstep.

Met Rob and Noemie, went swimming, had dinner ( pizza with an egg on it ) hung out until after midnight at the Hilton hotel's outdoor cafe.

2 comments:

Eagle said...

Pizza with an egg in it. I ended up with that once - just once - by accident. Never again.

The Phantom said...

Well, we disagree on that one! I had pizza with an egg in Naples, years ago, when in the Navy. What a bizarre thing it seemed, but I LIKED it.

Have never seen it in America. Enjoyed it last week!