Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Our visit to Cannes



We decided to go to Cannes for a quick visit one afternoon as it is only 20-30 minutes from Frejus. This is the famous city where the movie stars gather each year for the famous Cannes Film Festival (to be held in May this year). However, we went with a very specific agenda. Nicholas wanted to go see L' Ile Sainte-Marguerite, a small island only a 15 minute ferry ride from the city. Why you might ask? Well if you're a history buff you know the answer for the rest of us mere mortals, let me explain it's significance. The island's prison held the infamous "Man in the Iron Mask" for some time, after his stay here he was moved to the Bastille and died November 19, 1703. His legend lingers to this day because there is no real proof and many suggestions as to WHO he really was.


Anyways it was intersting 'museum' if you'd call it that, I was not allowed to take any pictures otherwise you could see the cell where he was kept. Not too bad when you compare it to today's standards of cramming people up ontop of one another. It was a quite spacious room with an enourmous fireplace, which was well needed as it was very cold in the room. Your typical stone "toilet" hole and and area that seemed to be where a bed may be placed. Next door to this cell was another cell where there were 6 protestants who were imprisoned for their faith. So this guy, was one in a cell, they were 6 in the same size cell. So he was given some 'extras'. But who knows....

This is the view of the side of the prison, the third window in was his (if I counted right) the fourth the six. A whole village is built around this prison complete with a church and today it is still a village, only of fisherman I believe, though in the summertime it does get many visitors. It was quite lovely and we were sad that we arrived so late (catching the last outgoing ferry) to the island. It is definetly a place worth investigating and spending the day...perhaps we'll go again and tour the island itself.
I had to take a picture of the water here for you as it is so crystal clear you can almost muster up the courage to take a swim in the dead of winter...you did hear the almost in that.




And of course my favorite part of our visit to Cannes...you guessed it....Nicholas.

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