Friday, June 28
Today is one of the few items on this vacation that wasn't completely flexible: I'd coordinated with a coworker to visit my company's facility in Grasse. He'd moved the meeting to 11AM so I hit the road from Saint Raphaël as early as I could to afford the luxury of stopping on the route to admire the Corniche d'Esterel.
A coworker in Castets had mentioned this route to me and it clicked that I'd heard the name Massif d'Esterel before, when I was touring the Calanques de Piana in Corsica the guide had mentioned how the rock formation was once connected to the Massif near Cannes as a result of the same volcanic activity. The drive was nice though I was guessing and pulling over at random coves hoping they were nice, most of them were. There was also some stuff about the WWII campaign to to retake occupied France/Provence.
August 15, 1944: American troops and their French allies landed here to begin the push to reclaim France and Germany from the Nazi regime.
Turns out D-Day en français is Jour J; maybe not the most famous landing of WWII but I'm sure this one was significant for Provence.
This beach made for a good landing location for the alliés partly because the one of the French foremen (an informant for the Allies) tasked with building defenses along the Mediterranean convinced the Vichy government that mining the beach would make it too difficult to build the sea wall the government wanted.
The débarquement of the US 36th infantry division to Camel Green Beach liberated the surrounding towns over a 3 day fight and gave the Allies a foothold along the south of France to push the front.
The drive along the corniche featured tons of small beaches and covers to contrast blue water with red rock.
I kinda felt bad for intruding on this family's quiet beach moment. If you want a private beach, I recommend stopping somewhere along the Corniche on a Friday morning.
Aside from beaches, each little cove featured green scrub (some flowering) and picturesque water.
This one reminded me that scene of Mr Bean at the beach with the blind guy
I guess access to this granite beach (and others) can be done via trails on the other side of the road and these tunnels.
This one had what appeared to be some old fortifications back in the day.
And here we have some clearly labeled fortifications
V for victory but maybe I should have done J for jour.
A light machine gun nest. Fun fact: I'd first been exposed to the word "mitrailleuse" when I'd switched my video game Hell Divers 2 to French. It only takes getting swiss-cheesed by your own machine gun turret once to get the gist of the word "mitrailleuse".
It was a beautiful drive along the Corniche; as I rounded a corner it became clear that the Corniche was rapidly coming to a close as the view across a wide bay opened up to me. I called an audible and drove up a hill thinking I'd seen a sign saying "panorama" so I could see the Bay of Cannes. Turns out, the sign said "Panamera" and was a private housing community dedicated to privatizing that view 😅 but qui ne tente rien n'a rien.
You know you're in trouble when this squad of Abarths roll up on you 😂
Taking a moment to look further inland than towards the water revealed a mountainous terrain covered in green
Finally an up-close view of the wild boars, les sangliers.
Les trois petits cochons seemed unperturbed by my presence, though I didn't try pushing my luck with them.
Et voila, la vue Panamera (with just a pinch of the Bay of Cannes)
And I picked up a little friend from my stop at Panamera
As I made my way to the plant, I wasn't sure if I had the right address: I started climbing a hill and kept passing housing communities. I was thinking: there's no way they'd have this facility surrounded by housing, would they? Eventually, the housing did cease but interestingly the hill did not. Turns out the facility is built into the hill, with three buildings at different levels; also, our competition is just across the street 😂 The facilities are jumbled together atop the hill also lacked employee parking so the roads and even roundabouts in the area were framed with parked cars; I'm very glad my coworker had the foresight to reserve me a spot in the guest parking lot 😅
Did you catch a whiff of that? That's the smell of money!
The tour of the facility was short but interesting: processing natural materials results in a very different business than I'm used to seeing as well as the relationship between R&D and local production. They deal in other mass transfer techniques and technologies I haven't thought about since school so it was nice to revisit the concepts. It was also interesting to reconnect with my host. He started about 6 months before me at Firmenich and is a real glutton for fast-paced change: he took the position here 2 years ago, got his driver's license in 3 months to accommodate the new commute, and moved his family into a house undergoing a complete renovation. He also mentioned that this facility is one of the most visited in the company; clients and internal people are constantly coming by if they have any reason to go to Nice or Cannes.
After the tour we had a quick lunch but he had get back to the salt mines while my vacation continued; and continue I did, right on to the old town of Grasse. I arrived just before 2PM after some white-knuckle 1st-gear traffic/circulation up the valley; since the Petite Train was just outside the parking lot and the tourist office wouldn't open till when the the train operated, I decided to finally ride a little train before leaving France. The most impressive thing about the ride was the conductor's ability to drive a 3 car train through the narrow streets and tight corners of the old town; explanations were on a soundboard played periodically to highlight items but the sun and heat had me clamoring for a siesta more than listening about why this specific fountain is significant.
The town had made this nice "central" plaza in their hillside town by putting the parking garage underneath; not a bad concept.
I'm not really sure what I'm looking at here in the valley but it sure is nice out there.
The scent strips are a neat decoration for the pavillion; I'm not sure what the parapluies/parsols signify but they look nice too.
Et enfin, le petit train! This one is brought to you by Maison Fragonard, apparently a big name in the perfume world.
All aboard!
Turns out the pink umbrellas area recurring motif here in Grasse; good thing they look nice!
The train took up most of the road, there was an ice cream counter that was within touching distance at some point.
Ye olde fish market no features chic decor and cooked seafood plus a tight turn to exit for a 3-car train.
The view out the front of the train wasn't anything to write home about, though I'd say it was travel blog worthy.
There was a wedding going on in the church. If we'd tied soup cans to the back of our yellow train, think the newly weds would have hopped in?
After the train, I popped into the Office of Tourism where they recommended I check out the Museum of Perfume and tour a perfume factory. The museum was well done, I suppose I didn't learn *too* much from my visit to the museum but that's coming from someone working in the industry (even if only peripherally with the perfume side of the business). I liked how they blended ancient history of perfume in each room with
how that culture was coopted by advertisers and perfumers for marketing
😂. I also enjoyed how the museum demonstrated the uses/applications of scents and perfumes constantly evolved with human technology (glass was a game changer) and how different societies approached the role of scents in every day life.
For those who have ever asked themselves the difference between an eau de toilette and an eau de parfum: the 8-13% perfume content you lose in an eau de toilette vs an eau de parfum is made up with toilet water.
So why is Grasse so famous in the world of perfume? Unlike it's modern set up, the surrounding valleys of Grasse used to be replete with non-native, fragrant flowers due to its climate and sources/springs. Along with sheep and olives, this area of Provence had everything it needed to extract valuable essential oils for a perfume industry.
Some of the exhibits featured a smell-o-vision, like I'd encountered at la Cité du Vin à Bordeaux. Though many of these were more rooted in capturing ambiance than illustrating specific notes to be detected in wines.
A map of the world pointing out where some of the world's more famous natural perfume bases originate from.
This little garden exhibit featured many plants used for their fragrances, it's interesting how some plants are harvested for their flowers while others have the fragrance in their roots.
Between the Egypt room (which talked about the substance kyphi used ceremoniously) and the Roman room (introducing glass vials for fragrance versus clay amphoras), the Greek room demonstrated some old pressing techniques. There was also a room past Rome dedicated to perfume usage in "the Orient" but I suppose it's ok to let a French-centric museum not focus too much on what peoples further from the Mediterranean were smelling and dealing.
A Grasse specialty back in the day: boxes carved from bergamot skin. It holds your stuff and smells like bergamot!
I wonder if Catherine of Medici would have been considered an "influencer" in her time; she certainly influenced people into thinking perfumed gloves from Grasse were a good idea. Or maybe we just got better at not making leather smell awful over the years.
The Pot Pourri. When Europeans stopped bathing regularly, things got stinky fast and the perfume industry came to the rescue (even if pleasant odors didn't improve hygeine).
I feel like these could make a comeback; the idea is pretty sound and could be an economical way of using your perfume so that it lasts.
Note: it's the colonel's 11 herbs and spices that kept the 4 thieves safe from the plague.
Here's some old-school equipment for fragrance extraction. You can press, soak, or boil.
The museum wrapped up with a few more aesthetic rooms, though these ones had the scent diffused throughout the whole room rather than a smell-o-vision cone. Some of these were pretty far out there...
From the museum, it was a short walk to see Maison Fragonard, one of Grasse's three main perfume houses. The factory was neat to see but all they do there is conditioning (filling bottles), blending to perfume recipes, and making scented soap in the shape of eggs. I suppose if I hadn't just spent 10 years working for a company in the business, I might have found the demonstration much more mind-blowing. I think I got funny looks since I was asking about how the equipment is cleaned, if their agitators were only manually turned, etc. rather than "what is this perfume"?
The entry of the parfumerie includes a small museum exhibit similar to some parts of the other museum but down in the basement is where the money is made.
A few more examples of the artisanal tools once used for fragrance extraction.
The tour finished with a view of the perfumers organ and then dropped us off in the boutique where we were treated to tester strips of the various perfumes made on-site.
At the very least, the boutique was better than how I remember Spongebob representing the perfume department.
One last walk through the quiet streets of Grasse before I move on. Smell ya later!
After the factory, it was time to head to Cannes. Driving downhill was much less stressful than my drive up to Cannes earlier in the day. The region is still hilly so I still got to practice fine motor control of my left and right feet. As an aside, the drive is a great one for those seeking words of affirmation about their body image; there's giant road signs complimenting you on your Nice Cannes.
I'd reserved a hotel on the edge of Cannes' old town and had picked a parking garage just a few blocks away; though I ended up having to cross the highway and descend ~5 stories of stairs into the old town to reach the hotel. But as I rounded the block, I discovered that the parking garage had a pedestrian path to its lower levels the avoided the highway entirely. I guess it's good info to have when I lug my suitcase back to the car tomorrow.
When I entered the hotel lobby, I couldn't help but catch a whiff of something. I'm picking up notes of ...dog? Maybe my olfactory sense had improved simply by visiting Grasse?
After check in at the hotel, I quickly set out to make the most of the remaining evening. Since the office of tourism was open till 7, I quickly went to get info about what to see in the evening as well as what to do tomorrow. Then I hit the beach for an hour and walked the old town. The beach at Cannes is nice, it was similar to Saint Raphael with its sand but the atmosphere of the town felt very different from Saint Raphael. I suppose I'm entering into the territory of social media influencers and mega-yacht owners and I feel I could sense that in the atmosphere (but maybe it's also just all in my head).
This gazebo's aesthetic stood out to me, there wasn't any music at the moment in the kiosque à musique but I could imagine a band doing a great performance to the wide open plaza.
As I approached the famous theater, I stumbled across some weird floor tiles of wet cement and molten bronze. It's a good thing I regained my balance, unlike these poor saps; to have your hand print immortalized due to clumsiness, how embarrassing 😆
The tourist center is actually inside the movie theater! Look at that, they had the red carpet out for me!
This might be the highest production value tourist office I've been to in France; lots of glamor, lights, cameras, and pamphlets!
Turns out the real red carpet is just around the corner from the tourist office and out for those who want their turn for a photoshoot.
"And look who's arriving now, giving off his infamous blue-steel look..."
The theater is right at the junction of the beach and the mega-yacht dock
Hmm, it's looking more palm than d'or today.
And the award for best hair goes to...
Having seen the beach and taken my dip, I doubled back along the waterfront towards the harbor. I don't think I've ever seen so floating wealth in one place before.
I thought the hot tub I'd spotted two yachts prior was going to be the pinnacle of the day's opulence but this one takes the cake...
The humidity of the evening was made clear as the sun's light diffused through the sky.
There appeared to be some sort of music festival going on in the plaza next to the harbor; music was blasting and the atmosphere exclusive.
Now here's a boat I might be able to afford in this harbor.
I made my way up to the hill atop le Suquet neighborhood and found this quaint little church. Not all of the area was available for entry, part of the panorama was cordoned off for more festivities. But I got to enjoy this quiet little square.
If I'd caught this sunset on film, think I could've submitted it for showing at the local theater?
I think I can make out the Panamera neighborhood I stopped in earlier today 😂
Lights and camera: check
Now time for some dinner action
A colorful column to welcome pedestrians to the Suquet part of town.
It's not quite the best view possible over Cannes but it was the best I could manage with the rest of the high ground off limits.
Some cute pedestrian streets winding their way through the old town, they varied from quiet residential to bustling restaurant throughways
I'd been seeing beignets made from courgette/zucchini flowers on menus the past few days, so I gave them a try tonight. The flower might be too delicate a flavor not to get lost in fried dough, but I enjoyed the entrée all the same 😋
I can't tell if the lights on the walls of les Halles are left over from Christmas or just fleurs patterned.
Apparently Napoleon passed through here as part of his "return" from Elba.
The crowd for the red carpet died down a bit this late at night
Despite construction work on the road running along the beach, the party I'd seen earlier was still going strong.
The main square was also very lovely at night, not too many buskers but plenty of life.
Coming back to the hotel at night, the courtyard seemed pleasant but I was exhausted and still needed to book a hotel for tomorrow night. As I was getting ready for bed, I heard a lot of booming. There must've
been des feus artifices to conclude the partying of the festival at the
Old Port.
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