Cannes

Monday was just filled with more tutorials at INRIA. Not all of the Sophia Antipolis's facilities were gleaming, some had fallen into disrepair. I suppose these industrial parks start off with great promise and eventually pragmatism sets in and only what is used is maintained. 


I enjoyed the wine and cheese reception in the evening, mainly because of the interiors of the Palais where the film festival takes place, and the views of the harbour. Cannes is obviously a tourist town, the receptionist was proud of being able to speak English.

On Tuesday I had a leisurely breakfast indoors as there was a fresh breeze outside. I finished with time to spare so sat and sipped my coffee. Lots of German guests at breakfast. I noticed that the Serbian girl walked very fast downhill.


After lunch a group of us arrived at the same conclusion that the sessions were too boring and we should just go to the Gray d'Albion beach and read the proceedings later. So after coffee break, we had our own session dubbed 3A, in lieu of the session 3 we were skipping. I didn't swim but the warm sand and sea air were pleasant.


In the evening, a knowledgeable local attendee took us on a restaurant. A couple of establishments we tried in the Le Suquet quartier, which was the one I had been walking through between the hotel and the Palais, were full or had no cooking gas (a supply problem I think). Eventually we ended up in a somewhat expensive place on the main drag, Rue d'Antibes. But it served excellent seafood. I got introduced to the Serbian girl, L. (Note from future: she was the one I visited briefly in Lausanne in 2004.)


There was a total eclipse of the moon around 8 or 9 pm that night. It was the last total eclipse for the century.