Cannes: 30x30 Outfits 7 & 8

 Outfit 7: Top, Shorts: Gabes (Express, J Brand) / Shoes: Clarks / Necklace: AE / Purse: Nordstrom (nicole byrne)

So this is the only picture I have of Outfit 7, and it's not even very good or anywhere exciting like on the beach.  After my cliff jumping escapade in Outfit 6, I had to change before driving to Cannes that night. Change in the parking lot, nonetheless, while fancily dressed Frenchies pulled in for the show. I'd already planned Outfit 8 to wear in Cannes the next day, so I pulled out the same top and threw it on with my cut-offs. And voilà: Outfit 7. Then we headed to Cannes.

After showering at our hotel we headed downtown for my very first glimpse of the Mediterranean:

We grabbed fresh mozzarella and tomato paninis from a vendor along the Promenade de la Croisette, the boulevard that runs along the Cannes coast. It's famous for the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, where the Cannes Film Festival is held and celebrities bedazzle the promenade. Then we got the most amazing salted caramel gelato you've ever tasted and sat with our legs dangling over the wall to the beach, watching cruise ships rock back and forth under a yellow moon and listening guitar music from along the boulevard. Ah, bliss.

The next morning we checked out of our hotel, the Kimi Résidence. We got lucky on Booking.com and got it super cheap at the last minute. It's a spanking new, sparkling little Norwegian place where each room has a kitchenette, just a few minutes from the beach. Much more modern than Nìmes or Carcassonne.

Then we headed back to La Croisette to check out the beaches in the daytime. You've already seen the best pictures of Outfit 8 on La Croisette here, but we were at the Med for the first time, people. That means tons of photos and fun by this lovely sea, of course. We explored the rocks and pebbly beach...

Outfit 8: Skirt: Thrifted in Paris / Shoes: Clarks / Top, Earrings: Gabes (Express, Monet) / Necklace: Ruche / Belt: J Crew final sale

We split a cheese galette {savory crêpe made with buckwheat} and a Nutella crêpe for brunch...

Scott jumped into the sea while I soaked my feet from some rocks, marveling at the clear waters...

Then he dove in from this old platform...

I saw the sign afterwards. Tsk tsk on the Husband. It says "Heavy swells. Access forbidden." Then at the bottom someone wrote "I dove." That sounds like him, all right :) I swear the man is half fish.

That afternoon, we made our way to Italy where we were to split an apartment on Lake Como for the next week with our friends, the Russells. They've had the luck to living in Germany on an Army base. I'm so very jealous. We haven't seen them for two years, since our last Europe trip when we stayed a week with them in Germany, so we were really excited. As we entered Italy, the change in housing was almost immediate with more earthy tones and salmon dotting the coast. We passed beautiful country and hillside vineyards as we drove up the coast and into the Alps.

 That's a random cactus sticking out to the left of the vineyard. There are surprisingly a lot of cacti along the Riviera.

Driving through the Alps is always interesting. I'm pretty sure you're in tunnels more often than not. Tunnels that wind and twist and go on for miles, some of them quite narrow. We finally made our way to Lago Como, or Lake Como, where we were greeted with the first clear blue skies since we'd been in Europe:

We found our apartment in Domaso, on the very northern tip of the lake, and had a happy reunion with our friends and their adorable children. That night, we went for a dinner of mysteries at the pizzeria across the road. Mysterieis because none of us speak Italian and in Italy you find far fewer people who speak good English. It was strange to feel so mute. I chose a pizza with mela thinking it would have melon with it, and instead it had apples baked onto it. Quelle surprise!* It was delicious, though.

We topped off our dinner at a local gelaterie { there were 3 within view from the street! } where I got crème brûlée, then had fun with games. Our friends have lived on a military base in Germany for the past 3 years { I'm sooo envious }, and have collected some fun German games, like Keltis, which I think we'll be adding to our own collection at home now. Because yes, we're board game nerds like that.

P.S. Do you see that crazy smile in every single picture? I just can't stop smiling here. Oh, la France, comme je t'aime!*

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*Quelle surprise = What a surprise! ; Oh, la France, comme je t'aime! = Oh, France, how I love you!

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