Tag: summer

Summertime and the Living is Éze.

On our final day in Cannes, we decided to visit a beautiful village that Laura and Paul had been to before and really enjoyed called, Éze. Situated inbetween Nice and Cannes, Éze is a medieval village, that sits upon a large hill-top overlooking the Mediterranean sea and yes, it really is as stunning as it sounds! Understandably, this historical location is very popular with Tourists, (myself included) and that was highly evident during our day visit there – so, if you’re looking for somewhere quite and isolated, I wouldn’t suggest visiting in peak time. 

Although the hill walk up to Éze itself isn’t exactly pleasant in the scorching heat, there are plenty of places to stop and have a wonder around. There are many gift shops within the town, which are perfect for finding unique presents and original art too. Plus, if shopping isn’t your thing then fear not, there are plenty of restaurants to visit and enjoy.

The two big tourist attractions within Éze are it’s Church, Notré-Dame de l’Assumption and it’s Gardens, Jardin botanique d’Éze. The Church was built between 1764-1778 and although still very beautiful, is sadly very run down and in need of refurbishment, so donations are much appreciated. However, it is definitely one of the prettiest sights to see in Éze and a hugely important historical building. The Gardens are situated right at the top of Éze and once you’re standing up there, you finally realize how truly high up you are! Everything below you looks so small in comparison to the gardens, which feature a variety of cactus especially.

My favourite thing to see within Jardin botanique d’Éze has to be the Earth Goddesses, which were created by Artists, Jean-Philippe Richard. They are placed around the gardens and each have a name and a small poem, I found them to be truly capturing and awe inspiring. Large information boards are situated around the gardens and it was so wonderful to learn the meanings and history behind the many places in Éze. 

If you’re a movie lover like myself, you may know, The French Riviera has been extremely popular with Film Directors over the years and after having the pleasure to experience the wonders of Cannes, it’s not hard to see why. Alfred Hitchcock chose to shoot the location scenes for To Catch A Thief on the very roads you look upon, whilst at the top of the Éze Gardens! 

As the final post in my Cannes Series comes to an end, all that’s left to say is I hope you enjoyed learning about the many beauties of the South of France as much as I did!

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Sunshine In Saint Tropez.

As someone who is a huge fan of Classic Cinema and Blonde Bombshells, one place that I simply had to visit during my stay in Cannes was the stunning, Saint Tropez. This beautiful place was made famous by French’s most famous Film Star, Brigitte Bardot and has also been her home for almost sixty years! 

Sadly, I may not have had the pleasure of seeing BB herself, but, it’s very clear how loved and respected she is by the people of Saint Tropez – her beautiful face is everywhere! One of my favourite French Films is probably Brigitte’s most famous and iconic one; And God Created Woman (1956) and as it was pretty much all shot in Saint Tropez, it was a pretty incredible experience to literally walk in the Sex Kitten’s iconic footsteps. I bet when Roger Vadim and Brigitte were making this movie over sixty years ago, they had no idea of the huge impact they were going to have on this small little fishing village!

One of the things I really wanted to see whilst in Brigitte’s chosen home was the Musée De La Gendarmerie Et Du Cinema, also known as The Gendarmerie and Cinema Museum. Currently showing there until January 2018 is the, Brigitte Bardot; Myth Of Saint Tropez, which is a whole photography exhibition dedicated to BB herself. This was an amazing experience for me to witness and it also featured a few of Brigitte’s actual film clothing, an original portrait and autographs! My only criticism was I wish it had been bigger – the more BB the better! Sadly, I realized after visiting that there was a second floor in the building which also featured a permanent Brigitte section with other French Actresses. Therefore, I may just have to return!

Walking around Saint Tropez in the beautiful sunshine was such a wonderful memory for me, it was truly like a treasure trove, with so many amazing spots to discover. Whilst exploring the streets of Saint Tropez, I stumbled across this incredible Artist, known as Cserg, with most of his work featuring Brigitte and autographed by the lady herself! Sadly, his shop was closed and I didn’t get to meet him, but you should definitely visit his website and appreciated his incredible work. 

However, even if you’re not a BB Fan like myself, Saint Tropez is so aesthetically pleasing and perfect for photographers or scenery lovers. Ultimately, I only wish I’d have been able to have spent more time there as I don’t feel I got to appreciate 100% of what Saint Tropez has to offer. Although, I did see so many amazing things in one afternoon – so, there is a silver lining! 

Overall, I was most definitely impressed with this beautiful village and it without doubt met all of my expectations. It’s truly so heartwarming to see how over half a century later, the citizens recognize how much Brigitte has done for their home and without doubt made it a household name. On Brigitte’s 83rd Birthday, Saint Tropez will be unveiling their sculpture of their Blonde Bombshell, which will reside outside The Gendarmerie and Cinema Museum – a beautiful tribute for a beautiful legend.

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Carry on Cannes.

If someone had told me a year ago, that I’d be travelling to France and staying in Cannes for almost a week, I’d have never believed it in a million years. However, thanks to my amazing friends, Laura and Paul, that dream became a reality and in July 2017, I visited France for the first time in nineteen years!

As someone who adores Old Hollywood – I’m sure that’s not new information, Cannes is a filled with history from the Golden Age of Cinema. Films like To Catch A Thief (1955) and Stars like Brigitte Bardot are instantly linked to the beautiful French Rivera with the Cannes Film Festival still being one of the hottest events in the world of Movies. Therefore, getting to visit such an incredible place was simply beyond amazement and you guessed it, I became the ultimate Tourist, which is great if you’re a Blogger like myself, or you appreciate Amateur Photography.

For the six full days we were there, we stayed in Cannes and used it for our home base for when we weren’t travelling around seeing other amazing locations. If you know anything about the French Rivera, you’ll be aware that there’s a so many places to visit and let’s just say we definitely made the most of our short but sweet Holiday! I shall be writing a mini series of posts on the places we visited during our time in France, with each one focusing on a specific destination. So of course, it’s only natural that I start the first chapter with the beauty that is Cannes!

We stayed in a lovely apartment in a huge hotel that was only a fairly short walk away from the main attraction – La Croisette. This street is home to many designer stores, beautiful bakeries and of course, just a hugely famous place called the InterContinental Carlton Hotel, which you may have heard of. As you can probably guess, it’s most definitely aimed at the rich and famous, but don’t be deterred if you can’t buy anything – window shopping is always free and pretty fun!

There are so many unique and incredible sights to see at the main tourist attraction in Cannes, La Croisette. Not only is there an absolutely stunning beach, well actually, there’s multiple – the Carlton does have it’s own private beach where a 19 year old Brigitte Bardot caused a huge sensation in 1953. However, the public one which I experienced, is very appealing also. Furthermore, just a few yards away from the beach is where the iconic Cannes Film Festival is held each year at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrés, an admittedly fairly mundane building for such a grand event. Sadly, the Festival is held earlier in the Summer, so I didn’t see any Celebrities. However, the building features many hand prints and signatures of huge stars, all on the floor around the building – so, major silver lining!

If you continue walking right to the end of La Croisette, you get to admire arguably one of the most incredible murals I’ve personally been fortunate enough to witness. Unfortunately the name of this hugely talented Artist is unknown, as is the name of this very famous work, so Hollywood Film Legends shall have to do. Being that Cannes is known for it’s world famous Film Festival, it’s only fitting that the town is full of amazing murals, scattered around in the most random of places! The Hollywood Film Legends piece resides opposite a handful of Bus Stops, yes, you really did just read that! This beautiful work truly leaves you in a state of awe and amazement, so many of my favourites feature; Marilyn, Jessica Rabbit, Cyd Charrise, Fred Astaire, Lauren Bacall and Humprhey Bogart – you name it and they’re on it! 

Although this mural is without doubt, one of my favourite artworks I’ve ever seen, the one I was most looking forward to witnessing and have truly loved for many years, is of course The Marilyn Mural. Featured on the Cannes Riveria Hotel, I think it’s fair to say this is a hugely iconic feature in the French Riviera and the photos simply do not do it justice. As someone who is hugely fussy with Marilyn Artworks, I can hand on my heart confirm that this one simply has no flaws – it is beyond perfect and one hundred percent does Marilyn justice. 

Having Cannes as our home for six days was simply a dream come true and I can’t wait to share with you all the incredible places we got to visit during our stay in the idyllic French Riviera!

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Vintage Fair.

Hi everyone!

So on Saturday I went to a Vintage Fair in my hometown, I’ve been to a couple over the past year and none have really compared to the first one I attended. However, it’s often down to luck on finding things and they always have such a nice retro vibe that I always like to go and have a look anyway. After the last one I went to, I wasn’t expecting to find much. Although it had some beautiful things, it was mostly vintage clothes, whereas I like to find vintage magazines, things related to my favourite stars or modern vintage style clothes, as they tend to fit better. 

Here’s a photo of my look for the Fair, I tried to create a classic 1950s make up vibe with a 1940s pin up roll with a pony tail. On this day, my hair was very straight, so it was incredibly hard to create the roll, I must have tried about ten times! Tip – pin up rolls are a lot easier to roll when your hair is curled or slightly wavy.

So when I went on Saturday, at a first quick look I felt slightly disappointed again. I saw some lovely vintage clothes but the material was not suitable for hot weather and I really hate looking through racks and racks of clothes, I’m just not patient enough! However, I came across a lovely stall of modern vintage style clothing. I saw a couple of lovely dresses, but the material once again wasn’t suitable for summer weather. I also saw a lovely floral halter dress, but sadly they didn’t have my size. However, I continued looking through and came across a lovely yellow floral dress and thought to myself, that looks pretty cute! Although I thought the dress was really pretty and a bit different to my other clothes, any of your fair haired ladies will know that it’s almost an unwritten rule that blondes don’t wear yellow. Therefore, I was pretty hesitant to try the dress on!  I didn’t want a major clash, to look washed out or even like a big lemon, but I took my chances and went for it. 

The dress is so comfy and fitted at the same time, which is always the best! The back of the dress is elastic so it fits to your body. It also nips you in at the waist for the 1950s hourglass look and has such beautiful detail, it’s a real sunshine dress! I only realized when taking the photos today that this dress is from  Collectif this gorgeous brand specializes in 1940s and 1950s style and I’m so happy to finally have a dress of theirs!

I absolutely adore the heart-shaped buttons, I think they could be my favourite part of the dress! The little details always make the dresses!

I also bought a lovely red floral bow for my hair, surprisingly I haven’t got a red bow and as it’s one of my favourite colours and for only £2.50, I had to buy it. Although red can sometimes be a hard colour to match, I decided as I wear red lipstick so often, I could probably get away with not always co-coordinating the clothes.

I also wore my lovely daisy earrings from River Island that I bought last year, I thought they went with my floral fifties theme and of course added even more yellow! 

Lastly, when browsing the Vintage Fair, I came across a clearance section of.. HEART SHAPED GLASSES! I absolutely adore this style, made famous by Sue Lyon in Vladimir Nabokov’s controversial classic, Lolita. I already have lovely cat-eye 1950s style sunglasses from last year that are red, so as soon as I saw the pink heart-shaped ones, I went for them instead.

Until  next time lovelies! 

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