Europe..continued..

The Journal is not done yet.

We are still gallivanting around Europe.

Barcelona was wonderful.

I really enjoyed the Cathedrals and the building by GAUDI. I find his architecture absolutely fascinating.

We also made a point to go to Gaudi's other buildings and his Parc Guell to see more work of this visionary who even though had build these building around the turn of the century is still today ahead of his time. The more we traveled the more we liked. The architecture really does define a city. I depicted Barcelona on the whole as a small working community where everyone is considered important for what they bring to society. After our visit to Barcelona, we headed towards Marseille and Toulon, France. The very SOUTHERN tip of France. Our target was to make a stop at Perpignan, France which was sort of a mid point between, Toulon and Barcelona. We were both HUNGRY and were bit exhausted of driving. We made a stop. We really hoped the kitchen would not be closed. Sigh! GUESS what… No luck!!

We were in front of a lovely restaurant with a gigantic menu,nevertheless we could not make an order and was left with a wine and beer list on our hands. We were left to scratch our heads becoming exasperated by some idiosyncrasy of the city. The poor waiter again shrugged his shoulders and said dryly in his thick French accent, "The kitchen is closed.”

That night we were welcomed with the delicious French Lamb and wine made by our French friend,Jean Domini. He is a native of Toulon, and the next day, all three of us went for a wine tasting. We had a great time. Have we had more time, we would have definitely extended our stay in Toulon, cause the wine tasting with French was indeed a Great experience.

Saint Tropez, Nice and Cannes were our Next stop. The French Riviera on Côte d'Azur was the love at first sight. Right in front of us were the beaches, the blue sea and the elegant people…You could hear the OCEAN. The familiarity of this sound was immediately comforting. We parked, Grabed a sandwich and walked towards the beach.

As I walked to the edge of the cliffs and faced the sea, I felt the salted wind whipping up from the black void. I heard the surf below and though I saw nothing, I invigorated knowing that I was standing on the rim of the famous French Riviera.

We spend about 40 minutes enjoying the view and made a quick stop over at Nice and headed towards Cannes. I was ecstatic. For past 4 years, I have always followed the Cannes Festival. Back in the school days, I would wake up late night just to see the Festival de Cannes and here I was right in front of the RED Carpet. There were polices everywhere, news Reporters everywhere. The city itself is described as a "star" of the French Riviera, famous for the International Film Festival and the glitzy hotels, cars, beaches. TALKINAG about CARS!!! The roads were crowded with the exotic brand roaring like bullhorn naming from the Maseratic, Lamborghini to Ferrari. The picture above tells it all.. 3 ferraris in a row.. W-o-W

I was desperately looking around for Aishwarya Rai. Celebrities inside the Mercedes were sliding in and out from the Hotel. Roads were blocked everytime some one came to the Palme d'OR. Since, Aiswarya Rai was one of the jurys she surly must have been there. I really was hoping to see her, unfortuantely no luck. I just had to console myself with the advertisement board of LOREAL with Aishwarya Rai in it. But on the other note, we did see some Famous European Stars and I managed to wave at one of them who gleefully waived right back at me. YEAH!!

We also took a stroll along the Promenade des Anglais. In front of me was the same shockingly gorgeous scene I had viewed on my computer screen.

Oh How beautiful it was..