Grab A Bottle of Domaine Ott, Have I Got A Story To Tell…
Yes, it’s the distinctive bottle that houses one of France’s best rose wines: Domaine Ott from Provence…get a glass, settle in, and let’s go to the French Riviera to hang out with Prince Albert of Monoco!
Downton Abbey Season 4!
I LOVE the TV series “Downton Abbey”, and season four is just as great as always. One interesting aspect of the series is how it looks at royalty, and in this season we meet the Prince of Wales…I don’t want to give any plot details away, but it reminded me of MY Prince adventure!
FYI, here’s some great stuff all about the “Downton” creator, Julian Fellowes:
http://johnrieber.com/2013/02/20/downton-abbey-prequel-cookbook-gosford-park-julian-fellowes-snobs/
Now, let’s go from England to the south of France, where my Prince awaits:
Welcome to Cannes!
Cannes is one of the most glamorous cities on the French Riviera – and on one of my trips to Cannes for the International Festival du Film, I made a new friend…
The French Riviera is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful places in the world – and Cannes is one of the best destinations to visit – beautiful beaches and a small harbor with fishing boats…
I’ve been lucky enough to travel to Cannes dozens of times, and I always love going there…
Beautiful, classic hotels like the Splendid overlook the French Riviera, where people from all over France flock to the beaches to lay out and get some sun…
THE CANNES INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL DU FILM!
And as I posted before, one of the most beautiful places in the world just happens to be home to the world’s most prestigious film festival!
The Croisette!
This is the french riviera at its most beautiful – Cannes is just a few miles south of Nice, and about a half hour from Monte Carlo…this sleepy seaside town comes alive once a year when thousands of film execs, stars and journalists converge for the Cannes Film Festival…this year is no different! Here we are overlooking the Croisette one year at the festival…
And our good friend George Ellis worked with us many times in Cannes…he is an amazing Cameraman and Cinematographer – here we are at the Palais one year…
Yes George one day I will find the pictures of you and Oscar grilling pork chops in your apartment on an “off” day – I have them somewhere!
For twelve days and nights, movies are screened here at the Palais du Festival, the most important movie theater in the world…
We interviewed a ton of celebrities – here is a shot of the interview Alex did with Parker Posey, who was there not only to promote a movie but to do an article for Interview magazine…
Two months later the article came out, with a picture of Alex interviewing the Actress in the magazine!
As hectic as the city is for two weeks a year, it’s the rest of the year that Cannes offers an oasis of beauty and class…
The old town of Cannes is beautiful and serene – and just a few steps from the madness of the Palais…
Or take a long walk south of town along the Mediterranean, a great way to spend a day…
And you will see a never-ending variety of beauty shots:
MY NIGHT WITH PRINCE ALBERT!
So, here is the story of how Alex and I partied with Prince Albert of Monaco – first, meet Carl!
Carl is in the Hard Rock shirt, with our friends Audrey and Nicole, and of course Alex on the far left. We are walking down the street in Cannes, heading to The Saloon, at the time the only “Tex-Mex” restaurant in Cannes…Carl talked us into going to a shoot he was doing at midnight with Hawaiian Tropic girls and Tecate beer.
“My good friend Prince Albert will be coming by” Carl promised – which I immediately considered the single most unlikely thing to EVER happen – but it sounded like a fun shoot so we went…and there was lots of loud music, filming and dancing Tropic girls…and then Carl tapped me on the shoulder and said, “John and Alex, I would like to introduce you to Prince Albert…” and there he was!
Someone grabbed this shot of us later to capture the moment – Prince Albert was very gracious and fun, and we hung out for an hour with him…and I have never doubted Carl again!
Those are more of my memories of Cannes…and now, there is a terrific new book that gives a unique insider’s look at the festival!
Citizen Cannes: The Man Behind The Cannes Film Festival by Gilles Jacob
Who better to tell the story of Cannes than the guy who has run it for 30 years? Gilles Jacob is known as “Citizen Cannes”, and his autobiography presents the profile of a man who has spent more than half a century living and breathing world cinema –
Jacob has a passion for world film – which the press has acknowledged by giving him various nicknames such as ‘Monsieur Cinema’, ‘Mister Cinema’, or better still, ‘Citizen Cannes’. For over thirty years, Gilles Jacob has been the soul of the biggest film festival in the world – the Cannes Festival – of which he was elected President in 2000.
The book is full of great anecdotes form his unique insider’s point of view…and as you’ve read so far, Cannes is FULL of great moments.
I mean, look at this picture: Ben Stiller and David Schwimmer with a LION to promote their new movies, or how about Eva Longoria on the red carpet:
The world’s press will take a picture of anyone doing anything – and that is what Cannes is all about – great movies and worldwide publicity! And of course, the beauty of the south of France…
One year Alex and I will go back again to the festival…to get more great pictures of us….and the town!
Categories: Books, Books/Media, Cannes, Celebrities, Documentary, European Travel, Exotic Travel, France, Provence, Travel, Travel Adventures, Travel Memoir, Travel Writing, Uncategorized, Wild Travel, Wine, Wine Regions
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