A most excellent few days!!!!!

It started with a trip to Avignon with restlessinRNO. Toured the Palais des Papes which leaves one absolutely dumbfounded with its well preserved outright exorbitant construction. About 3-4 hours is needed to see it thoroughly. Stopped and bought a couple bottles of a lovely 1994 Chateauneuf du Pape for $20 each. Amazing value.

I got back to the hotel and logged on to check e-mail and FT. I then rang mauld who had checked in by then and Lynn who had decided to stay at the same hotel where I was. We plotted a rendezvous the next day and then I finally managed a bit of sleep.

The next day Lynn and I walked down to grab a couple croissant and petit noirs before getting a new chip for her phone so it would work locally. After immediate success in that venture we headed down to the Carlton to check out the digs for the next couple days. The woman from catering was not available at the time we arrived so we had a brief inspection on our own and knew it was a winning hand. A last minute change had the Saturday night event in a room on the 7th floor that is a restaurant in-season and our private ballroom for the night. I will let others with better descriptive abilities go into that one.

We still had a bit of time to kill so we took a stroll up to the Rue de Antibes, which is a shopping street of sorts. The target was to locate a cigar shop and stock up for later. The place we decided on had Punch Punch and Cohiba Siglo IV for about $10 each. At that price I had to partake and stocked up. Back to the Carlton for a rendezvous with our catering contact. She joined us and we went over the specifics of the two days. I met the waiter for the wine evening and the waiter for the Saturday event. We got things squared away rather quickly and agreed a time to meet later in the day to taste the wines for the Saturday dinner.

Time to wander over and check out the Hilton. Popped over and found that jongar had checked in and he came down and joined us for a walk to a café around the corner and multiple coffees. Goldlust was checking thereabouts so we rang him and he joined us at the café for more coffee (tea actually by then).

Back to the hotel for a change and then down to the Carlton to have wine. I met our catering person in the lobby and was escorted over to a table in the restaurant off to the side. A waiter brought three glasses and three wines, some nuts and some olives. I only had arranged for a sip I thought, but there we were being treated like royalty and loving it. The wines were Provencal wines and seemed very acceptable. A swirl, a slurp, a spit (x3) and we were on our way to Le Petit Bar off the lobby where the fun was to commence.

We had: mauld, Punki, Hunki, Peregrine, jongar, belle3388 (and hubby), Lynn, Goldlust, loco miler, Mr. And Mrs. Arkangel, restlessinRNO, and me. The perfect size crowd and plenty of wine to go around. A small blind tasting competition of five bottles got people moving straight away, and we ended up with two winners: First Place - mauld, and, Second Place - Hunki after a self-DQ by jongar who had brought two of the wines. The party, supposed to wrap-up by 8:00, eventually finished by 8:30 or so. We all then headed en masses to a nearby restaurant for dinner. This was followed by our suite tours which will likely be detailed with photos in another trip report on this. Suffice it to say they were huge but Pink!

Many decided to hook-up at the Carlton lobby the next morning for a trip to Nice and to say bye to Punki, Hunki, and Peregrine who were heading back to Paris that day. I missed the farewells as I was a bit late getting up and met up with everybody at the station. (See you soon though Punki, Hunki, and Peregrine).

Next train out was an hour later so we all opted to do a stroll down the shopping streets nearby. You need to see the butcher’s window there. They make very sure you know what you are eating! The cheese shop next door was amazing to behold. Would love to have access to that on a regular basis.

Belle3388 got us safely to the Flower Market and we had a look around. Bouquets of nice roses for $7 and cyclamens in full bloom for $4 were only two of the thousands of bargains. We were all getting a bit peckish by this point and again belle3388 took charge and got us over to a favorite restaurant of hers called Safari. Local cuisine, good value and huge portions. Just ask loco about the salad next time you see him.

After stuffing ourselves to the point of requiring a walk, we headed down to the waterside for a stroll back toward the station. After a nice walk back and a short train ride home, we were back in Cannes. People wandered off in various directions to shop, rest, etc. Loco, Lynn, and I did a bit of T-shirt shopping before it was time for me to get back and touch base with a few people who had arrived that day. The planned meet time of 8:00 for dinner had been moved forward to 7:00 so we could enjoy an hour of drinks and then a couple more hours of dinner.

I was very pleased after checking mail that we had another attendee suddenly. AAsweets had opted to come and we were now to be 17 for dinner. eMailman was there that night as was PltPrincees and her friend Crystal , and finally our resident surgeons Weez and Anne (Snippy).

Headed back down to the Carlton and when I took a look at the room I knew that Stimpy had made a good call way back in December of last year in suggesting this place. Terrific spread worthy of the Carlton. Pictures to be loaded by some of the camera bearing PiPers will do it justice. An hour of drinks as we all arrived at various points and then about 8:20 we sat down to a gorgeous meal. The portions were ample (and then some) for all, and the chef did a very complete job in preparing all those dinners. John Dory to start, followed by some stuffed (or rolled) lamb, and followed by a piece of artwork made of chocolate and fruit. Coffee, petit fours, and cigars were then the order of the day. People started to wander around and check out the balcony but I thin the nicest thing was a spontaneous menu signing started by loco I believe wherein several people took one of the PiP menus and had people sign it as they might a yearbook. The spirit of the party and the crowd was exactly right and very representative of the great stuff that FT is.

Some then went on for drinks and others called it a day. I headed out with jongar, PltPrincess, Weez, Snippy, restlessinRNO, and AAsweets for a nightcap down by the Hotel de Ville. One drink and I figured I needed to back packing soon as the next day would come early. After a all too brief sleep, I grabbed the bus to the airport and had a nice chat with eMailman who had chosen the same bus. Checked in, took off and now I back in Japan wishi9ng I could do it all over again. I had an unforgettable time and met people I really hope to see again soon. The atmosphere, mix, and everything just clicked perfectly. I will treasure the memories of this weekend. Next year I will definitely attend, and possibly assist if needed. We talked briefly about the best "P" place for next time and possibilities on the table are Prague and Peachtown (Atlanta).

Look out for the pictorial reports of our shutterbugs, Lynn, loco miler, jongar, and belle3388.