Cannes Do Glam

I have arrived in Cannes to work on Born to Shop Provence Plus (which includes Provence, the French Riviera, Barcelona, Geneva and maybe Morocco) and get an advance peek at what's new and what's been happening since I was here last year, during the Festival International du Film ...called FIF here.

So far, the two knock-outs have both been hotels -- one of which I just visited by way of the lobby. (Keep reading, I'll tell you everything.)

The other, Hotel Palais Stephanie, is where I am staying -- the newest luxury hotel in Cannes (50 La Croisette; www.palaisstephanie.com) and one of the biggest renovation stories in France after sixty million dollars was poured into a older and very eighties OTT hotel (the Noga Hilton) and made into this new, luxury palace with a 5-star rating and a special homage to the stars of past Film Festivals. It's the only modern, glam, hot and trendy palace in town; promising to set the Hollywood crowd on their tiaras in mid-May.

Located directly on La Croisette, overlooking the sea, the Palais Stephanie's rooms are uphosltered in cognac Italian leather with zillions of sleek options and technological details. Regular rooms have coppery mosaic tiles and tubs ...while my room, a suite (hey, it's out of season -- I got upgraded) has a Philippe Starck tub set into an alcove overlooking the sea... and more sparkly copper shimmery tiles.

Each bathroom has a separate glass wall Italian shower (read-- no door!) as well as a dual flush toilet, to save water. The hotel has also chosen to give up bidets in order to save water, so only the important and very grand suites have them (my suite is sans-bidet).

I am left to wash my underwear in the sink. Oh yes, I wash my underwear with the most chic bathroom amenities I have ever seen-- provided by the Swiss jewelry/ watch company Chopard, which is obviously going after the Bulgari bathroom business.I have never before seen Chopard hotel amenities, so I am one of the happy few who can bathe with azure blue glycerin soap.

The lobby has a giant atrium, filled with a golden Palme d'Or leaf branch, a larger than life version of the award given away here at FIF. There's also a restaurant with terrace, La Scena, that serves a mixture of Italian, French and Japanese food -- again, overlooking the sea...and all the street action. Does anyone need more than a view to the sea, a blue sky and a pizza?

You can get a full lunch or dinner at a fixed price of 25 euros, which is very low for Cannes and for all of France. I went for the 3-course lunch (30 euros) and had a crab-avocado salad, grilled fish over truffled risotto and a grand marnier souffle. Ohlala! Then I walked around town before falling into my bed.

Behind all beds, and in most public spaces, there are vintage black & white photos of stars at previous Film Festivals. I am in residence with Gina Lollabridgida. Brigette Bardot is just down the hall from me.

Yet there's more to oogle in Cannes.

Around the corner from this hotel, there's the new 3-14 Hotel, 5 rue Francois Einesy. It's set back one block from the sea, but is a must-do stare at me hotel because of the drama of the tiny lobby. It is small and very unusual, so this is not your basic Hollywood glam spot; www.3-14hotel.com. I couldn't stop giggling as I stared at the lobby.

The hotel has purple carpet out front (who needs red, even in Cannes?) and inside has two contemporary art sculptures, one of a life sized turquoise cow with a gnome on top; the other, a turquoise Venetian glass fountain with glass birds and a gnome on top. You will be looking for Amelie toutes des suites. The rest of the lobby is upholstered in turquoise plush. You will never see the likes of this kind of kitsch in your life.

From the brochure, the rooms look quite normal. No Brigette Bardot anywhere. So please stop by the lobby before you return to the surreal world of the rest of Cannes.

Hey Joe, Cannes The Snow

It was about 6AM when I took The Boys out for their early walk. Cannes was most definately in the throes of the morning after. The sky was low and pale blue, the air fresh and delivery trucks jammed the roads. La Croisette had shed last night's glamour to pack it in for another year.

One block away is The Carlton Hotel, one of the grande dames of the Riviera and a big participant in the Film Festival. The front door has been made into a GI Joe movie parade while outside, it is Christmas. Actually, when we arrived yesterday it was Christmas-- complete with snow, Christmas trees and a billboard about A Christmas Story with Jim Carrey. This morning, they were blowing the 'snow' away and washing down the sidewalks.

We spent a somewhat frustrating evening last night-- unable to get any live coverage on TV or perhaps unable to properly manipulate the fancy TV. We fell asleep watching Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson speaking French after a room service dinner.

It was close to 100 degrees late afternoon yesterday, so we did not envy those in penguin suits or fancy dress. This was my first time as a spectator, whic I found hot, cruel and silly. But looking at the other guests in the streets was far more fun that watching out for film stars and jury members I would not recognize anyway.

For the most part, Sarah and I could shout to each other-- 'Silver gown!' Followed by "look at that red one!" and a little bit of "Oh my heavens!". There was a 50-50 blend of long to short dresses and then a 50-50 blend of black to non-black. The most prevelant color was raspberry with a few hussies dressed in red.

There was one slim column of red silk, ala Valentino, on a woman I think was a Jury Member but the other ladies in red were just revealing their need to have people stare at them.

Most women wore very high heels; the strapy ankle boot sandals seem to be the rage. My feet get hot just thinking about it. I have also walked up the Red Carpet and know that inside the theatre, there is a six-story high movie screen projecting each and every person as he or she ascends. This means if you even wobble in those high heels, the audience will be snickering.

The scene in the streets was hilarious. Most of the action took place behind barricades at Chanel and Hagen-Dazs. Ice cream cones were being munched; some lay splattered on the pavement. Several singles-- men and women-- were dressed in their Sunday Go to Meeting finest and carried signs in different languages, asking for a spare ticket or 'invitation'. I didn't see anyone I'd share my tickets with...if I had any.

Sarah and I did make it to the Offical 62nd FIF Boutique where very expensive merchandise was being grabbed up as if it was the last night of the Festival (which it was). I considered the official cap for a friend of mine, but it was 20 euros and I think he's happy with his official cap from Fiesta 09 San Antonio. The key chains were 15 euros (12 across the street at the non-official store) and the beach towels were a staggering 45 euros each.

I tried not to be rude and refrained from taking many of the shots I wanted-- the very louche Russian TV sound man with boom in one hand and cigarette in the other, the woman in the crimson lace-up corset with the Carmen of the Bizet opera hairstyle (finished off with giant red flowers, of course)who raced across the street in a wake of waving taffeta while the city-employed garbage man, in neon green, swept up behind her. The fat lady, who would probably sing later, in spandex and leopard print.

There were mothers with strollers and little girls in pink tutus. There also seemed to be a line of 9 year old ballerinas on each of the steps going up into the Palais des Festivals. I'm not certain if they represented some marketing aspect of a film or were put there by the local mayor to remind people that all politcs are local.

When I turned on the news in my vain attempt to get information or the actual awards ceremony, I thought they said (my French is weak, especially when others are speaking) the awards would be televised Monday evening. Later in the evening, as I browsed my magazines on fashion at the Festival, I found a TV schedule for the week and noted that on Monday night (tonight) there's a Johnny Hallyday special. I'd rather watch that any day.

And yes, PS- critics said there were scads of excellent movies this year and it would be impossible to guess the winner. The Austrian film , The White Ribbon, did win--it is at least not a Holocaust film but takes place immediately after World War I and is said to be quite moving. As it should be.