Travel: Iles de Lerins (Cannes, France)

Cannes, France...Images fill your mind of jet-setting Hollywood celebrities and recording artists taking up residence in ultra luxurious seafront hotels and private yachts bobbing in the sea.  Chic boutiques showcasing the latest fashion arrivals in fanciful windows displays to shoppers with sky-high credit limits.  And as late evening approaches, smartly dressed diners will enjoy aperitifs before 5 and 6 course meals.  Afterwards they'll by-pass the velvet ropes and  make their way to VIP clubs and party until the wee morning hours.
But a 15 minute ferry ride is a world away....

The Iles de Lerins is a collection of 4 islands; two are uninhabited the others, Ile Sainte-Marguerite and Ile Saint-Honorat are open to visitors.  On this particular day, we opted for the ferry ride to Ile Saint-Honorat where the Cistercian monks live, pray and make wine and honey.  Hmm...interesting.  There is a restaurant on the island, La Tonnelle, serving up delightfully fresh seafood among the items on the menu.  Situated right on the waterfront, every table has a view, but our table was the best!  We made reservations well in advance: if you don't you run the risk of not getting a table.  Considering how many come by the hourly ferry, best to have a reservation confirmed.  True it is; as we arrived the cue/line for dining was several groups deep.  We worried that our reservation would not hold: there were more people than tables!  As we approached the host, we could hear that no tables would be available unless a reservation was a no-show.  Whew...we were greeted by the host, confirmed our name and were quickly shown to a front line (beachside) table, under a rattan shade, with sand at our feet and the view was spectacular: looking back toward Cannes in the distance with bobbing boats between the blue Mediterranean Sea in front of us and the lush green of Ile Ste-Marguerite beyond.  The view was picture postcard.  With lunch we had one of the award winning bottles of wine produced by the monks...worthy of every accolade.

After a very generous lunch, we began the leisurely stroll around the island.  Not knowing what to expect, we thought it would just be a walk in a lovely treed park.  As we walked we'd stop admire the view and continue on until we came upon the church.  Under a canopy of bougainvillea we walked to the church and admired the serenity and peacefulness.  Once outside, we found a boutique selling some of the wines and honey made by the monks.  Further along we were at a rampart and we saw the ruins of a fortress.  Open to the public, we made our way over and explored the ruins, floor by floor by way of the curving stone staircase.  Atop, the views were spectacular.  The sea was crystal clear and one could almost imagine being on lookout duty.  The warm afternoon sun, the sparkling sea and the gentle breeze was a relaxing moment that should never end...but it did and we timed ourselves to be sure to depart the island before the last ferry back to the mainland.  We still had another half of the island to walk before we'd circle back to the ferry landing.

Once on board the ferry, we left behind serenity of Saint Honorat and headed towards the hectic pace of Cannes.  Fifteen minutes and worlds apart...

Fifi