To celebrate our 50th anniversary Dan and I decided on having 50 date nights, date days, or date adventures. How clever are we to wrap date number 13 around a business trip of Dan’s which just happens to be in Cannes, France?

We took United Airline’s seven-and-a-half hour nonstop overnight flight from Dulles International to Zurich. One movie (A Star is Born), a cocktail, and a nice dinner later we turned our focus to getting some sleep in our wonderful lie-flat Polaris-class seats.

There had been a weather delay on the Virginia end which made our already short connection in Zurich really tight. We hustled through the airport arriving at the gate  just as boarding began. After miraculously snappy breakfast service we landed in Nice less than an hour after take off. Come to find out the luggage handlers in Zurich were unable to move as fast as we did, so we arrived with only our carry-ons and the promise that our suitcases would be delivered later in the day.

We left home in the rain and made our Zurich connection in the rain, so the sun and mid-60s weather were a cheery welcome to Cannes. A car and driver met us at the airport. Forty-five minutes and lots of roundabouts later he delivered us to the front door of Hotel Martinez, a large, newly renovated 1920s five-star property right across the street from the beach. It was just shy of noon local time, 6:00 a.m. at home. Our beautifully appointed room has a large orchid and the biggest walk-in closet I’ve ever seen in a hotel. The TV screen even displayed a personal greeting to Mr. Mongeon. The one funky feature of our Art Deco designed room is a sliding partition that when open gives you a floor to ceiling view of the bathroom! What is that about?

We ran into a coworker of Dan’s from the London office and she invited us to join her for a leisurely lunch on the patio while we waited to check into our room. We flushed out the rest of the day with a late afternoon walk along the water which took us to docks where luxury yachts were anchored, the ridiculously huge one belonging to the son of King Fahd. If you are interested, it’s on the market for $110,000,000! For real. We passed lots of foot powered scooters, families playing on the beach, folks walking dogs, and a soft-serve ice cream stand Dan could not resist.

Back in the room ready to call it a day, Dan checked on the still-missing luggage and found out it made it to Nice and would be delivered anytime before midnight. I selected the vegetarian option from room service for my dinner. For 39 Euros I got a crock of delicious vegetables, rolls, and butter which was served on a tray with a small white orchid. My day ended with a mock (think shower gel) bubble bath. As I was getting in the tub Dan was calling housekeeping for emergency toiletries. No sooner were they procured than the luggage arrived. All in all a great day one.

For What It’s Worth

1 Euro = $1.12

Local pronunciation of Cannes: Can.