Cannes and Grasse, France

Here we are at Cannes. This is the only port where we are tendered to shore. Our tour guide is Shirley, an Italian and a French Driver. Cannes is a small fishing
village which was
discovered by Lord Brogham when on the way to Nice for the winter. He was turned back due to Cholera in Nice. Lord Brogham fell in love with Cannes and built a home. Other wealthy families followed. Cannes is graced with fancy hotels and sandy beaches. Our tour today is to Grasse, the capital of French Perfume. The primary flowers are heather and roses. We were to drive through the French Provence and see those flowers, but they are not in bloom yet. The factory we visited is Galimard Parfumear, built in 1747. The primary flower is heather and they use the entire plant. Roses and Jasmine are also valuable for the oil base. It is a 30-day process to distill the oil base, and then it is mixed with many other ingredients. The interesting part is the role of the "NOSE" That is the person (always a man) with an ability to smell the perfect formula that will sell. Once a company buys his formula, the "NOSE" is a rich man. This talent tends to run in families and this person can not smoke, drink or eat spicy foods in order to be successful.

This was our first guided tour and I did not purchase any of the perfume. By the time the cruise is over, I will be sorry I did not get some samples for my girls. From here we leave and head to the ancient city of Saint Paul.