A quiet evening

Walking around this area at night has been peaceful.  The lack of the tourist crowds has meant we have generally been uninterrupted and we haven't had any issues with parking or having to lineup.  I can't imagine how busy it must be during the peak of the summer months.  Many of the easy strolls and simple drives we made would have been congested nightmares.  Even the visits we made to the various towns in the area would have been complicated by the delays getting in and out.

We were tired from the long day, but we still needed to get some dinner.  We had learnt that Juan le Pins was too quiet, so we made our way over to Antibes again.  The night was quiet, but there were still some restaurants and bistros open.  We sat down inside one restaurant just in time to order dinner.  First, we needed a drink.

I had learnt in my short time here that the reds from Cote d'Azur aren't to be trusted, so instead we went with the safe option and ordered a Cotes du Rhone.  Lovely wines are to be had everywhere and always at affordable prices.  For me in HK, I'm lucky that I can still get access to these unique products, but for poor Todd, the ability to anything but the most commercial brands was often not an option.

Dinner was simple.  Bistro fair.  Given the long day we had had, it was what we wanted.  It almost felt like the food was an accompaniment to the wine rather than the other way around.  We didn't even linger and once we finished eating we started to walk back to the apartment.  The lights were still on though, so the streets had a surreal feeling to them.

The whole area seemed almost a little bit artificial with the complete lack of people.  It was as though it was still being built in preparation for all the people who were meant to be there, but who hadn't quite arrived yet.  It was nice to wander through the area though.  There was a peacefulness to the solitude and something incredibly calming about being able to hear my own footsteps echoing through the streets and alleys.

We walked through the silent streets to get back to the apartment.  There was occasionally someone who cried out to a friend or the sound of steps, but again, it was otherwise empty.  By the time I was back at the apartment, I was exhausted and went straight to bed.