Boating in the South of France

As a treat for everyone, Todd and Tanya booked a boat for for the day.

Given the time of year and the lovely weather, it seemed like a nice opportunity to see the coast and to take Adam and the kids out for a bit of fun.  We left the harbour at Antibes early in the morning.  We had stocked up on drinks, snacks and sandwiches on our walk over to the boat.  We arrived at the same time as Adam and the kids.  They all looked excited with all their gear, ready for a day on the water.

Soon, we were out speeding into the Mediterranean.  We were one of the smaller boats on the water, but there was more than enough space for us to spread out.  I sat at the front and chatted with Adam.  He had been through a lot over the last few years.  I admired the strength he had shown.  This was something small, but a day out for him and kids seemed like a great idea.  After about forty minutes, we joined dozens of other boats which had moored between Ile Saint Honorat and Ile Sainte Marguerite.  Years ago when I first visited the region, I had caught a ferry from Cannes across to Ile Saint Honorat.  I hadn't gone swimming back then and had regretted it.  This time I would only be swimming and I wouldn't set foot on the the island.

We all jumped into the water.  For the next few hours, we spent our time floating in the cool water and swimming around.  Closer to the shore at Ile Sainte Marguerite there was an "underwater museum" of statues for swimmers and divers to inspect.  We swam around looking for them all, but the few statues we could find were underwhelming.  This was a popular location, and some local businesses had taken to selling food and drinks boat to boat.  We saw a "pizza" boat sailing around as well as a "cocktails" boat.  We had brought our own food and drink, but that didn't mean the kids weren't excited to see the boat which sailed around selling ice creams.  Sadly for them, every time we were out of the water and actually in the mood for some cold snacks, the ice cream boat seemed to just disappear completely from view.

After a whole day spent bobbing up and down on the water, we all decided we had had our fill.  The heat was a bit exhausting.  We had all tried to be responsible, repeatedly reapplying our sunscreen, but clearly it hadn't been enough for some.  My nose was getting very red, Todd and Tanya looked exhausted, and Phil was beginning to look like a lobster.  Veronica had managed to avoid most of it as she had sat in the shade at the back relaxing whilst I had been swimming laps chasing after the kids.  We gathered our things back onto the boat and set sail back towards the harbour.  Everyone was much more muted on this trip. The energy was gone after all the activities and most of the adults sat quietly napping at the back.  I sat at the front again with the kids.  There was little swell, but they eagerly cheered for the wake from the other boats to give us a bump into the air as we sped to Antibes.

Once we were back in Antibes, Todd and Tanya decided they were done for the day.  The combination of the heat and the activities had taken it out of them.  They were still jetlagged as well so they said their goodnights and went to sleep.  Veronica and I wanted dinner.  We walked out into the crowded evening streets of Antibes and searched for a good spot for dinner.  Phil was unconvinced, concerned that he would be intruding on our private dinner, but after a bit of cajoling and some strategically sent pictures of where we were thinking of eating, I managed to sway him to come out again.

It was a good decision.  We sat outside as the musicians played and filled up with the local nicoise delights.  The tomato and burrata was a must (and presented in the most beautiful way I have ever seen) as was a Nicoise salad given our location.  When the waiter casually mentioned that there was a special of deep fried zucchini flowers, Phil and I both quickly responded yes without any hesitation.  All of it was fresh.  It tasted real and full of the flavour of what it was "meant" to be.  This wasn't a plate of vegetables which had been ripened in a fridge or warehouse somewhere, this was good food which had come from a farm nearby.  After this, the fish came.  Baked in salt, the waiter walked out, showed it to us with a flourish, before immediately leaving to divide it amongst our plates.  It was like the entrees, delicious and satisfying.

After dinner, we continued to walk around Antibes.  We ate gelato and we enjoyed the liveliness of the town.  We thought about ending the night, but then we stumbled across the old absinth bar that Todd, Phil and I had enjoyed ourselves in several years ago.

Since we were here, we went in.  The bar was completely packed.  It was a very different scene to the one that we had enjoyed the last time we were here.  There was no music until a man with very long hair and a very long beard at our table stood up and walked over to the piano.  He picked up a guitar and began to sing and play what can only be described as the best hits of country and western music.  It was an odd, but fun way to end the night.