Another visit

Since I was in the region, I wanted to go see Adam and the kids.  It had only been a few months since I had visited them, but I still wanted to go and visit them.  I missed them a lot and with Maya gone, I thought about them constantly.  I had time.  It was all just a short flight away after all.  So after visiting the beautiful Ilkley, I decided to make my way to the South of France.  The travel was a little bit convoluted, but still acceptable all things considered.  I woke up early and caught a train from Ilkley to Leeds.  Once I arrived at Leeds, it should have been a short train ride to Manchester.  Sadly, the train was cancelled and I was jammed with dozens of others onto a later train.  It was one of the most overcrowded trains I have ever been on.  People seemed to take it in their stride as they joked and laughed about the situation we were all in.  After a painful and uncomfortable trip, we arrived in Manchester.  There I switched to a different train for the short trip to the airport.  Once I was at the airport, I thought that all things would be easy, but once again I was very mistaken.  I was confronted at Manchester Airport by the busiest and poorly managed security control I have ever experienced.  I couldn't quite understand why it was such a mess.  There seemed to be enough check points and there also seemed to be plenty of staff working, but for whatever reason, it was a wait of close to an hour just to clear this mess of a security check.  Once I was on the plane, I fell asleep.  It hadn't been a long distance traveled, but there was something about all the hiccups which had just drained me.  When I woke, we were close to landing.  I looked outside my window and immediately felt warmer.  Once we disembarked, I immediately put my jacket into my bag and walked out into the warmth of the Cote D'Azur. 

The kids were at school and so Adam picked me up from the airport.  We were both all smiles to be able to see each other.  It was a strange but pleasant feeling to be able to just "pop in" to visit.  This was now my fourth visit to the region, a fact which seemed very strange to me.  As we drove back to his home, I also realised that I knew the area quite well.  I didn't have the same sense of novelty from visiting somewhere new, but instead I looked at the streets with a feeling of familiarity.  We had a stop to make on the way back home to pick up Emil from school.  Adam stood in front of the door to the school as I hid to the side.  As Emil ran out, Adam pointed back towards me.  A big smile crept across Emil's face as he saw me and he came and gave me a big hug.  We headed back home to try to surprise Sofia.  When the car pulled in, she ran to the windows and saw me sitting in the car.  Once again, being able to surprise these kids made the trip worth it.

There wasn't too much to do for the next few days.  I had no need to do any tourist visits.  Instead we spent our time with the day to day activities of life.  We looked after the kids, helped them with their homework and got them ready for school.  For Adam and myself, we then just whiled away the time with chores, sitting in cafes and time in restaurants.  It was all extremely pleasant and a nice slice of the life in this picturesque part of the world.  For myself, it was a welcome period of rest and relaxation.  All of the activities with Adam and the kids were an absolute pleasure and only made the time I had more enjoyable.  One day when we were in Nice, we sat down outside at the restaurant Du Gesu.  With the kids at school, we were able to linger and just talk and enjoy the moment.  The weather was good.  The heat of summer was gone, but it was still ideal to sit outside.  The Nicoise classics were brought to our table and we slowly ate and drank our fill.  I thought back to when Phil, Todd, Tanya and Veronica had been with us.  That had been at the peak of the tourist season and we weren't even able to get a table here.  Now it was much calmer and more conducive for us to talk.

I wasn't without my tasks to complete whilst I was here.  Since Veronica hadn't been able to make her trip, I had been slowly gathering presents for her and the family.  Being in Nice, I immediately thought of Auer and their delicious candied fruits.  After lunch, Adam and I went over to the store to browse.  It is a classically designed store that looks like a throwback to another century.  They take great care to make their candied fruits using only the best fruits and their products show this quality and attention to detail.  Veronica's family have always had high standards when it comes to food, but even this surpassed all their expectations.  The candied chestnuts were a particular favourite of Veronica's father, so when I bought a box, I bought a few extra for Adam and myself to enjoy with our coffee the next day.

Adam had an appointment one day in Cannes.  Rather than just sit around and wait for him, I went for a walk around the town.  It felt much more like it did the first time I visited.  The big crowds were gone, but it was again still pleasant.  I found a small store selling tinned fish that Veronica's family and I liked and bought a few tins.  With the small chores I had planned now all complete, there was nothing left but to walk around until Adam was finished.

I thought back to all the times I had now been to Cannes.  I had gone from a wide eyed and young traveler seeking adventure to someone with more obligations and responsibilities.  I had clearly changed and developed, but I still looked up and around at my surroundings with a level of happiness.  It was beautiful, and I was lucky to be here.  The reasons for me being here had changed so much, but I was still thankful for it. 

I headed back home with Adam.  There we picked up the kids again and enjoyed the remaining time I had with them.  I would see them again, but when and where that would be was still to be determined.

St Tropez

Are we fancy people?  I couldn't tell and I wasn't sure.  I didn't think so given we weren't on a fancy boat, but at the same time, we were in luxurious surrounds and we had arrived in a very nice car.  Wealth and privilege seems to be a relative concept.  I know that I am in a good situation, but when you're in a place like the South of France, even the well off can be made to feel quite small by the sheer number of partying billionaires.  For us, we were clearly not doing too badly and the fact that we were travelling the way we were meant that we couldn't complain.  To complete the fanciness of this trip, Veronica wanted to go to St Tropez.  In the same way that places like Capri, Cannes, Positano and Monaco evoke images of glitz and glamour, St Tropez has that same allure.  We had been to all of those places on this trip, so it was almost fitting to include this location on our places to visit.

We woke up early in an attempt to beat the rush.  We were out the door and in the car at what seemed to be an early hour in this part of the world, on the highway before 9:30am.  I thought back to some of the car trips I had been on when I was young and the painfully early starts we used to make.  This laid back approach would have shocked and appalled my father.  The last time I had been here, I had made the decision to drive out to Aix.  It had been a long and dull drive of more than two hours, but I had wanted to go see Manon and Gabby.  As much as anything, it had been the boredom of the long drive which had been the most difficult to deal with.  This time, the drive was a leisurely hour and a half, and I had Veronica to keep me company and entertained.  The scenery along the drive as as spectacular as I remembered it.  The hills in the region were a deep red, and the rose sharply out of the ground.  As we made the turn towards St Tropez, we shot down quickly towards the water and hugged the coastal road of the bay.  I had been warned about this section of road and sadly everything we had been told was true.  The traffic ground to a crawl.  Annoyingly, it was clear to me after a while that this wasn't really an unavoidable traffic jam.  The entire road needed about six to eight more traffic light intersections.  Instead, it relied on roundabouts which also had zebra crossings for pedestrians to cross as and when they pleased.  With such a high level of traffic and so many people crossing the road to get to the beach, these delays had to be expected with such poor traffic management.  After what felt like an eternity, we reached St Tropez.  We found expensive parking and went for a walk around the town.

It was an extremely pretty town.

The buildings were old and striking against the water.  The French Mediterranean style and colours contrasted beautifully against the blue water.  The town itself was small.  The small lanes, winding everywhere and full of people. 

Everything in the town was catered towards the rich and wealthy.  There were boutiques everywhere, both small and local, as well as the ultra high end.  In one enormous building, I saw the only Dior cafe I have ever seen (are there any others anywhere else)?  The town reminded us both of a French version of Capri, but without the same sense of fun and with a more muted French cultural twinge to everything.  Having enjoyed my time in Nice and Antibes, I couldn't say that there was anything about St Tropez which made me feel any particular excitement or interest.  It was all very nice, but I wouldn't say that there was anything about this area which was better or nicer than what I had seen closer to where we were staying.  If anything, I felt that in an overly touristy part of the world, this seemed to have even more of the negative aspects that most would seem to avoid.

The day was extremely hot.  We walked over to one of the nearby beaches hoping to get a spot to rest and swim.  Luck wasn't with us and all of the beach chairs had already been booked.  Even lunch wasn't possible as all the tables for dining were also booked, so we had to content ourselves at the bar for a drink.  The prices were as astronomical as you would expect in this part of the world, so this wasn't a terrible outcome.  We walked around the town a bit more and found a spot for lunch.  It was difficult to enjoy this place.  There were too many people, and the heat was now oppressive.  By mid afternoon, I felt we had walked more than enough of this place and so I decided I was done.  We slowly walked backed to the car and began the slow drive out of St Tropez.  For all the fame and glamour of this place, it didn't seem to have the appeal to justify its reputation.  As we were driving, we were stuck in another traffic jam.  I looked at the time.  It was still early.  It seemed a waste for us to just go straight back to Antibes.  We hadn't seen anywhere near as much of this region as I had hoped on this trip as a result of traffic, crowds and the heat.  This seemed to be a good opportunity for us to get in one more stop, particularly for Veronica.

I punched in "Cannes" into the GPS.  It didn't seem right at all that we had come all this way to the Cote d'Azur and that I hadn't brought Veronica here yet.  I always had some mixed feelings about Cannes.  I wouldn't say that I love the place, but it always seemed like a nice enough place to visit.  The drive in was trouble free and we were able to find parking easily (something which has always generally be quite nice about the South of France).  We walked out into the streets of Cannes as the temperatures had begun to cool.  The atmosphere was happy and vibrant as it was back in Antibes.

Climbing to the top of the fort at the end of the town, we looked across Cannes as the sun slowly set.  It was as beautiful as I remembered.  The last time I had been here was with Maya and Todd.  I remembered standing in almost the same place, looking over the town and feeling lucky that I was there with such good friends.  I felt lucky this time as well being with Veronica.  My life was changing and moving forward, and it was good to be able to share these places with her.  We started walking back down towards the town.  We were hungry and it felt like the perfect time for dinner.  Along the side on the way down from the fort, there is the busy street leading up the hill full of restaurants that I was introduced to on my first trip to Cannes.  This was the first time I had seen the place during peak season.

There were no spots at any tables on the street itself.  That would have required more booking or for us to have arrived earlier, but we were still able to find a nice spot.  We ordered fish, which was perfectly cooked.  We had been lucky with food on our trip, and Veronica was quick to note that each place we had been in France had cooked the fish to an expert level.  We didn't linger too long.  We wanted to see more of Cannes in the evening.

There were markets and stalls set up all along the promenade.  Veronica started shopping as I walked around and watched the street performers.  Like in other places, even though it was late, there was lovely energy and activity we had come to expect this time of year.  There were children with their parents wandering around, groups of young people out having fun.  This whole region comes alive during the summer.  Veronica had a beaming smile on her face as she moved from stall to stall.  I loved visiting this part of the world and this time of year had made me appreciate its joy and beauty even more.

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.

Promenade des Anglais

After an emotional evening with Adam and the kids, we had all gone home and to bed.  The travel had been tiring, but combined with this catch up, it had turned into an exhausting day.  I showered and collapsed into bed.  I slept soundly.  I was certainly tired, but there was almost a feeling of finality or achievement.  Arriving and seeing Adam and the kids felt like the completion of a long awaited task and so there was a level of mental relief with that part now addressed.  We would see them more before we left, but this first catch up would of course be the hardest.  So I slept well.  I woke up the next day more refreshed than I expected and ready to go explore the region with the whole group.  First thing we did was go and look at the lovely markets in Antibes.  The market was full of life as always, crowded but in a way that made it feel active rather than uncomfortable.  We looked at the different foods, I bought socca for us all to eat and the girls went shopping at the small clothing stands.  

We kept walking around Antibes.  There were tourists on every corner and down every street.  Children were running around.  People were eating gelato.   At the town square, the bandstand was actually full with a band.  They played music for the crowds gathered.  It felt like a normal day out with friends, we just happened to be on the other side of the world. 

After enjoying the lovely Antibes for the morning, we moved on to our next location.  Our plan was to visit Nice and to wander the streets and to embrace the beach life of the South of France.  For Todd, Phil and myself, we missed the water and the beach life.  Our days living in Australia were still fresh in our minds.  We wanted to be in the water and on the beach.  This was a bit of a different approach though.  The idea of private beaches with deck chairs and service was very foreign to us (which is unsurprising given we were in a different country....)  Beaches in Australia are always public and so are always free for all to use.  Even something as simple as selling food and drink of a beach in Australia is prohibited so as to ensure that it remains a place for public use.  It's something I have always appreciated about the beach back in Australia.  It's a truly democratic place, somewhere for everyone.  This was the opposite of what I was seeing here in France.  Here, there were sections of the beach which were public, but for the most part here in front of Nice, it was all about the private beach clubs.

The prices for entry were high.  We weren't dissuaded.  We were all new to this and we wanted to experience it, so it was something we were willing to all splurge on.  There were long waits for the deck chairs.  We patiently waited up at a seated area, cooled by the drinks available.  The lady at the front desk was inundated by a never ending procession of people looking to get seats.  We continued to patiently wait.  Chairs started to open up and more and more people continued to arrive.  Veronica decided that the lady at the front desk needed a reminder, so she went up with a smile and asked about the rows of chairs which had opened up.  A group of girls jumped ahead of us insisting that they were first.  The lady at the front desk very forcefully snapped back at them "NO!  They have been waiting before you."  The insistence of the girls seemed to make her even more adamant, and so she quickly changed from contemplating our request, to immediately granting us the precious chairs.

We had a good spot.  All five of us were arranged in a line, only a few rows back from the beach and with no one behind us.  Visually, it was a spectacular scene we had in front of us.  The water was a deep turquoise blue that seemed to glow in the light of the sun.  We all looked out, amazed at the beauty of it all.  It looked like some idyllic scene from a French impressionist painting.  The colour and the light, combined with the vibrant contrast of the white and blue umbrellas made me want to stay and just stare out for as long as I could.

We spent the next few hours moving between the chairs and the ocean.  The water was a lovely temperature.  Not yet too warm, but just cold enough to be refreshing and cooling.  We jumped around and swam like we were kids again.  Being with Todd and Phil, I felt like we were on one of our boarding school trips to the coast, but of course in a significantly more luxurious lifestyle.  At the chairs, we ordered drinks which were brought to us.  We continued to move back and forth.  Water and relaxation.  Veronica and Tanya collected rocks and shells.  Myself and the boys tried to throw one another into the air from the water.  As the sun slowly went down, the colours changed.  The blues faded to a paler shade that was just as beautiful.  We had our fill of the fun, and went to get changed and headed off to dinner.
 

A trip too late

I hear the term "bittersweet" used a lot.  It's an interesting sounding term.  The immediate contrast makes you think of course about something very physical, with taste being something so easily understood.  It seems to very often be used as a catch all term to capture a wide range of emotions and experiences rather than necessarily trying to pinpoint something more specific.  I never thought too much about it until now.  This was the first time I felt I understood the idea more.  I was experiencing the swaying back and forth between happiness and sadness.  The strange and conflicting feelings of joy and deep bitterness.

Our trip had been planned months in advance.  I had spoken with Maya about it.  We were going to try to visit her.  Along with Todd and Phil, we wanted to see her again.  Our calls were becoming more frequent and urgent.  We all knew that Maya didn't have long.  When we saw her last, it was with the happiness that she had overcome the struggles.  It wasn't to last.  The spectre had just been hiding and it returned.  Things seemed to slowly approach, and then they started to accelerate.  Through pained messages and tearful calls, we knew that we may not make it.  We all tried to assure her that this wasn't something for her to concern herself about.  I tried my best to reassure her.  If she was there, we would all have the happiest of reunions.  If she wasn't, we would spend all of our time caring for Adam and the kids.

We were too late.

Before we even left Hong Kong, my dearest friend Maya left us.

So now we were all in Cote d'Azur.  The moment we landed, I felt the intense pang of sadness.  The last time I was here was with Todd, and we had arrived to Maya and the kids trying to surprise us at the airport.  This time, there was no such welcoming party waiting for us.  We gathered our bags, went to our car and drove to Antibes.  We were the last ones to arrive this time.  Phil, Todd and Tanya had already arrived and were waiting.  When we reached the hotel, Veronica needed to relax for a moment (and it turns out so did Tanya), so I went to the closest bar where Todd and Phil were already waiting, and two drinks in.  That was a happy moment.  I hugged them both, my two old friends.  We laughed and joked.  We so one another infrequently, but I felt like we were still with each other in our lives.  I still had the feeling that we were one short, that Maya should have been sitting there with us laughing and drinking.

Eventually, Tanya and Veronica joined us.  We all made our introductions.  Both were new to our lives and I was very happy for them both to be able to join us.  We wouldn't be seeing Adam and the kids this evening as they were still returning to the region, so we instead took advantage of the long European summer evening to explore more of the beautiful streets of Antibes.

It was early evening, but the streets were filled with life.

There were people everywhere, and the noise and chatter of all the tourists was nothing short of vibrant.  I remembered very clearly the last trip I had made to the region with Todd and Phil.  We had come in the cooler months when the crowds were all gone.  The weather had been nice, but it wasn't close to being as warm as now and there were only the feintest of hints of the visitors that come to this part of the world.  For me, this was my third trip to the region and it was also my first during the very middle of the tourist high season.  People are often wary of tourist high seasons, but for me, I often think that there is a reason why tourists flock to a place at a particular time.  I remember talking to Maya about it.  She loved this time of year.  The weather was good, it was bright until very late, and she used to talk about the lovely energy that all the visitors brought to the streets.

I agreed with Maya's thoughts.  To me this was lovely.  I didn't mind the crowds at all.  If anything, they made the whole experience far more enjoyable for me.  People everywhere meant that there was more to do.  As we all walked through these familiar, yet dramatically changed streets, we started encountering large groups of bands and singers.  This was something which had also been completely missing from my last trips.  There didn't seem to be any particular busking happening, it just seemed to be one of things people did here.  The groups of musicians wandered around the streets and would just stop at impromptu places to begin their playing.  The crowds followed, they stopped and watched.  People started to dance in the street and children bopped along.  

As the night sky finally began to darken, people moved to the restaurants and bars everywhere.  And they really were everywhere.  When Todd, Phil and I were last here, it had been far more of a struggle to find places to eat and drink.  We remembered the places we liked being surrounded by places shuttered for the colder months.  Now they were all open and every spot was crowded with people.  We sat ourselves at a small spot near the harbour.  With food and drink, we all felt our energy coming back.  Todd and Tanya were suffering the effects of jetlag, so respite was needed.  It had been a long trip for them and they were moving from far cooler temperatures to the extreme heat of the South of France.

It was late.  It was time for us to get some rest.  We all slowly started to walk back to our hotels at the other end of Antibes.

I was happy.  I was with my friends.  I was with the people whom I cared about and whom I didn't get to see.  At the same time, I felt this feeling that pulled at me.  I thought about Maya.  She would have been with us.  I knew she would have come and joined us.  Our table felt emptier as we had eaten.  Even walking around, the group of five should have been a group of six.  I felt like I could hear her voice amongst our conversations, but I knew it was just my imagination.  I didn't like this conflicted feeling that made me sway dramatically from high to low.  

Time to go

I didn't really want to go, but it was time. 

It was our last day in Cote d'Azur visiting Maya and her family.  Todd and I were off back to our respective homes in Asia, but we would be catching up soon enough as he already had a trip to Hong Kong planned.  Saying goodbye to Maya and the family, that was much tougher.

After checking out of where we were staying, we drove to meet Maya and her family in Antibes.  The weather was great and the sky was an intense blue.  There wasn't a single cloud, but the weather was still very temperate.  In short, it was a lovely day to be out.

We had breakfast together at a small cafe that served a very "Australian" style breakfast and then went for a stroll through the town and along the waterfront.  This whole region would be different in only a few weeks.  As the weather continues to warm, the tourists will start flocking in and the peacefulness will be replaced with bustling crowds.

We enjoyed ourselves as much as we could.  We pointed out interesting things to each other, bought some more snacks and joked with each other.  I bought my last crepe for the trip and made sure to buy some for the kids as well.  These goodbyes are always tough.  The morning started off with everyone in a good mood, but as time progressed, we could see that Maya's kids were starting to get very quiet and down.  Their usual limitless energy had changed and there was a bit more sadness to their faces.

It was a nice and pleasant way to say our goodbyes.  Walking around the picturesque Antibes during the daytime was quite lovely.  Even with their feelings of sadness, the kids were still able to run around.  As we got closer to the streets as we were walking I found myself screaming out to them to walk further in and away from the cars!  We stood around and looked out at the ocean and had a last photo together.  With the different hues of blue, no clouds, an old town and the ocean in the background, this image felt like it captured the mood of our entire trip. 

Before we headed to the airport, I had one last thing I wanted to do.  We walked over to the markets and I stocked up on some supplies to take back to Hong Kong.  I bought some nougats, some preserves and several wheels of different cheeses.  Hong Kong isn't too bad for a lot of these things, but the prices here were a fraction of what they were in Hong Kong and the quality was also much better.  Todd on the other hand didn't even have that option in Jakarta and so he was buying simply so he would be able to have some.  The markets were well organised and very tidy.  I've never quite understood why it is that markets in Asia seem to be so chaotic in comparison.

Cote d'Azur is an incredible part of the world.  It's not a place to visit just for the sights, but rather it is a somewhere you want to be able to really experience the lifestyle.  That is probably the case for large parts of Europe, but if you were to ask me whether this is a place you should visit as your first destination to Europe I would probably say no.  There are far better places to satisfy your urges to "see" Europe as a tourist, with the famous sights and beautiful monuments.  This place though, this was for life and for living.  This isn't a place for a lightning trip through the continent, trying to jam in as many photo opportunities as possible whilst ticking things off of a list.  Here, you want to be able to sit in the cafes and lounge in the restaurants; to eat the socca and to drink the wine.  Having a car made all the difference this time as well.  Without it, there's no way you can fit in the activities you would want to do or have the flexibility you would need to change your plans on a whim.  Honestly, I'm not even sure it would be practical to see half of what we saw if we didn't have our own transport.

I had left the last time thinking I might never be back to this incredible part of the world.  It was very different this time, as I thought about how much I wanted to plan another trip to visit Maya and her family again.

Dinner in Cannes

Cannes is lovely at night.  

The buildings are also lovely during the day, but at night they shine like beautiful little beacons in the darkness.  The whole area is so incredibly wealthy, but unlike other parts of the Cote d'Azur, the buildings in Cannes exude the same image of wealth and opulence.  They all have such a classic facade that is in line with what you would expect of high class French architecture.  Walking through the streets at night, you feel that this is an elegant place and that everything in it is in good taste and refined.

The bright white of the buildings with the blackened backdrop also gives them all a look which is incredibly dramatic.  From certain angles, they almost look like the backdrops to the stage of a musical or a play.  Maybe it's life imitating art or vice versa?

We caught up with Maya on the promenade and walked towards the hill leading up to the old fort.  I remembered that there was a long street leading up the hill full of restaurants, but I couldn't quite remember where it was.  We walked around for a little bit and we found the street.  It looked just like I remembered, but the location was more to the right of where I thought it was.  It turns out that my memories of Cannes and its streets were not as perfect as I had thought!

The small street Rue Saint-Antoine is best described as "quaint".  It is narrow and lined on both sides by small restaurants and cafes.  Tables and chairs are pushed up against the walls of the buildings for patrons to sit and to look out into the street.  When you picture a stereotypical little French street, you would be imagining a street like this.  A man playing an accordion on the street would have completed this cliched image, but you can't always expect everything.

After dinner, we walked back to the main part of Cannes.  My friend Marine lives in Cannes and we were able to catch up for a drink.  It's been a long time since we worked together at Cirque du Soleil.  It almost seems like a different life now.

The last time I visited Cannes, I was staying a few streets back in a small hotel.  Marine had taken me for dinner up the same street we had just eaten at.  It was nice to be able to retrace some of the steps I had previously taken.  There was a sense of familiarity to Cannes that made it feel more welcoming and comfortable.

My memories of Nice

I find it hard to believe that I'm in Nice again.  I really never thought I would be back in the South of France, let alone in Nice.  I still have memories of briefly passing through a few years ago and kicking myself for not being able to spend more time.  The city seemed to have that balanced blend of all the things I wanted in life.  It wasn't too big as to be suffocating, but it had enough people to be lively.  It had a rich mixture of different people and cultures.  It was by the seaside and yet wasn't too far from the mountains.  It had an old and unique history.  The architecture of the city was beautiful.  It had its own cuisine which was itself a blend of French, Italian and Mediterranean cultures more generally.  I remembered walking around through the city when I was backpacking, having less than a day to see everything and having this annoying feeling gnaw at me.  It was a strange feeling that I can best describe as injustice or even having been hard done by.  It seemed so "unfair" that I wouldn't get to experience this place more and I felt like it was an opportunity that I wouldn't get to have again.  It was such a lovely place to visit back then, and I'm happy to say that it's still a lovely place to visit now.

This trip to visit Maya and her family was organised quite suddenly.  We needed to go and see Maya, and their family had only relatively recently moved to the South of France.  The priority was of course to see Maya and the family, but this opportunity to see Nice again definitely filled me with excitement.  For the first part of the trip, we hadn't really visited Nice other than when we arrived at the airport.  Maya didn't know Nice all that well yet given her recent arrival in the area, but I spent lots of time fawning over the city and my memories.  Todd and Maya didn't seem entirely convinced, but I wasn't going to change my views.

Finally, we started to drive towards Nice.  With the waters now to my left, the road wound its way along the coast until I could see Nice coming into my vision.  We drove through the outer suburbs and down the road next to the promenade itself.  It was a slow drive and I happily soaked in all the sights we passed.  Every now and again, brief flickers of memory popped into my head as I started to recognise buildings I had seen before.  Streets became familiar and the beach looked just like it did when I had last visited.  We parked the car and we walked out into Nice.

The city is still as beautiful as I remember it to be.  The deep blue waters of the Mediterranean still hugging the grey pebbled beaches.  The city itself still a lovely colour of reddish terracotta and sandy yellows.

We climbed to the top of the hill to the South East of the town.  It gave the best views of both the city of Nice and the ocean as well.  It was strange to be standing up here again, I remember looking out years ago and seeing a strange unfamiliar landscape.  This time, the beauty was still there, but I felt an intimacy with everything I looked at.  In the distance, I could see the hills where Maya and her family lived.  I could see in the direction of Grasse, St Paul de Vence and Gourdon.  I could see towards Antibes and Juan le Pins.  I wasn't looking aimlessly out with random curiosity anymore, but rather with a happy familiarity.  We walked around the top for a bit longer and jumped up and down a few walls to try and get a better view, nearly killing ourselves in the process.  Then we walked to the back and towards the old town of Nice.

The old town of Nice is everything that is lovely and comforting about a Mediterranean town.  The colours and the style of architecture give this feeling of the casual and relaxed attitudes of southern Europe, whilst still having the more refined elements of France in their design.  It was relatively busy this time compared to the emptiness of the last time I was here, and the atmosphere was warm and inviting.  Tourists were taking photos, looking at the random shops and eating socca.  We stopped at some shops ourselves, admired the architecture and went into some wine shops to look for some wine for Todd.

We had been fortunate to have been visiting lots of old towns with very traditional architecture over the last few days, so we decided to go towards the more modern part of Nice.  This too wasn't far away and the walk over took us past other beautiful parts of the city.

We walked down the main boulevard which I remembered very well.  Just as was the case when I last visited, both sides are lined with cafes where people sit, drink and watch the world go by.  We sat down, ordered our coffees, and joined in with the people watching.  I was very much repeating all of the activities I had done the last time I had visited Nice.

We started walking back to the promenade by the water.  Along the way, we walked through what seemed to be the main square of the city.  It was clean and modern.  As a public space, it was great.  I didn't know this until later, but much of these vast open spaces in the middle of Nice are actually the course of the river which runs through Nice, but which has now been completely covered over.  Apparently it is usually just a series of streams, so covering it up still allows it to flow to the sea whilst providing the city with far more uses for the space.

Arriving back at the promenade, we decided to stay a bit longer before we headed back towards Juan le Pins.  We walked up and down for a bit, enjoying the ocean air and also the sight of people lounging on the beach, eating and drinking.  This was the tragic scene of a terrorist attack a few years back when a truck was used to plough through hundreds of people who were out celebrating Bastille Day.  We could see some of the result of that attack, with various bollards and obstacles having now been constructed periodically along the walkway to prevent anyone with vehicle from ever being able to cause such damage again.  It barely seemed possible that such an awful crime could have occurred in this calm and serene place.

As we continued to walk down the promenade, we decided to stop for another drink.  This was one of the great things about having more time and control of your travel.  That ability to entirely self determine your own trip was a freedom that I enjoyed immensely.  I wasn't in a rush, I didn't need to get anywhere quickly.

We stepped down to the pebbly beach itself.  There were cafes which were intermittently located along the beach.  We found one with the most comfortable looking chairs and made our orders.  I knew what I wanted from the moment I arrived and I ordered a Kir.  It had become my drink of choice since I first tried it in Aix.  Todd on the other hand looked through the menu.  He browsed through the beers and initially asked the waiter what beer was on tap, then suddenly he checked himself, closed the menu and instead asked for a glass of rose.  It was a small change, but a nice demonstration on the impact that the trip had had on Todd.  Always embrace what is local whenever you can.

As we walked to the car, I couldn't help but think of the change in my own circumstances and how different this trip was compared to my last one to the region.  Having more money undoubtedly changes your experiences.  I always enjoyed my backpacking and the experiences I was able to have doing it, but there are definitely times where having additional resources creates some new opportunities you wouldn't otherwise have.  I'm not talking about the need for extravagant levels of wealth, but it's definitely good being able to sit down to enjoy that extra drink or to be able to choose a restaurant because it looks good rather than merely because it's the cheapest spot in town.  Still, I'll always look back at the more adventurous times just as fondly. 

Saint Jean Cap Ferrat

Maya and Adam had an appointment to be at so Todd and I had the day free.

To the East of Nice is a long peninsula that juts into the sea.  Apparently this is where the truly wealthy of Nice and this part of world live.  There may be more tax friendly locations further to the East in Monaco, but there is an exclusivity to living in Saint Jean Cap Ferrat that seems worth the price to pay.  Once again, having a car proved invaluable as we drove around the peninsula trying to find a good spot to look around.  We struggled to find anything as all the best land was unsurprisingly taken up by private estates and properties.  Instead, we drove towards the central area which housed the "Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild".

The villa and its surrounding gardens were some of the most opulent I've ever seen.  The whole place just felt... rich.  Everything looked expensive and at times I felt like I was trespassing.  Surely it was only a matter of time before an old Frenchman come out of the villa with a shotgun to chase all of us riff-raff off of his property?

Every part of the entire property was diligently maintained and visually beautiful.  The interiors and the gardens, as well as the views they provided of the surrounding region were stunning.  It was one of those places where at every spot, you could quite easily decide that what you were looking at was worthy of being in a painting or portrait.

As we walked around the grounds, we didn't talk too much.  We just wanted to enjoy the surroundings, to relax and experience the peacefulness it provided.  In the middle of the gardens there was a large pond with fountains.  Soft classical music came out of speakers hidden in the ground which were choreographed to the fountains.  The villa and grounds were by no means empty either, there were other tourists doing similar things to us, just walking around and looking at the beauty of the place.  Like us, they seemed to all do it quietly.

Loud noises and chatter seemed so out of place here and so people stayed quiet.  To have done otherwise would have ruined the place for others, but it would have also ruined the place for that person as well.  Instead, everyone was content with simply sitting and looking out.

Sometimes a bit of quiet is all you need to feel refreshed.