Bonjour Madame

Today I put on my short khaki skirt that I wore all summer long in Ocean City, MD.  I packed for fall weather and it’s been hot and sunny here.  Way too hot for my jeans and all the long sleeve shirts I brought.  So my summer wardrobe is a bit limited.  I added a nice little tank top to the khaki skirt, thought I looked cute and went out to enjoy another beautiful day in this charming town.

I stopped in the boulangerie (bakery) near my place and got a raisin biscuit for breakfast.  Take a look at this adorable place!   And it had the warm smell of freshly-baked bread.  The biscuit was wonderful!  I vowed to come back for a baguette the next day.

Then as I was walking around, suddenly I realized how frumpy I looked compared to everyone else!  I saw hundreds of people throughout the day and NOT ONE other person was wearing a short khaki skirt.  Everyone else looked either flowing, in long, airy skirts that fluttered in the breeze when they walked, or spunky, like the girl in the short shorts whose cheeks of her round, firm butt showed when she took a step.  She had beautiful, thin legs up to my neck, those crazy short shorts and pointed shoes with no back and a tiny heel.  Quite the package.  I couldn’t stop staring at her, but that’s another thing I’ve found odd here.  I’ve seen some spectacular women here- just absolutely stunning in their beauty and dress.  And back in the states the women would’ve turned heads.  Lots of people would’ve stared at them.  They’re remarkable- they’re stand-outs!  But here, no one seems to be impressed.  These fabulous women walk by and I’m the only person who appears to be wide-eyed!  What’s that all about?  How could they not be noticed?  No comments, no cat-calls, no mumbling when they walk by…. Just everyday normal and no ripple of reaction in the crowd.  Anyway, I decided to ditch the khaki skirt, even if it only leaves me with three other bottoms to wear during this hot weather.

And… still can’t wait to see the clothing market.  It’s supposed to be really good.  I wouldn’t know because it turns out they only have it on Thursday mornings.  I looked all over yesterday for it, in the streets where it was supposed to be set up, but saw only a few areas of antiques and flea market stands.  I was out last Thursday looking for it, but was apparently too late and by the late afternoon all the stands had folded up and left.   Now my anticipation is really building.

I’ve wanted to see Juan Les Pins, which is only about a mile and a half or so from here.  It’s supposed to be a vibrant, energetic little town with nice beaches on the other side of the peninsula.  Normally I would walk, but sometimes those “about a mile” things turn out to feel like a day-long hike.  Remember, the “4 or 5 blocks” to get from the train station to my apartment?  And besides that, I’ve been having these weird chest pains since I’ve gotten to France.  I’ve had them before over the last couple years, and had them checked out and nothing serious was found.  But I also recently got a blood test showing that my triglycerides were off the chart coupled with a not so good cholesterol level.  So now chest pains seem to alert me more than before.

With all of this going on, and wanting to see Juan Les Pins, I reduced myself to taking “The Petite Train”  tour train through the streets of Antibes, through the port and over to Juan Les Pins.  Roundtrip with the availability to get off for as long as you like (it makes the trip every hour) for 7 Euros ($10.50).  How embarrassing.  I- wanting to appear so French- riding in the little car of The Petite Train in my frumpy khaki skirt.

Juan Les Pins IS fun!  I was there around 6 pm and it was hopping!  Lively restaurants and busy shops crowded into maybe a 3 or 4 square block area.  And their beach was lined with many waterfront casual restaurants with tables in the sand.  It felt like a fun mix of Mexico’s playful Playa del Carmen and Florida’s cosmopolitan South Beach. Jlp beach restaurant What an area!  They actually rake their sand so that it appears groomed.  All the restaurants had this look- almost like the lined sand was their floor but running right out to the water.   And there were sofas and chairs on parts of the beach!

I stopped by a busy little shop selling Grand Marnier crepes and ordered a sucre avec buerre best crepe .  They handed it to me folded in its own little pie-shaped container with special little tongs for eating!  YUM!  I think this was the best crepe I have ever had!  It had a touch of the Grand Marnier in it to just give it a hint of an added flavor.  And each side was grilled to perfection!  Absolutely delicious!

The promenade along the water had outside candy stands maybe ten feet long selling all different kinds of candy.  There were two of those within one block.  It looked so cute and fun I wanted to buy something but didn’t want to ruin my dinner, especially after downing the crepe.    I chose one piece of candy, a nougat with nuts, sort of like the Mary Sue pecan Easter egg we have in the states.  I asked for a bag since I wasn’t going to be eating it in one pop.  This caused a little disgust and a tone of voice that even though I couldn’t understand the words, I knew meant she didn’t want to waste a bag on one piece of candy.  Come on… it’s only one little pink and white striped paper bag.  Get a life.  Although the bag really was cute.  The shop owners appear nice until you ask them to step out of their normal routine.  But I got my bag and put the rest of my nougat in there.  After a few steps however, I realized how good the candy was!  I nibbled some more and before long the whole nougat was gone.  I crumpled up my little, pink striped bag that had had a useful life span of less than 5 minutes and tossed it in the trash.  And then got back on The Petite Train to head home.

Back to my little flat within the walls of the fort.  I like it so much.  Often when I get home for the evening, I walk to the water to take a look at the sea before going in for the night.  Here is a special little video I made starting at my door, going by my window with the old shutters and heavy locks, around the corner to a view of the sea. This was shot at 8:30 pm- it’s still fairly light here at that time.