We had been told by Joel that breakfast is at 9 and you can't miss it or your room will cost double. Trust me, you wouldn't want to miss it. The table by the pool was beautifully set and had croissants he made fresh this morning, jams, dried dates, apricots, figs, fresh fruit bowl and sliced pineapple and melons, coffee, breads, fresh orange juice, cheeses, meats, a veritable feast. But, no, that was only the beginning!!!!!
Next he appeared with a mushroom puff pastry. Then a pear breakfast cake that words won't describe. Then a chocolate and hazelnut cake. Then he offered to make us any egg dish we desired, but we declined, to his chagrin.
Needless to say, it was a two-hour feast. Our friends from California were there, as was the couple from Belgium. Oh, let's not forget Fetish, the dog, a precious mutt that is camera shy, but is always around,
After an elegant sufficiency, we headed out for the day. We ended up in Antibes. It is an on old town on the Mediterranean with a LOT of gorgeous yachts, lots of shops, farmer's market with olives, vegetables, cheeses, etc. One beach we saw is full of people but rocky, another is sandy. We have seen a few topless sunbathers, but really not like we expected. The people have been very nice and try to muddle through our Southern French - southern America, that is.
Now we are sitting at a beach cafe, Royal Cafe', enjoying a glass or two of vin, people watching and visiting, dipping our toes in the French Rivera. There's a young girl -- by our standards -- here selling bikinis. She'll approach a table with females and talk them into trying the suit on in the restaurant bathroom. We keep sitting here wondering when she's going to approach us, but we may have to leave before she does. She probably just hasn't had time. We've only been here an hour or so. Alas, we had to leave before she made it to our table, but we were eager to meet our other two magnolias.
We stopped by the boulangerie for wine and bread and were waiting for them on the portico. Joel announced their arrival and greeted them with a warm welcome. We sat on the portico until 8:30, catching up on tales from Italy. Then we went to dinner at Le Clos St Basile which was in walking distance. It's an old manor and all of the rooms had doors that opened up completely so you felt you were dining outside. They had unique lamps by or on each table and white cloths.
Our waiter was precious. He looked 17, but was 27 and enjoyed giving us a hard time. He sang Tea for Two, insisted in a snobby French way that Gina couldn't have dessert because she didn't clean her plate and took every opportunity to laugh at or with us. The meal was delicious -- Vichyssoise with truffle oil, salad with foie gras, strawberries, shaved truffles, spinach and parsley. The main course was white fish on pink beans with an unbelievable sauce of herbs and lemon. That was followed by millefort, somewhat like a Napolean. Then they brought an orange aspic with a rose petal and tiny little pound cakes. Needless to say, we needed the walk home!!!! We picked lavender on our way back to put under our pillows.
Note: The safe alarm was silent tonight. So Gina and Sara R had a good night's sleep.
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