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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Nice and Antibes--Day 3

This morning felt a little more normal, thankfully--no "jet lag" to speak of!! The day began with breakfast--and I've always loved what the Swedes do for breakfast--I say we're going to start having their kind of breakfast every time we go over there. Coffee--strong, of course; yogurt; bread--NOT a loaf of Mrs. Bairds, but a baguette or something fun; butter; sliced cheeses; maybe some sliced meat; something green--spinach, sliced cucumber, watercress, or basil; maybe some cereal.
(Morning view from kitchen window)(Me leaning out of the kitchen window--what I wouldn't give for this window, this view in MY kitchen!)

(The guest house--where Russ and I stayed)

(The walk from the guest house down to the pool--can you smell the roses and rosemary?)

(View of St. Paul de Vence from the villa.)

(View from my pool chair!)(Thomas with a Kronenberg.)

We spent the early afternoon by the pool and planned to visit Lotta's mother and step-father at their apartment in Antibes. They lived in Sweden until April when they retired and bought this place close to the ocean in Antibes.

(Margaret, Lotta, and Thomas)(Tiffany, Margaret, Dick, and Anna)(Dick and Anna)

We enjoyed our visit (and Margaret's hospitality) and walked to the old town area of Antibes. Our plan was to just walk around until we found somewhere we wanted to eat. Hans (Margaret's husband) gave us a mini history lesson along the way. The part that resonated with me was that this town is 1500 years old.

Then we notice that a street is blocked and there are security guards around. Someone asks what's going on and we hear that there is a Universal Studios party at a restarant (Michaelangelo's). There isn't much of a crowd, but a few people are gathering on both sides of the street. We hear Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts, and John Travolta are coming to this party. Tiffany and I decided to wait while the others found a place...and a table. I could be hungry a few minutes longer to see Brad!

(Security, paparazzi, and the guy in white is the owner of the restaurant.)

Many black cars came and went, but no familiar faces. Then, out popped Quintin Tarantino (to the right of the car)!
Russ came to inform Tiffany and I that we had a table and I handed him his video camera, just in case. A few moments later...

(That's my shot of Angelina, but you can't see her unless I zoom in! The paparazzi flash from the other side blocks her out.)

(A picture of Russ' video camera screen--he got a great one!)

(And the back of Brad's head-a photo from Russ' video screen again!)

Then we were off to eat Thai food!

(I loved this green door!) (We saw Napolean's home!)(And he was actually there!)(Margaret and Hans)(Thomas, Lotta, Me, and Russ)
(Lotta and I)

As we walked down these narrow cobblestone roads through the town and along the Mediterranean Sea, I was in awe. Words and photos don't do this place justice. We looked at apartment windows with clothes hanging out to dry and wondered who had lived there in the past--imagining the stories that each window held. They seemed so tiny too, Russ and I wanted to see inside one of them.


Along the way, we ended up getting separated from our other half and met them at this bar/lounge. We sat outside and really enjoyed our conversation over mojitos and espresso--Russ and I had coffee. Russ was sorely disappointed in the tiny cup of American coffee he received. We're so used to a venti sized serving, 6 swallows just wasn't doing it for him. I actually ordered two espressos myself!

(Tiffany)(Lotta) (Dick and Anna) (Russ with his tiny coffee!
(The Picasso Museum)
We headed back to the car and passed the road where we had our celebrity sighting and had to just get a glimpse of the restaurant. It just so happened that the staff was shutting down and leaving for the night and asked if we wanted to take a look around. Well, of course we did! There were many photos of the owner with celebrities inside on the walls. Next time we're there, we'll have to try out the food!

(The espresso bar was beautiful!)

Antibes took my breath away. My favorite spot so far on this trip--and it had nothing to do with Brangelina either, I promise!!

2 comments:

Tina Russell said...

This is just amazing. I wish I had documented my trip to Germany as well as you did. What a fabulous time you guys had!! I am sosososososososoooo glad you decided to go!!!!!

rachael... said...

Too bad you couldn't have crashed the party...but the stuff you did looked fun, too. ;)