Kiss my derrière, I’m moving to Southern France…..

We now understand why so many artists, as well as the worlds rich, powerful or famous, have been seduced by this wonderful place.

Marnie and I want to share with you an unforgettable adventure and experience we recently had.  We rented a large 3 cabin sailboat and cruised the French Riviera between St. Tropez and Monaco.  Accompanying us were our friends Ted and Cathy Curtin, Marnie’s brother Jon Mika, and his wife Denise.

Prior to this voyage, I spent many months researching the area’s weather patterns, currents, charts, hazards, and maritime rules.  And also the best places to go for fun, food, culture and scenery.

Captain’s log:  Southern France voyage.

We arrived in Nice, France on Friday morning, May12th, 2006.  Our journey started out earlier the previous morning with a flight to New York, then to Nice.  We arrived on time the next day after having been awake all night.  As is common with European hotels, our rooms were not available for check in until later, so we strolled the town along the beach front.  The scenery made us quickly forget our fatigue induced mental haze resulting from such a long trip.

Denise, Marnie, me and Jon                           

We had lunch at a beach club before setting out to explore the town on foot.  Far be it for Marnie to pass up the chance to have French Champaign at domestic prices.  There are the remains of an old fort on top of a hill offering a nice view of the city’s waterfront,

as pictured above right.

                                                                                              Ted and myself

There were many outdoor cafes and restaurants in Nice.  Above, this street is called Rue du Fleur.  By day it is an open air flower market, but at night, they take the flowers away and the local restaurants set up tables for dinning. 

Nice, like most European cities, has a wonderful old town section.  The buildings here were hundreds of years old.  There are many shops, restaurants, cafes, taverns and night clubs in this section of town.

After dining on the Rue du Fleur, we found a place called Johnny’s Wine Bar.  Johnny is a Canadian expatriate who moved to the area years ago.  Johnny hosts an “open mic” night every evening in order to provide for live music.  There are even house guitars hanging from the walls for guests to use.  So we did.

Despite being awake for 36 hours, and having consumed my share of wine, I ended up playing guitar and singing three different songs that evening.  Ted helped by adding a second guitar.  I am not what one would call “talented,” fortunately no one threw beer bottles at us.

The next day, we boarded our sailboat.  The “Akwaba.”  For you sailboat geeks:  It was a 44 foot new Beneteau.  There were three cabins, each with its own bathroom.  The ship was equipped with a 56hp Yanmar diesel engine, a large fuel tank, two large 80 gallon fresh water tanks, hot water heater, waste holding tanks, and propane for the stove and oven.  There was a refrigerator which operated off the ship’s DC electrical system.  There were plenty of storage areas for our luggage, food and wine.  There were dual helms (steering wheels,) as well as a GPS system, an (inaccurate) knot meter, and a depth gauge.

In the above upper right picture, the girls prepare lunch, challenged by waves and a 15 to 20 degree healing angle while under sail.

The plan view of our sailboat.

On May 13th, we set sail for Antibes, where an excellent museum of Picasso’s art was located.  It was a good day with a light breeze from the south.  The manager at the Moorings advised us that it was difficult to find an available slip in Antibes, and that the harbor master was less than helpful.  This proved correct.  We continued on, rounding the pine tree covered Cap Juan les Pins, to the next town, Port du Juan.  A small quaint and relaxingly quiet village.  We managed to dock in time to beat night fall and a light rain shower.  We had a nice dinner outdoors under a canopy in mild weather.  The rain cleared out in time for the sunset.

May 14th.  We explored Port du Juan in the morning.  Ted and I found a great little wine shop where a helpful proprietor helped us purchase some good value Cotes du Rhone and Bordeaux red wines.  We also stocked up on fresh baked bread, cheeses, deli meats, and produce.  In fact, this became a morning ritual:  Breakfast at an outdoor café, then food shopping.

We set sail for the island of St. Margurite.  We dropped anchor between this island and St. Honorat island, a popular anchorage.  The girls made an excellent lunch from our morning groceries.  This also became a daily ritual:  Lunching on fresh bread, olive oil with herbs du Provence, cheese, sausage, cured ham, olives, vegetables, fruits.  And wine.  Oh, the wonderful wine!

We went for a swim.  John motored us to the island in our dinghy so we could explore it on foot.  We found an old fort, and old cemetery, and an old church.  From the other side of the island one could see Cannes.

We pulled up anchor late in the afternoon and had a short sail over to Cannes.  We docked in the main harbor, adjacent to some very large yachts.  Cannes was somewhat crowded as it was two days prior to the film festival. 

We met some nice people from Estonia who docked next to us.  Turns out, the captain of that boat was the former Estonian president’s son.  Nice guy.  He told us stories of meeting with the Bush and Clinton families, and how Estonians are glad to have the USA as an ally.

Estonian ex-president’s son          Denise pigs out                Cathy with a Courtney Love

and Jon.                                                                                 makeover.

The next day, May 15th, we rented motor scooters and drove into the Estrelle Mountains west of town.  We started out on a picturesque road hugging the coastline.  Had lunch at a seaside café in the village of Agay, and then rode into the mountains 2000 feet above sea level.  The views were incredible.  Wild lavender grows by the roadside.  The air smells like pine.  We returned in time to dine in the old town of Cannes.  We went bar hopping later.  The night ended with us and our Estonian friends drinking wine at our boats.

May 16th.  French wine does not cause a hangover for some reason.  That is good to know!  Anyway…  We left for St. Tropez, motoring out of Cannes and navigating around large yachts and ocean liners.  The morning was still and calm, but by noon, a good sea breeze had developed and we were under sail.  As I suspected, this seemed to be the daily weather pattern.  Calm flat hazy mornings, sunny breezy afternoons. 

It took us 5 hours to reach St. Tropez, but the trip went fast as we were able to view the stunning mountain scenery we had rode by the prior day.  And of course, the girl’s delicious lunch, and the wine, made the passage quite pleasant.  The wind picked up half way through our passage giving us a thrilling ride.

Heading 230 degrees at 7.1 knots, depth = 5.2 meters.

Ted……who else!?

St. Tropez is a beautiful town.  If we ever disappear from the USA, you will likely find us living here.  We arrived late afternoon in time for a festival.  I forgot what the celebration was about, but it did involve the firing of small cannons and large antique muskets.  It was very loud and smoky.  The view from the citadel fort above the city is breathtaking.  The harbor was the nicest we encountered the whole trip, not that any of them were bad though.

                             You English pig dogs.  Your mother was a hamster and your father

                        smelled of elderberries.  Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!

                                         [……for Monty Python fans….]

We explored the city all day and well into the night.  I am not sure if there is a modern part to St. Tropez, [I hope not,] but the old town starts at the harbor and goes out extensively.  There are a plethora of cafes, bars, restaurants, cozy hotels, and boutiques.  And lots of beautiful people to frequent those establishments.  On a small street, we found a fancy restaurant and dined on Provencal style French food under the stars.  This was our nicest meal for the whole trip.  And the best taste of what this region is famous for.  And most expensive.

May 17th.  Sunny and breezy in the morning!  We left the harbor and sailed around the peninsula to drop anchor off St. Tropez’s famous beaches.  Plage Tahiti to be specific.  One of the beach clubs sent a dinghy out to pick us up.  Marnie and I returned the favor by dining at the beach club whereas Jon, Denise, Cathy, and Ted went exploring.  The four eventually found themselves at a nude beach.  Pretty much all the beaches in Southern France are either nude or topless.  I think it is funny how Americans find that shocking or risqué.  I hate to say this, but I’ve come to the conclusion that in the USA, much of our society is unenlightened and culturally immature.  

                                                             Our boat

We pulled up anchor late in the afternoon and set sail for Frejus, a former Roman navy base founded by Julius Caesar.  Today, the naval tradition continues as there is a French naval air station here.  Frejus is famous for its many Roman ruins.  The Roman harbor at Frejus used to be next to the old town, but the river filled it in with silt over the years.  The new harbor is about a mile further out, a modern planned community, and it looks like Marina del Rey in Los Angeles……only without all the cheesy bald-but-still-has-a-pony-tail chest medallion wearing Chrysler LeBaron convertible driving divorced older men walking around talking loudly on their cell phone trying to look important to impress what few ladies are left here while pining for the days when this place was a swinger’s paradise.

May 18th.  A long walk into the old town was rewarded by views of a Roman aqueduct and two coliseums…..all in ruins of course.

I know, using GPS is cheating!

We set sail towards Monaco around noon under cloudy, windy and rough conditions.  It was fun at first, but the crew grew weary of it after 2 hours.  [Well, I thought it was fun for the whole time!]  Fortunately, nobody threw up.  The wind was blowing directly in our face for the first 3 hours so we had to motor.  Eventually, the wind shifted to the south and the sun came out.  We hoisted the sails and continued past St. Honorat Island, past the prison where the “Man in the Iron Mask” was held, to picturesque Ville Franche.  But Ville Franche did not have any slips available so we diverted to Beaulieu sur Mer, the next town over.  We actually wanted to stay in Monaco but because of the Grand Prix, all the harbors there were full.  Beaulieu sur Mer was only a few miles west of Monaco and a very scenic bus ride away for 1.30 Euros.

Man in the iron mask’s prison     Monaco in the distance               Beaulieu sur Mer        

Beaulieu sur Mer is a beautiful town nestled below towering cliffs.  The Marina was the happening part of town with many nice bars and cafes.  Jon and I found a really good French beer called Leffe on our first day in France.  We continued drinking it here.

May 19th.  Rode the bus to Monaco.  What a beautiful drive.  What a beautiful place.  We explored the city and of course, the casino, the gardens, and the palace.  It is good to be king!  There was an outdoor display of classic race cars near the harbor.  There must have been over 200 of them.  There is also a small harbor under the cliffs, below the palace which was beyond picturesque.  Next time we sail here, this will be a “must do” for places to stay.

The casino area in Monte Carlo pictured above.

The palace and the harbor below it.

Classic race cars.                       Marnie sailing us home.       Jon on watch…for boobies.

We returned to our boat late in the afternoon and had a quick jaunt back to nice.  The sun was bright.  The wind was blowing strong.  The seas were 3 to 6 feet with swells from the south and from the east.  This made for a wild ride…..and my favorite sailing day so far….a perfect end to our cruise.  We arrived in Nice harbor in time for dinner.

Marnie and a few others decided they wanted Mexican food.  And there was a Tex-Mex place in old town run by a guy from India.  [This ought to be interesting.]  It was passable but far from Texas good….certainly far from Mexico City good.  The night took us back to the wine bar.  This time I brought my Traveler Speedster electric guitar, my Pandora’s Box, and plugged it all into the bar’s sound system.  I performed Liz Phair’s “Wild Thing.”  Cathy passed out from exhaustion, wine and tequila.  Ted pretty much had to carry her.  We had gelato in the main square.  Marnie ordered two flavors named after flowers.  One tasted like suntan lotion.  The other tasted like bathroom air freshener.  We called it a night.

May 20th.  Disembarked our trusty ship.  Ate breakfast at one last café.  Flew home.  For the next three days, we still had our sea legs………meaning it felt as if everything was gently rocking.  Our house.  Our bed.  Everywhere.

In conclusion.  We will be back.  Perhaps permanently.  I swear we could easily live here.  Marnie could work for a designer.  Or become one.  I could commute to JFK and fly international.  At the very least, it is a definite retirement consideration.  I would choose St. Tropez, or Cannes, or Monaco, or Nice….in that order.  We looked at real estate.  It appears as if the housing goes for $200 to 300+ per square foot.  I think a nice two bedroom apartment in St. Tropez would be in order.  Or perhaps buy a 47 foot catamaran, or a 50 foot monohull, and live aboard.

We will be back and hope to share this experience with some of you next time.

Tres bon!

Oh, and one more thing….. 

Amazingly enough, nothing on our boat broke.  Can you believe that?! 

So un-sailboat like !!!