We
have habitually avoided South of France in the traditional vacation months of
July and August; this is our usual haunt every September, after most Europeans
have returned to the drudgery of their jobs. The weather is still great, in
spite of the shorter hours of daylight as autumn approaches; reservations at
the best restaurants are easier to come by, and traffic isn’t snarled to a
crawl along the Corniche
Inférieure.
We
were coaxed into this visit in July by good friends. They are our age and their
lives have taken a similar trajectory to Judith’s and mine. Joël and I both had private businesses
with partners, sold them shortly after the millennium, and retired. We all
enjoy food and wine, fine hotels, reading, politics and polite, civil
conversation. We’re curious about each other’s perspective and although we
don’t agree about everything, we can talk about anything without anyone getting
all tied up in knots.
In
the past, we have kept ourselves east of here, in Beaulieu–sur-Mer; actually annually for more than a
decade. Our Septembers slowly morphed into lazy times of sun, food and wine –
we hardly moved from the sun beds of our hotel. The sloth would be quite
content with our lifestyle.
Nice
and to its east, the Alps encroach the seashore, tightly packing activity
against the steep cliffs of the range. By Antibes, the reach of the mountains
has surrendered; the beach civilization comfortably stretches much further
inland. Perhaps this explains the more laid back, less formal feel of the area
– everyone has room to spread.
The
week passed very quickly. We weren’t total sloths; getting out and seeing more,
meals away from the hotel. Our decades on the Côte d’Azur had gotten us into a bit of a rut,
without us really knowing. Thus this sojourn to Cap d’Antibes has reinvigorated our future
pilgrimages here.
You
can read on through my daily entries if you care:
Sunday, July 8, 2012
We
woke up in London to gray cloud and 55˚F. Masood
whisked us to Heathrow’s Terminal Five, skillfully skirting the temporary closure
of the M4. Our British Airways flight was good; we were transported to a different
and distant planet in just two hours: blue sky, brilliant sun, azure sea; and
80˚F. This “planet” is more commonly known among us as the South of France.
A nice young taxi
driver got us to the Hôtel Imperial Garoupe in Cap d’Antibes by two; our room
wasn’t ready so we were invited to have lunch at the hotel’s beach restaurant.
We were pleasantly surprised to see Joël and Annie there;
we joined them for lunch. It was at our friend’s prompting that we decided to
try this new place in Antibes and meet up with them for the week.
The property is
small and charming; our original room on the ground floor wasn’t ideal so we
moved to the first floor; lighter and definitely more comfortable for us. It
was then down to the pool for a late afternoon of catching up with our friends
from Luxemburg. My thoughts about the hotel are mixed; we are so jaded and
spoiled by the opulence of La Reserve de Beaulieu.
We spent the late
afternoon at the pool; it is not very good for swimming. Still, the area is
tranquil and not crowded at all. Drinks and dinner were with our friends at the
hotel’s restaurant, Le Pavillon; the food inventive. Sleep came
quickly.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Up to a beautiful
day, breakfast was in the courtyard – pleasant. We were down to the pool early;
Europcar dropped off our rental; a jet black Audi TT Coupe. Lunch was at the
seaside restaurant; more reading and relaxation until six by the pool.
Dinner was with
Annie and Joël again. We first stopped for an
aperitif at the Eden Roc Hotel’s marvelous terrace; afterward taking a little time
to walk down to the pool and through the majestic gardens. Tonight’s feast was
at Les Pêcheurs at the Relais & Chateaux’s Cap d’Antibes Beach Hotel. Our table was outside on the
terrace; the meal was wonderful as was the magnum of 2008 Clos de Blanc Vougeot Monopole. We got back to the hotel around
midnight.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
We
were up early to another hot and beautiful day, and got out for a walk along
the Sentier de Tirepoil; a five kilometer trail on the Cap’s
rugged seashore. This walk is much more rustic than Beaulieu; parts are just
rock and dirt; narrow passages, small bridges and steep steps jutting over the
sea. Still it was a beautiful moonscape of weathered rock; we were out about 45
minutes.
We
rewarded ourselves with a sensible breakfast and it was then down to the pool.
The day was only interrupted by lunch at the seaside.
Wednesday, July 11,
2012
After breakfast
we drove the short distance to Cannes. The city was busy and lively; after some
walking we had lunch on the Carlton’s terrace facing the sea and the bustling
Boulevard de la Croisette.
We arrived back to the hotel about four; quickly donning our suits and heading
to the pool. The weather is hot; 86˚F today.
We
enjoy our friend’s company so it was a pleasure to have another dinner
together. Le Figuier
de St. Esprit is a wonderful restaurant, along the ramparts in old Antibes.
There is an ancient olive tree growing in its middle; the tables surrounding
it. Conversation and laughter leavened the fantastic food.
Again
we were to bed well past midnight.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
We joined Annie and Joël for lunch; then read for the balance of the day at poolside under the shelter of our parasols. The pool itself is a disappointment; too shallow and short for serious swimming – in this respect I miss La Reserve’s wonderful salt water piscine.
Dinner
was at the hotel; the place was empty. The food is creative and delicious, but
the service is immature in relation to the meal. Even so, it is a mystery why this
place is so forsaken.
Friday, July 13, 2012
We
were down to the pool early. I thought it would be nice to try lunch on the
terrace at Hotel du Cap Eden Roc; unfortunately our hotel couldn’t make the
booking. Undeterred, I decided to drive over myself to plead our case to their
concierge. This effort was rewarded with a 1:00 reservation.
Arriving
at Eden Roc, the wind was too strong for the terrace, so we ate in the very
airy grille; watching the panorama of gale driven whitecaps behind the safety
of glass. Lunch was good; the same cannot be said of our fellow guests. We
remembered why we don’t stay here; it is an earthly paradise but inhabited by a
roving band of barbarous philistines, celebrating their plunder of the world’s
economies. We all commented that some of the regalia worn by the female companions
of the male warriors were downright frightening. I think I saw an
anthropologist or two hidden in the bushes on our way out; perhaps here
studying the different customs and interactions of these primitive, sun
worshiping hedonistic peoples.
After
returning to Hôtel
Imperial Garoupe, the balance of the blustery but sunny afternoon was spent
reading by the pool and inventing ad-hoc tools of rock and twig to keep the
parasols in their bases so as not to fly off and kill someone – the wind very
strong.
Annie,
Joël and we had
aperitifs and dinner at Bacon, a one-star Michelin jewel jutting out on the
Pointe Bacon, with breathtaking views of the old ramparts of Antibes. This
stalwart has been family owned by the Sordello’s for perhaps thirty years.
Judith and I were both sure upon arriving that we tried to have a meal here
perhaps in 1985; 27 years ago! Our circumstances were certainly much different
then; we were staying at a nondescript hotel in Nice, took a train to Antibes,
then a taxi to this restaurant; only to learn it was closed for lunch that day.
At any rate, our Capon, a local fish, was fantastic; served in a traditional
provincial style.
Unfortunately
it was too windy for the fireworks display off the point of Antibes to proceed.
The celebration of La Fête Nationale,
or Bastille Day; officially on the 14th, was thus a muted affair. We would have had the best viewing spot
available for the show right from our table. C’est la vie.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
We
were up, had breakfast and then took a one hour walk along the sea. Poolside by
eleven, the sky started to become cloudy as we went to lunch at the hotel’s
restaurant on Baie
de la Groupe.
After that, we were back at our sun chairs reading until about five; when the
day turned a bit chilly and windy; we retreated to our room. Overall, the day
wasn’t as pleasant; the pool was crowded with guests who were too loud for our
taste.
Dinner
with our friends was at the hotel’s restaurant, Le Pavillon; the food was excellent, service
slow.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Thankfully
the weather report turned out to be wrong; we had a nice final day, hindered
with a bit of wind. After breakfast we were down to the pool until noon;
cleaned up, packed and said our goodbye to Annie and Joël. We had a quick taxi to the airport
and an easy check in.
The
flight was good and even arrived ten minutes early. Masood had us back to
Kinnerton Street before six; another adventure at its end. We are already
looking forward to September.
