Our destination today was Antibes which is west along the coast but not as far as Cannes. But, the gravitational pull seemed to be particularly strong in Nice this morning as we did not get out of the apartment until about noon. We bought our 5 croissants, 5 pan au chocolat and a small baguette for 5 euros for breakfast from the nearby Point Chaud.

We walked back to the train station. We met a couple from Perth who are taking 4 months to travel around the world. They were happy to meet someone who knew where Perth was. We started talking to them when a big commotion was started because apparently an older man had collapsed in the parking lot outside.

We took the train to Antibes and decided it was time to eat again in our never-ending theme of “eating our way through Europe”. We found a local restaurant that served the interesting French/Italian food that characterizes this region. The 4 cheeses on a 4 cheese pizza included brie and the calzone included a soft cooked egg inside.

We then walked to the left of the yacht marina (with some of the largest yachts in the area) to the Fort du Carre which over looks the harbor of Antibes. It was built in the 1500-1600s (built then rebuilt) to protect the French frontier when Nice was not part of France. Antibes was founded by the Greeks as Antipolis, the city opposite (anti) Nice. The fort was a star shaped fort with stone ramparts slanted to deflect the impact of cannon balls. I would recommend a stop at the fort as it has wonderful views of the city and a good guided tour offered in English.

Antibes has kept its seaward battlements from the same period although like many cities it knocked down the inland ramparts a long time ago. There is a smaller sand beach between the ramparts and the sea. The city itself has many winding alleys that the photographers enjoyed as well as a few shoe stores (and other shops) that captivated Liz. But she came away with cute pink sneakers (that her dad pointed out to her) for only 5 euros. The day was in the mid 90s so shady alleyways were preferable to standing in the sun. I just kept buying more and more water or diet cokes (as cheap as 1 euro) as public water fountains are difficult to find.

We left Antibes for Nice to have dinner. We stopped in the apartment for a rest and did not get to old town (Vieux Ville) for dinner until after 10pm. The girls had dressed up for dinner and and we found a nice outdoor cafe. There was some mix-up when the dinner came because Kevin ordered the fixed price menu (18.5 euros) which included a salad and risotto pollo (Chicken) and I order the same thing a la carte. He was given my dinner and his salad at the same time which caused the waitress to be very confused. The head waiter came back and clarified that his dinner would come in courses (and therefore that is my risotto, hands off the risotto buddy). His explanation was “after all, we are French”.