After taking our time getting ready, we headed into town (about a five minute walk) with the intent of exploring a bit. However, by the time we made it we were both drenched in sweat – it was incredibly hot and humid, and the only activity that sounded appealing was taking a dip in the sea. We plopped down at a nearby creperie to enjoy some crepes (lemon for me, strawberry jam for Sean – both delicious) while we decided whether to stick with our original plan or revise the day’s very short agenda. While we were sitting there, Sean got a weather warning on his phone calling for afternoon showers and thunder. That sealed the deal for us – we didn’t want to miss out on swimming in the Mediterranean and we definitely didn’t want to do it during a thunderstorm. We decided to hustle back to the room to get everything together for a swim. On our way back we got distracted by the citadel and ended up investigating. There is a beautiful park contained within the citadel, as well as an outdoor amphitheater, three museums, and a hotel. We have to walk around it each day to get to the city center and I never would have guessed it housed all of those things. After about a half hour of meandering around, Sean noticed the huge clouds looming in the distance and we picked up our pace.
Less than thirty minutes later we were lying on the beach, slathered in ridiculous amounts of sun block, and anxious to get in the water (we had to wait the required 15-30 minutes for our sunscreen to soak in before taking the plunge). I think the locals were laughing at us because we kept standing up and spraying even more on, but neither of us wanted to risk getting burned when we have thirteen hours of travel to look forward to tomorrow. Flying is uncomfortable enough without adding a painful burn to the mix. After an adequate amount of time (but much less than the requirement – we couldn’t stand the heat anymore), we worked our way down the beach. The sand was incredibly hot and also very tricky to walk on – it’s not firmly packed like Washington state beaches, so the ground gave way with every step we took. I’m sure I looked ridiculous tripping my way down the beach, but I didn’t have many other options. Sean was brave and dove right in, whereas I took my time slowly adjusting to the water and keeping a sharp look out for sharks (only half kidding). I finally gave in and swam out to meet him, and we spent the next hour swimming and splashing around in the water. It was a perfect afternoon, capped off with a brief nap on the beach and a chocolate/pistachio swirled icecream cone on the way back to our hotel.
After freshening up, we headed back into town to grab a small bite to eat for lunch. I know it sounds like all we’ve been doing is eating while in Villefranche, but all of this has been spread out over several hours and really, there just isn’t much more to report – we have been relaxing and not doing much, and that doesn’t make for a very exciting blog. I do have to mention something funny about our lunch though. Both Sean and I ordered an “American” hamburger, which I thought just meant that it came with American cheese on it. Not so. An “American” hamburger is actually a hamburger sandwich (on a hoagie type roll rather than a burger bun) with French fries on it. I had seen this when we were in Alsace as well, but hadn’t made the connection then. I don’t know if the French think this is how we actually eat our burgers, or if they are just onto something because it was actually darn good. To burn off some of our lunch we walked up the side streets which are filled with restaurants, gift shops, and personal residences.
Later we spent a few more hours relaxing in our room, napping for Sean and blogging for me (as well as organizing photos, etc), before once again thinking about our next meal. For dinner we grabbed takeout pizza from the restaurant next door and indulged in a bottle of Kronenbourg beer, again, out on the balcony. We are trying to soak up the views and capture the moments as much as possible before heading back to the real world tomorrow. It has been an amazing trip and the past few days have been wonderful after the busyness of the past few weeks. In some ways we are looking forward to returning to our normal schedules at home, and in other ways we both wish it never had to end. Less than 24 hours to go…
No comments:
Post a Comment