The actual start of An Endless Summer was in Nice – south of France (Corsica was during).
After a frightening drive from Milan to Nice, in which I kept thinking no one was driving the cars coming up behind me at 180 miles per hour, only to realise they are driving from what we would call the passenger seat, the perfect nature of Saint Jean Cap Ferrat was a welcome relief.
While I cannot go into too much detail as my friends are private the area was stunning with estates that seemed to be worth more than Greece. I would jog down to the local bakery each morning…with visions of my weight peeling off me like layers of clothing in the hot European sun, but the reality was quite the opposite…thanks to the freshly baked, warm and irresistible French delights that I in fact went jogging for. Darn the French.
As a total indulgence, as opposed to roughing it in the south of France (?!), we decided to get on board a luxury yacht overlooking the track of the Monaco Formula 1 (ticking it off the bucket list, although perhaps silver bucket is more appropriate here). Quid Pro Quo a Benetti 30m 3 story MV was metres from the track and after a great start of nearly touching the cars, a photo finish…and signature…with Mark Webber who popped by…made me feel like a champion.
Days flew by, bookended by culinary chapters and witty conversation. At one point I started to panic that I really don’t have enough time to do everything…only to assure myself that my first aim is to get lost. Something a number of people tell me on a regular basis…que sera, sera.
All in all, to be surrounded by the la-di-da end of the world, yet spend it going around the foreshore on a push scooter with the most down to earth and lovely people, who simply hang out with their kids and have learnt the art of relaxation, was the real find. Oh, and no longer driving like a tourist and reaching for the gear stick on my left only to open the window.
I felt a collective sigh of relief when I returned the car as my French speaking lessons care of the robotic GPS unit would be coming to an end…merde (admittedly it didn’t teach me this one, and was nice enough to beep out its response when I took a wrong turn); and locals could rejoice in having another darn tourist off the road.
When asked to describe how my stay went – I would respond by saying it went very Nice-ly (did I just hear another collective sigh?). Time to sail off into the sunset me thinks, well at least to Palma de Mallorca.
