Tuesday, September 23

Their parking garages are not so different from ours except that they are perhaps narrower.  Small cars are best; however, we've rented an intermediate-size auto.  Maritza did very well handling the situation.  We learned to pay at the machine before exiting the garage.  The road signs here are good and make it easy to get around.  We spent just a little time in Vence as the afternoon was coming to an end.

Overall, we were a bit disappointed in the French Riviera.  Compared to Italy, this part of France does not rate as high, in my opinion, although I am very much enchanted with Antibes.

That evening we dined at our hotel.  It was a lovely dinner, even with the lights sometimes going out.  No one seemed to mind the lack of light; I got the feeling it was a common occurance.  I had mussels in garlic butter and coq au vin, ending with cheese.  The British couple sitting next to us told us they've been coming to this area twice a year for 40 years.

I did better this year with my few words of French.  People are friendlier when they see I'm making the effort.  This is a reminder to myself to learn more for the next time.  Between my little French and Maritza's Spanish (worthwhile in Italy), we did just fine.