Dreams

We are the luckiest. Plain and simple. A friend of my step-father's owns an apartment in an old building in the small Med-side town of Antibes (nestled between Cannes and Nice in the South of France), and was overly kind enough to let us stay there for three days. It was an amazing escape from hostels and cars and one unimpressive, not even blog-worthy stop in Toulon. There was a bath tub, a kitchen, and a view of the Cote d'Azur just 300 feet from the window. 

Our first stop was the marina (the largest yachting port in Europe) to pick up the keys from the very lovely James, who takes care of and captains our friend's boat. While we were there, he offered to take us out on our last day for a little cruise and maybe some jet skiing. Michael's face lit up like I've never seen it, and it was a done deal. We slept like rocks in the air conditioning and spent the next day doing much needed bathtub laundry, squeezing in some beach time, wandering the city, and cooking a warm and cozy dinner. 

The next day we suited up with giant smiles plastered on our faces and met James at the boat for our first yachting experience. We headed out into the Mediterranean and towards an inlet between two islands that was apparently nice for swimming and relaxing. After a feast of cheeses and meats, James took down a the mysterious toys he'd been talking about: SeaBobs. These were soon to become Michael's ceaseless obsession, Jet Skis be damned. We hopped into the warm, incredibly blue water and started up our "toys" (Navy SEAL technology...). In short, they are like riding battery powered dolphins, or water sleds as the maker calls them. I wont bother trying to put it into words, just go to the website to see them in action. It was definitely one of the coolest things I've ever done. After I was able to drag Michael away, we headed to shore of one of the islands to check out the Lérins Abbey, a monastery that has been there in some form since the 5th century. After a beautiful stroll around the island, we headed back to the boat for a little more seabobbing, and a sleepy cruise back to port after 7 hours of sun and fun. I could have stayed in that little town for weeks longer, but we had a concert to get to in Italy the next day, feeling refreshed as ever...