We went to Domaine Cocagne for our 9 AM breakfast. It was a small buffet with eggs cooked to order - very nice sunny-side up for Ron and scrambled eggs with cheese for me. The baguettes were not as good as our favorite boulangerie in St. Paul. The ladies working in the restaurant were both from the Netherlands, and, as we stayed most of the morning (due to lots of rain and good Internet access) we chatted with them quite a bit. They were studying hospitality in school in Holland, and were doing an apprenticeship in the Domaine. They had to complete a second apprenticeship elsewhere before graduating. Ron showed them our facebook page for the park, and they talked about the need for the hotel to respond to tripadvisor reviews. He also showed them my blog and told them we would put their pictures on it. Very friendly and interesting young people. We mentioned we had seen a few negative reviews about the condition of the rooms, and they said that a couple years ago a Dutch person had bought the hotel and was dedicated to restoring it to its former standards. There is still work to be done, but it is a magnificent location with great views, beautiful swimming pool, and delightful staff, so we wish all the best for a great success! They said during the season they are fully booked, but the shoulder- and low-season is a problem.
Leaving the Domaine, I programmed Foundation Maeght into the GPS. It is a private foundation which is a unique modern art museum just outside St. Paul. The weather was too bad to drive a long distance or do any walking, so figured a museum would be the best bet. On the way, we drove past a huge building, Casino Terrazur that looked to be new or, perhaps, still under construction - but, that may have been because of construction going on in front for a new apartment complex. Ron decided to pull in and see what it was all about. It was an enormous building, but a rather small gaming area. They touted many "new slots", so we went in. So much for the Maeght Foundation and culture! We didn't have our passports, and they wouldn't accept drivers licenses, so I went to sit in the lounge while Ron drove to the house to get the passports and also to stop at the boulangerie and presse. I couldn't face that narrow road to and from the house twice more that afternoon!
I read while Ron was gone - quite a bit longer than I had anticipated. When he returned he had experienced another "drama". When he got to the house he couldn't find his blazer in which the passports were nestled in the pocket. He looked carefully in every room THREE times, even moving things from hangers, thinking I might have covered the jacket with another garment. Yes, I am always suspected when something is missing! He even moved things I had stored on the closet floors to look behind, and went outside to the terraces to see if the coat could be draped on a chair. He kept imagining where in the world he might have left the blazer in the last few days. And, knowing what an ordeal would ensue if the passports couldn't be found - since I have had that horrible experience TWICE overseas.
He could feel his pulse racing and his blood pressure rising, and was quite sure he was going to have a heart attack. He said he's only experienced that level of anxiety a couple of times. He decided that I would eventually come "home" in a taxi and find him on the floor! But that I would be without a passport, or a husband. He finally happened to notice the small curtained-off corridor leading to an extra bathroom we seldom use. There, beyond the white curtains, on a hook near an empty duffel bag I had hung, was the jacket. (He was the one who hung it there!) A great relief! Think he was still having palpitations by the time he came to meet me at the casino.
We should have gone to the museum instead of the casino. It would have been a lot less costly! Again, Ron came out ahead, and I lost more than usual.
From there we went to a big store, Geant in Villeneuve-sur-Loup, something like an enormous Walmart (even bigger). It was not a pleasant experience. Where we parked was a long way from the entry, and where we had to get a grocery cart was a long walk beyond the entrance. As you could only enter the store from one area, we had to re-trace our steps another long way. The store was VERY crowded. The grocery area was interesting, as the selection was enormous. I love our US chains like Whole Foods that are so clean and organized and have such variety, but these mega-stores here have maybe twice the selection of items the French love such as cheese, sausages of all kinds. breads and pastries. However, we prefer the smaller markets, green grocers, and boulangeries - and hope they continue to thrive here despite the competition from these "big box" places. We made a few purchases.
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| The enormous marina/apartment complex I wrote about earlier was directly across from the store (One building of four) |
From there we drove into St. Laurent du Var to see restaurants the owner of the house had mentioned. Unfortunately, everything we could see was closed, and also parking was impossible. And, impossible is pretty accurate, not an exaggeration. After a fruitless search for a place, we parked in a dangerous spot where we couldn't even see beyond the bushes to walk behind the car to get to a safe walk. And cars were coming at high speed, and splashing water as they passed us. We had to "plow" our way through the bushes with our umbrellas to reach a sidewalk. The cute place we had seen (just beyond a Holiday Inn and right on the beach) turned out to be closed, so we returned to the car. This was another scary experience since you had to back out of the space (where you couldn't see beyond the bushes) into traffic that was coming the opposite direction. There is no rhyme nor reason to the traffic patterns and parking here!
By the time we got home, even Ron was tense from the drive (and he usually takes it in stride). When I suggested going to Nice Sunday if the weather was good, he said he was tired of driving in cities and heavy traffic. Said the level of concentration is very stressful. You really can't believe how people drive here. They are not defensive at all and speed through tiny roads where there is no visibility of entering or approaching traffic. I read last evening that the south of France has the highest incidence of traffic accidents in the country, and that every person has a tale to tell of some "mad driver" who has done something crazy. I think we have a tale to tell for every day!
Well, the good thing is that we were coming home in order to meet someone from Orange who was to check into the problem with the Internet. Ron went downstairs where the equipment is located to get ready for the appointment, took his laptop with him, and was able to sign on immediately. We had tried every day previously and that morning, so they must have done something that afternoon that did not require them to actually come to the house. We didn't care that no one showed up for our appointment - we were just thrilled it worked - and are keeping our fingers crossed it continues through the coming week.
We were happy to be in for the night with internet finally working!
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