[Itinerary Page]The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
April 30 - Villefranche sur Mer
It was nice to spend the week with a compatible group ... and it is also nice to only have the two of us to be concerned with. So today we slept in a couple of hours longer than we did last week. It was almost noon when we walked into the main part of town to find a boulangerie where we could pick up some croissants.
We ran into a small antiques market in the Place Amelie Pollonnais. The assortment of items for sale was interesting but next week we will be in L'Isle sur La Sorgue, home to what is reputed to be the best and biggest antiques market in France. I don't know that we are in the market for any antiques anyway (although Margene may have a different idea) but today we could at least get some prices for future comparison.
We found our boulangerie ... and alas, no croissants. We settled for some apple-filled pastries, then walked along the beachfront far enough to get a good view back at the town itself. It was warm with a light breeze to cool things off. Despite still being early in the season, there were a lot of people on the beach catching the sun and even a few brave souls in the water. I am still getting used to the topless nature of Riviera beaches ... a tough adjustment but one I am confident I can make ... with a bit more exposure to the practice!
Man (and woman) does not live by pastry alone so we looked around for a spot where we could find a light lunch. Wandering the back streets we came upon the Souris Gourmande (the "Gourmet Mouse"), a place we recognized from its mention in Rick Steves' Provence guidebook. "Tiny" doesn't even come close to describing it. It is really more of a kitchen with a window on the stepped street and two small tables. The menu tended toward sandwiches which were good-sized and very reasonably priced.
French restaurants (as opposed to brasseries, bistros and other categories of dining) tend toward the pricey side with lunch costing easily what one would pay for a good dinner in the US. We can't eat like that more than a few times a week so we tend to look for the smaller places with lighter menus. They are not always easy to find.
Having spent most of yesterday in the car, the idea of driving anywhere today was more than either of us could face ... and we had a great parking spot in front of the hotel that would be gone in ten seconds if we left ... so we decided to take the afternoon off. I needed the time to get caught up on my diary and Margene just wanted a nap!
We had all good intentions of rallying in time for dinner, but as often happens, the time just slipped away, to a point where we decided that we weren't really hungry enough to justify the effort required to go out and find a place to eat. Such is the leisure life we have come here to enjoy.
Tomorrow we move westward an hour or so to spend three days with Les and Judy Sykes, members of the Affordable Travel Club. ATC is the brain child of John and Suzanne Miller, our housemates in Italy last week.
Villefranche sur Mer on the Last Sunday in April
© 2006 Restaurant Doctor