Sunday 12 July 2015

Antibes: Boats and bookshops

 Salut!


 Before coming to Antibes I had seen photos that made it look like heaven on earth as well as the film Rust and Bone with Marion Cotillard which, while showing the Marineland in a bad light (and rightly so: I've not been there but am against making orcas perform), made the town itself look elegant and exotic. 

 So, I had high expectations! And in reality? It was completely different to how I had thought it would be. I had thought life would revolve around the sea but actually the town is just as exciting and full of life as the beach and port. It's very quaint. I tend to prefer big and striking to quaint but I loved Antibes.

 Its size is perfect: not big enough to get seriously lost in but not small enough that you run out of things to do. After classes each morning I would wander into town to find some lunch and then either catch a train to Cannes, Monaco or Nice - or just chill in Antibes.

 There are plenty of places to chill: the Place General de Gaulle with its simple but gorgeous fountains, the little cafés, two really nice French bookshops where I added to my collection of Enid Blyton books in French (Malory School: La rentrée, Les Jumelles à Saint-Clair) and a lovely English bookshop.

 I also discovered the joy of sitting by the harbour to eat my lunch and/or read and of walking around the town walls with rocky coast on one side and endless flowers on the other. There are also the pretty, colourfully painted houses and the market full of smells and spices. It would be very hard to get bored in Antibes.

 I'm so glad I finally got to fulfil my dream of seeing Antibes and that it was as beautiful as I'd imagined - albeit in a totally different way.

 Thanks for reading,

 Liz x

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