On the advice of the English retirees we’d met a couple days earlier, today we went to Antibes for the big open-air market.
Antibes has an old section with huge stone fortifications defending it from sea attack. Inside, the streets are twisty and full of nifty shops. It was right out of a movie. The open air market was full of fresh food, right off the farm – vegetables, meat, crafts, fish, jellies… pretty neat. If we had a kitchen to cook in, maybe we’d have been tempted. This is probably where Jordan began tripping. He tripped his way through France like Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford. Openly gawking at some sight ahead of him, he’d step off the curb or somehow trip over an object that was impossibe for someone who was looking to miss. The tripping came to a HORRIBLE result many days later – but that’s a story for you to look forward to!
We wandered shops for a while, stopped in a bookstore (bought Barak Obama’s 2nd book – hell, if he’s gonna be our Prez, we might as well read what he’s got to say), bought sun hats, and finally had lunch in a café on the main plaza.
Our big obsession was finding a watch! Since our cell phones don’t get international service, they don’t display the time, so we’ve been flying blind. Since we wanted a cheap digital watch, everyone advised us to buy one from one of the passing African peddlers who are hawking all kinds of crap. Jordan approached one and was quickly immersed in a clandestine adventure of following the guy to a mysterious location to retrieve the bag of available watches, then a marathon haggling session while Katie worried at the café! Jordan wound up with a classy-looking watch that we soon found out, runs VERY slow. No refunds when you buy from street peddlers! But it was a fun adventure.
We napped in the waterfront park while old men played lawn bowling nearby. It seemed like a blissful two hours. According to our watch, it was three. Hmmm. To get back to J-le-P, we took the ultimate tourist vehicle – Le Petit Train! It looked like a little kids’ train you’d take at Disney. We drove through town and amazingly, nobody laughed at us. Truly amazing.
Back in J-le-P, we bought postage for our postcards and wandered around the less commercial part of town. Still can’t find where Katie stayed all those years ago.
Jordan’s genetic tendency to panic before traveling hits in a big way and he intently quizzes the hotel desk attendants about how the train ride to Paris will work.
