Antibes is a small city in the south of France with a population of about 75,000. It is a part of the famed French Riviera that the French refer to as the Cote d'Azur, which literally means blue coast referring to the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean sea. Pablo Picasso was probably Antibes most famous resident. He made it his home for a couple of years after WW II. During his time in Antibes he was living with his mistress Francoise Gilot, who was 40 years younger than he. The end of the war and his time with Francoise was a very happy time for Picasso. In Antibes he completed what is Kevin's most favorite Picasso painting called "Joie de Vivre". The painting expressed Pablo's "joy of life" and was inspired by Francoise Gilot. As an interesting aside - Picasso and Gilot split up after a few years and she later married Jonas Salk - the inventor of the polio vaccine. Hard to imagine a life where one of your love's is one of the most famous painters of modern times and the other eliminated polio in our time - must have been a incredible life for Francoise.
Twelve years ago, Kevin and I made our first trip to France - and I didn't get it. I had grown up a hound dog American kid that liked plain hamburgers (nothing on them at all), french fries and white bread toast with the crust cut off. Our first trip abroad had been two years ago and was to Great Britian - a safe English speaking country with regular looking meat and potatoes fare. France was truly different and it took me out of my comfort zone - big time - and I didn't get it. No matter how much English you spoke to them they just kept speaking French - whether you understood it or not. Then there is the food - this was a place where snails and ground up goose liver are considered delicacies. I didn't get it at all.
One of the places we went that first trip was to the seaside city of Antibes. It was France in full force. The beach wasn't sandy like I expected. The shops closed for a couple of hours in the afternoon. There wasn't a single convienence store with gas pumps out front where you could grab a pack of chips and a soft drink whenever you wanted it. The old town was just that - old - it needed paint everywhere and it had small cramped alley ways - nothing new and shiny like in the States. Then there were the restaraunts - each meal was a tense struggle to figure out what it all meant. To select a restaraunt we trolled the displayed menu boards looking desperately for something I could / would eat. And believe it or not - not a single restaraunt offered sweet iced tea - not even unsweet iced tea.
In the twelve years since I have been lucky enough to travel to Europe every year - mostly to Italy and France with some occasional Switzerland and Austria tossed in. Over the years it has seeped into me - becoming part of me and me part of it. It has changed my ideas about so many things. Seeing cultures that put people and family first in their day to day lives, not just as a part of their stated political creed, has made me realize we really don't need so many things to be content. Cultures where fresh local food and wine reign supreme and not a single chain restaraunt in sight. The "Mom and Pop" that serve your dinner will get to keep the money instead of it going to a faceless corporation.
Ok - so here it is 12 years later and I am back in Antibes. I look at the pebbly beach and it glistens in the bright, white sun with the turquoise fading to the cobalt blue of the Mediterranean sea. We go to the Picasso museum so Kevin can at last see "Joie de Vivre" (Joy of Life). The covered market place is a buzz with people, fresh scrumptuous fruit and vegetables, cheeses, olives, spices and colorful, fragrant bouquest of flowers. The charming old town has a patina wash from the hundreds of years of people living their lives there one day at a time. The narrow streets are now paths to be explored. Kevin and I go for a "menu licking" stroll, which involves reviewing all the menus to pick a spot for this evening's much anticipated meal. There are many starters to choose from usually one that includes chevre chaud (melted goat cheese) - yum! For the main course there is almost always an offering of Moules Frites (Mussells and french fries) and a selection of fresh fish - brought to the table on a platter as a part of the menu presentation to show the diner what is fresh and available today. Also, always the viandes (meats), beef steak with Roquefort or leg of lamb to name a few common offerings. Before we eat we have an apertif (to stimulate the appetite) - a pastis or maybe a Kir Royale. After we choose what we will eat we now must decide amoung the local wines to pick just the right one to accomany our meal.
One afternoon we put down in a cafe for a carafe (or two) of the local rose wine and a rich bubbly jambon and fromage (ham and cheese) crepe as a snack. It is the weekend and some drummers take the square and start pounding a rythm that silences everything else. After a few minutes of playing they begin a slow march down one of the narrow streets with throngs of people including me following behind. The drum beats are mesmerizing as the sounds richochet from the old buildings and into my chest. Warm from the wine, I feel Pablo's joy as I march behind the drummers. This time I get it - I so get it!!!
Cousin Sandy
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