Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Villefranche Sur Mer

Villefranche: the next chapter of our summer, and beginning a four week journey without my mom! ooo la la. With a bit of fright and not knowing what to expect, my dad, brother, and I arrived last Sunday in Villefranche, a quiet, quaint town on the French Riviera.

The week was filled with a variety of activities, delicious home cooked meals, hikes, swims, games, ice-creams, and more. Our rental apartment was attached to the family that owned it–a French wife and Hungarian husband with two boys; Cosimo, 5, and Noa, 8, who had lived-in Brooklyn a few years back–and the amount of giggles I heard throughout the week were quite a lot! The elder boy spoke a little English, so he and Roman had a great time together. But his giggle was simply adorable. Imagine a sea, but instead of water, giggles; the laughs moving up and down like waves and never, ever stopping. The younger boy, who spoke absolutely no English, would come in his underwear to our apartment early in the morning to see if we were awake, and as soon as we began to converse with him he would run away and make a face that looked like Pinnochio, as my dad and I said: he would purse his lips together and stick them out as if he was about to whistle and just walk around like that! Beautiful innocence.

Throughout the week, we did a lot of walking around Saint Jean Cap Ferrat, a really wealthy, beautiful peninsula pretty close to Villefranche. One day we hiked the whole way around, which took nearly the whole day, and we swam in absolutely stunning waters: the Mediterranean at it's best.

Every morning, we would have a sandwich making factory as we prepared lunch to take with us for the day. By the end of the week, we all swore we couldn't eat another bite of salami and cheese ever again! But the meals in our little villa were pretty outstanding, all cooked by the one and only Marc Lafia! From blood sausage to ravioli to grilled vegetables to pizzas, we had so many great meals in that tiny kitchen.

We also went on various train trips a couple of days; exploring the people, homes, culture, and history of the French Riviera. And most days would include a quick swim; either in the rocky beach by our house, jumping off the cliffs by the port, or undiscovered waters near the Cap.

I really had a fantastic time with my brother and my dad: we had so many laughs great moments together. We all began to really feel comfortable wight the French language, and it just felt like a week of true vacation.

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