Antibes, April 17

Today marks a full month of our vacation.
 It was a nice sunny day and we took off in the a.m. with Jane and Norman to Antibes, about an hour's drive because of having to drive through Nice.
  Mark got a good parking spot right in the old port and we first walked up along the ramparts, looking at the nice sandy beach (a rarity) and a snorkler, not to mention a HUGE yacht outside the harbor (More on that later.)

    We got a picnic lunch at the outdoor market and went back outside the city walls to eat it, along the port.
     We had a bit of adventure with the public toilet. You put in 20 centimes and go in. Then, when you come out, the toilet disinfects. Two women in front of us, put in their 20 centimes and used the toilet twice. The key was NOT shutting the door. One of them held it slightly open the entire time. Jane and Barbara successfully used the toilet, each using 20 centimes. But, Mark and Norman decided to try to use it paying just once.

    So, Mark went in and used the toilet. Then, Norman went in...BUT, he closed the door and was subjected to the disinfectant process. Oh dear.  Then, he had a bit of a dilemma getting out as it was now off synch. But, he did get out without anyone putting in 20 centimes. He could have been stuck in there without us realizing that the machine wanted some money. No harm done, but a bit of a laugh.
     Afterwards, Jane and Barbara put their toes into the Mediterranean...only to ankles as the water was surprisingly quite cold.

    Then, we all walked out on a jetty to see a large sculpture, Nomade, which looks out to sea. It is made of letters. The sculpture Jaume Plensa says, "Like bricks, letters have the potential for construction...They enable us to construct thought."
    After sufficient nourishment, we went back into the medieval walled city. Mark and Norman stopped at a coffee shop and Jane and Barbara wandered about a bit, doing window shopping. All that was bought was postcards and each a bar of soap.

     Then it was off to the Geant, a bit supermarket where we bought, among other things, some Norwegian white fish for dinner. We met for dinner and had fish, salad, baguettes, asparagus.

    Now - for the giant yacht. Turns out that it is the Dilbar, a super-yacht, the biggest in tonnage in the world! (almost 16,000 gross tons and 511 feet long.) It is owned by a Russian oligarch, Alisher Usmanov and it cost $600,000,000!  A woman on the ramparts had correctly suspected that it was a Russian owner. It has a crew of about 80 and can accommodate about 40 guests. Needless to say, it has all the luxuries - swimming pool, gym etc. Much of the details are kept secret. Also on board was a $20,000,000 luxurious specially built helicopter that accommodates 7 passengers. It includes a lunge and a galley kitchen. The owner is a Russian billionaire, among the richest men in the world. Among his many many assets is that he is a major shareholder in London's Arsenal Football Club.
While beautiful, these untold riches quite honestly made us all disgusted.
   But, the yacht did not ruin our day. It was a very good one.