Yesterday

What a wonderful day. It started with a booming bonjour from a man on the other side of the fence when I was walking the dogs. He asked how I was and told me to have a good day. I responded with gusto.
There was snow on the hills up behind the house.
I was almost ready to walk out of the house when someone knocks on my window. A man came down to tell me that he has a truck full of vegetables and would I like to buy any? I drove up to where the truck was. There was a man squatting on bags of potatoes and onions in the back. The other man was going around house to house. We had a discussion in french but , I would not use a big sack of vegetables because I was toute seul, all alone. He repeated it twice for me to copy. I didn't feel so bad about that because it won't last long.
I drove to Antibes along the sea and stopped a few times just to marvel at the view. It was a little hazy, but you could still see the Alps.
C had not told me that things had changed in Vieux Antibes. The parking was all different. It is a walled town and driving is difficult. All roads are one way, and it was market day x 3... Vegetable, brocantes and clothes. I ended up in the tight parking garage, 3 levels Dow. It cost me 9 €to park for about 5 hours.
I walked through the markets and then up to the Ramparts to look out at the sea and the view. I like to go see the view that my favorite painter had from his house on the edge. ( Nicholas De Stael) . The plaque was removed and they were gutting the house. I hope they are making a museum of it. He is not all that well known. At the Picasso Museum right down the street, also right on the sea wall, there is a painting of his that is massive. I will include it. He did many paintings of the sea from antibes. They are beautiful, minimal, strokes of color that say so much. I need to see the big painting for inspiration, but I was not up to the Museum yesterday.
I wandered around the narrow stone streets looking for details to capture. A man backed his van up for me, without me asking, so that I could photograph some shutters..very nice. Tourists copied my photos after I walked away. I'm happy to show people some beauty they may have missed.
I bough a very simple black bead necklace from a woman at the brocantes. I photographed the silver reflecting the blues and yellows. There were also rolls of rough natural color fabric that I photographed. I ask if its ok as I know people are annoyed by tourists taking pictures.
I sat down at my favorite cafe ...see the next post.
Then I met C. For lunch. She came with her sweet little dog Tanghka. This little cafe is called Art The Miss...like Artemus, but it is a tea house too, so the The in the middle the French word for tea ( it needs an accent on the e.) the place was filled with paintings and things...red and white. The woman Brigitte, that owns it is a friend of Clarisse. Much talking went on. See the next post for the full story.
-after that C. And I walked around with Tanghka. I was worried about him in the crowds. He's so little. I picked him up a few times and held him. He knew I was soft, so when we would stop he would jump up on leg appealing to me to pick him up.
We went to a shoe store and C discussed shoes with the saleswoman. I think it's great to just listen while life goes on as usual. C. Ran into a friend, actually Tangkha recognized the woman and pulled over to her. She was a piano reached from Montreal that had been living in Antibes for a very long time. C. Told me that she was the nicest person she knows.
They talked and talked. I felt uncomfortable that we were in this store , not going to buy anything, kind of in the way, and they decide to carry on a 15 minute conversation. Was it a cultural thing? I would have taken it outside.
A visual...when we walked nnto the store, all I could see at first was a woman's long hand, fingers extended out the door as far as they could go holding a lit, very very thin white cigarette between 2 fingers. Very pretty.
C walked me back to my car that was next to a merry go round. C. Told me that the French word for it was ménage...could that be right? I have to look that up.
The song that it was playing was " Call Me, Maybe" . I told Clarisse that this song is just terrible, but somehow, I just love it. Don't tell anyone. We danced a little to it...and I paid 9€ and left.
I stopped at E. Ecleric supermarket on the way home to pick up some things...I had Call Me , Maybe going thought my head . I was happy to see the fish people, they were joyus, having fun,  spraying each other with the hose. There was a man hawking a Paella in front of the seafood section, in uniform, happy as can be, shouting, getting everyone's attention.
 I chose a tuna steak that was incredibly good. I sauteed it in butter and olive oil with leeks.