Musée Picasso

Antibes has a charming old town. Within it is an old fort still called the Grimaldi Castle, which began as an ancient Greek acropolis, then was a Roman camp. The City of Antibes acquired the Grimaldi Castle in 1925, and the curator offered it to Picasso as a studio in 1946. When Picasso departed he left behind 23 paintings and 44 sketches. This was the first collection of the Picasso museum in Antibes on the French Riviera.

The old town also had an amazing ceramics shop when we were there in 1998. I bought a few plates, yellow and blue, and a fantastic large ceramic pitcher which graces my daughter Genevieve's dining room.

Antibes.Juan-les-Pins

Saint-Paul de Vence

Saint-Paul de Vence is the perched village an hour from Nice where Chagall, Picasso and Matisse all lived at one time. Dated from around 400 B.C.E. it is probably the most charming of the area's fortified towns at the top of hills from which defense was the objective. Hot oil could be poured on your opponents below. Before gunpowder this was especially important.

In the 20's there was an inn with a three guest rooms where the host Paul Roux accepted paintings as payment for meals and lodging. Today this is known as the Colombe D'Or, the Michelin-starred restaurant and inn. Rick and I ate lunch there on Father's Day, Fête des Peres. I had salmon soufflé and green beans. Really fun. We also looked around the village at the shops and went to the Fondation Maeght, a major museum in the area, integrating architecture and sculpture of Jean Miro, Giacometti and others.

Later, we went to the Matisse Chapel, also located in the hills outside Nice. Then we went to Monte Carlo for a day before saying, au revoir à la belle France.

lifeonthemediterranean.com

Saint-Paul de Vence

Sorry for the glare. This is the main fountain at Saint-Paul de Vence. It's like the town square. The Colombe D'Or restaurant and inn are here. The pétanque field is here (Bocce court). Matisse and others would sit on the terrace , watching the washerwomen do their work at the fountain and tub behind it under the arches. (Rick has no plans to do laundry here. He's here for Fête des Peres and lunch at Colombe D'Or.)

saint-pauldevence.com