We spent three nights anchored in Golfe Juan, close to the town of Juan Les Pins.  Our anchorage was a little ways away from the downtown area and had a beautiful view of the stunning homes that dot the peninsula that protected us from the northeasterly winds and swell.  The water was chilly but crystal clear and the days were still warm enough to encourage the occasional dip. 

Juan Les Pins is a little not-so-chichi town on the very chichi French Riviera.  We fell in love with it immediately when we found a great little cafe off the main drag where we were warmly greeted by the owner.  He served up the native version of lemonade for the girls, in between milling around the tables of locals enjoying an afternoon coffee.  The town's playground was full of kids running around and parents attentively watching.  The girls fit right in, although they complained about not speaking the language.  I pointed out that aside from French, I could hear Spanish, Portuguese and Italian being spoken so they had nothing to worry about! 

School kept us busy in the mornings but we fully embraced the long leisurely lunch that seemed a requirement among the end of the season revelers we encountered around us.  Amongst the British, Italian and American tourists there were plenty of French joining in.  We met one British family in particular whose company we all thoroughly enjoyed.  Taras and Amanda, with their daughters Lilly (8), Ruby (5) and their son Henry (3), were vacationing at a nearby hotel for the week.  Of course Cassie and Juliana made the introductions when they started playing with Lilly and Ruby on the beach.  We had discovered this wonderful restaurant, Le Colombier, right on the beach, sand between your toes as you are sitting down to your meal.   We became regulars. 

On our second day there, after having experimented with another restaurant down the beach.....

we met Taras and Amanda.  Actually, Taras tried to flag Joe down for another cappuccino, thinking he was one of the wait staff.  We all got a great chuckle out of that one and became fast friends. 

Actually, we had plenty of chores to take care of in the meantime.  Joe was off doing the laundry while I diligently watched over the safety of the kids in the sunshine on the beach.  Do I have it figured out, or what?  We swapped duties when it was time for me to go do the grocery shopping (the sun was well on its way down by then).  The next day Joe and the girls went in to meet up with our new friends again while I got ZIA ready for our upcoming visit with Joe's sister Juliana and her husband Michael.  By the time the sun was setting, the kids were starting to think of food again so we moved the party to another restaurant.

The girls wound up having a sleep over at the hotel, and we collected a couple of sleepy kids at breakfast the next morning.  They were sad to be leaving their new friends, especially before they got a chance to see the boat, but we had a couple hour trip to meet Mike and Jules 15 miles away in Bealieu-Sur-Mer, so we said our good-byes and exchanged email addresses and are now trying to figure out how to fit in a visit to Suffolk this winter!

Whenever we arrive in a new location, there is a certain amount of guess work involved in figuring out the best location to drop our hook.  Prevailing wind and sea direction are usually the primary concern, followed closely by the availability of a wireless internet signal on the boat, but this time we also wanted to be as close as possible to La Reserve de Beaulieu, Juliana and Mike's hotel.   Looking at our charts, and examining the shoreline through our binoculars, we picked what looked to be the closest location with a public access from the waterfront up to the street.  Although all the other boats were anchored over closer to the town of Villefranche, we decided to check out our selected spot to see if it worked for our unique purposes.  As we mounted the staircase to the street and climbed the short hill over to the other side, we were thrilled to see that we could not have picked a better location.  It was a straight shot and just over a half a mile walk. 

We had agreed to meet our family at their hotel at 5pm but ran into them walking towards us along the way.  What a joyous reunion that was!  The girls ran eagerly into the waiting arms of their Aunt Juliana, who they hadn't seen in over a year, and their Uncle Mike, who they hadn't seen in quite a bit longer. 

We had five days of high quality time together.  The weather wasn't perfect, but no one voiced a single complaint.  The hotel staff were unconditionally welcoming and we spent many an hour by the pool, in the sauna and steam room, and in the lobby area.

The Michelin two-star hotel restaurant was a little pricey even for our "vacation budget" but we discovered many wonderful restaurants in the surrounding village.  Needless to say, we have been having no problems at all finding fantastic food here in the culinary capital of Europe.  Being so close to Italy, the brick oven pizzas and pastas are exceptional, and of course the seafood is superb.  All the menus offer a great variety of each to choose from, in addition to steaks, salads and soups.  I'm afraid the little progress I had made in trimming down my waistline has been totally reversed.  We will have to return to Spain soon, or a new pair of jeans will quickly become a necessity.

Oops!  I almost forgot to mention the ice cream!

Although Uncle Mike is not 100% comfortable on a boat, like so many people, we did spend a couple of afternoons enjoying our newest waterfront real estate in Villefranche.  The girls enjoyed their second sleepover at a hotel in a week.  We thrilled our visitors from New Mexico with a taco dinner onboard for our last night together.  In a bold move, Michael decided that the best way to arrive in Nice to board their Windstar cruise ship would be onboard ZIA.  Joe and I were thrilled to accommodate them and hoisted the anchor for the short two mile trip on Sunday morning.  Much to the girls' delight, we were granted permission to come onboard their fancy cruise ship for a quick tour before they pulled away from the dock at 5pm.  Although it was a sad good-bye, it was made easier by the knowledge that we will see each other again soon. 

In the meantime, we are enjoying Nice for a couple of nights before heading back to Villefranche where we have a rendezvous with a friend of my mom's scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.  Mary Ann has been an enthusiastic supporter of Zia's adventures.  She just so happens to be taking a cruise around the Med starting in Villefranche on the 25th.  Our little unexpected detour to France is paying off in many, many ways!