Our friends, Allan & Diana Colby, arrived last night after a bit of a delay in Marseilles due to a distressed soul who decided to do away with himself on the railroad tracks in front of their train. Allan & Diana share their time between Portola Valley in California and their home in Saint-Martin-de-Vers in the beautiful Lot Valley, not far from Cahors. We spent their first full day here, among other things, meandering along the stone pathways of the perched village of Èze.
Bar d’Absinthe in the Old Town of Antibes
Before dinner, we met Monique & François at the Absinthe Bar for an aperitif. Unfortunately, the proprietor was not there extolling the virtues of Absinthe over Pastis like he usually is. According to him, Absinthe is much more of a health-food type drink than Pastis because it is made with 24 different natural herbs, while Pastis is made with Licorice which is bad for your heart. Serving the Absinthe is quite a ritual here: your glass is brought to the table with your selection of Absinthe (the women are usually served a different type than the men); you put a slotted spoon over your glass with a cube of sugar on it; you turn the spigot of the special carafe (filled with ice and water) so that the water slowly drips over the sugar cube until it dissolves into the drink; when the sugar has dissolved, you top up your glass with additional water from the carafe; and then you toast, and drink, and nibble on a variety of olives while you're at it.
The Cobbled Streets of Vieil Antibes
After our aperitif at the Bar d’Absinthe, we made our way through the Old Town of Antibes to Restaurant Romantic for dinner.
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