St. Raphael and Antibes

Tuesday April 12, 2011 Day 286

Our breakfast was from a patisserie - we bought it and ate it on the train. Our plan was to go to St. Tropez for the day, but when we got to the train station, we discovered that the train does not go to St. Tropez. So we settled on St. Raphael and arrived around 11:00. On our way to the tourist office, we came across a brocanate, or flea market, and stopped to admire some beautiful art deco furniture. We walked along the waterfront and visited a park area dedicated to the war dead. Lunch was at a sidewalk café on the waterfront, although we ate inside because it was cool. We strolled the streets some more, discovering that Jane is quite in fashion this spring.

On our way to the train station, we stopped in at a chocolatier to buy some beautifully artistic tiny pastries, each a little larger than a quarter. We ate them on the train and they were quiet tasty.

We rode to Antibes, arriving just before 5:00. At the tourist office, a very helpful woman told us that there is a Picasso museum in town that is open until 6:00 so I voiced that I would like to go there, and we took off. On the way, an unusual thing occurred - we had paused at a corner to consult a map, and a French couple asked us if we needed help, then proceeded to direct us to the museum. It was all in French, of which I understood about 60%, but I was just pleased that they offered to help. Most French people do not bother to stop and help strangers on the street.
 
The Picasso museum was a delight. There were a couple of rooms dedicated to artists other than Picasso, but most of the museum was given over to his works. One room held a series of about 52 plates which experimented decorating. The museum itself was a wonderful venue, with large open rooms and lots of light and spaciousness. Picasso used the building as a workshop for a couple of months and created almost 100 works while he was there. In the courtyard was a large scuplture of violins by Arman, whose works we appreciated on Sunday.
 

We left the museum a few minutes before its closing and found Mary Ellen and Jane a few blocks away. We made the decision to eat before returning to Nice and found a nice little Italian café where we had a delicious meal. On the way into the café, we noted an ice cream store next door and planned to stop there for dessert. Alas - when we walked out, it was closed for the evening. Thus denied, we boarded the next train for Nice and returned to our hotel.