Antibes

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So much so for Ventimiglia...we purchased our train tickets yesterday and the choice was every 20mins. We had made our way to Gare Nice Ville (train station) by 10 to 9 only to find there were NO trains to Ventimiglia until 13.00....'strike'!

A little disappointed as we had prepared and allowed for a whole day to get us across the border to the markets in Italy and home again. The strike is on behalf of the Italian end of the train link. I remember now that when we were in Verona in 2013 there was a strike on the day we were shifting from there to France and had to stop another night in Verona. They always target when it will be best effective....the school holidays.

And so we looked at each other and tossed for Menton or Antibes & changed our OAP ticket for a 2€ ticket each to Antibes. We bought our tickets at 9.04 & the next train was leaving at 9.06....a quick dash and waddle downstairs under the platforms to surface at the Antibes train and found a seat....yay! good work!....it wasn't until it was too late we realised we hadn't validated our ticket in the machine before boarding....a BIG no no! we decided we could argue that one with 2 mins to spare. Luckily we were not questioned.

Antibes is not far along the coast south west of Nice via Var, Cagnes sur Mer, & Biot. It sits on the shoreline next to Cape Grosse (which shows how the super rich live). The area consists of a castle, old town & fort, super shops, fishing hub, & mega boats. The old fort houses a Picasso Museum however not quite enough of his work that would tempt me in. The fruit & legume markets well patronised. Lots of little cafe restaurants on the streets. The wee shops that decorate their frontages outside of the shop is tastefully done, welcoming & definitely makes you look if not stop.

The boats speak for themselves the super yachts dwarfed by the enormous mega boats.....even the castle on the hill becomes insignificant when the 'Dilbar' is in port! (600 Million US)

We made our way down to the water for lunch and sat in the sun for awhile. A walk around the old fort area and back to Gare Antibes to catch the 13.00 train......and yes we remembered to validate!

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