Today was Becca’s first day here. Having visited this amazing place all my life, it’s fascinating to watch the reactions of someone who is just seeing it for the first time. We took her to Ramatuelle to see the quaint, medieval hillside village. We went to the lighthouse to show her the entire bay, but it was closed. We went to the crique, to teach her how to really snorkel and hurl your body off of rocks, fearless of whatever lies below.
And as we showed Becca our favorite childhood haunts, I watched both my father and my brother regress into children themselves. (I’ve noticed it with B sine his arrival a week ago.) My father’s favorite activity is still diving off the top cliff, even though he’s far too large and old to be doing it safely. He loves to snorkel for what seems like hours, carefully examining each rock for octopus and starfish, chasing schools of fish as they swim by. And then there was Alex… catching jelly fish with his new net and wishing he had the spear-gun we stumbled upon at the marché so he could catch us dinner. Now the boys are getting ready to play boulle or cribbage. As I lie here keeping my mother company, I feel like I might as well be six years old – not old enough to play in the boys’ games, keeping my mother company as she doses off after lunch. And my brother and my father might as well be twelve, fearlessly competitive and forever restless, anxious to play whatever game or partake in whatever activity.
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It feels good to be with the family again.
Watching Becca reinforced all the feelings anyone who’s been here shares about this place. She was impressed with the beauty of Ramatuelle and Chez Michel. She thought we ate extremely well, we had an unlimited abundance of wine, and the warm, Riviera sun was impeccable. She said the fruit tastes better here. So does the coke. But, above all else, she was fascinated by the bountiful, giant luxury yachts anchored out in the harbor. Wait until she sees the port in St. Tropez…
Hahaha, I love this place = )
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