Sylvie Lhopiteau

 Dear Friends,

Sylvie Lhopiteau died last week at the age of 56 after a several year battle with breast cancer.  Sylvie was the owner, cook, server, dishwasher, boss of the best staff imaginable and maître d' of the Restaurant Le Serre in Villefranche sur Mer, France.  But none of that explains the importance of Sylvie in our lives or in the life of Villefranche.  

We met Sylvie almost 10 years ago when we first visited Villefranche and Le Serre. Since then we have had the opportunity to get to know her and fully appreciate what an amazing person she was.  At Le Serre, Sylvie created not just a wonderful restaurant but a community and gathering place where everybody - locals, part-time expats and tourists - could bask in the warmth of Sylvie's incredible hospitality and inclusion.  She made all of us feel like we belonged - that we were welcomed not just as clients but as friends, that we were loved.  Her incredible staff, for us particularly Marylène and Bérénice, did exactly the same.   

It is impossible to put into words, how wonderful it was for us to be greeted by Sylvie, Marylène and Bérénice when we would return after a several month absence, or how they would take the time to talk with us (on slow nights) about our lives and theirs. Having a place to go, have a great meal, be truly welcomed and included is one of the things we really love about Villefranche.  

We last saw Sylvie in February 2023.  She looked great and welcomed us with her usual warm enthusiastic manner.  She took a turn for the worse over the summer, but had returned home.  Unfortunately, her health deteriorated rapidly recently.  We were not prepared for her death, and could not convey our feelings in French, but we were so relieved that we were here and could go to her memorial service and share in the communal grieving.  While we could not understand much of what the priest said, we could get the sense of the eulogies by family and friends.  It was obvious that the love we felt for Sylvie was shared by all present.

Rest in peace Sylvie.  You are loved and will be missed.

Villefranche-sur-mer 2023 - 2 Cap Ferrat

 Dear Friends,

The bay of Villefranche is created by Cap de Nice on the west and Cap Ferrat on the east.  The walk around Cap Ferrat is incredibly beautiful.  Here is a link to the post about the first time I walked around Cap Ferrat.  Shortly after we got to Villefranche this winter, I heard that a rock slide had blocked the path around the cap just before the lighthouse if you are going from Villefranche to Saint-Jean.  I wanted to see the rock slide so I set off walking to the lighthouse with the intention that I would then walk the rest of the way along the coast to Saint-Jean.  It turned out to be quite a long and wonderful walk.  I started from our apartment and almost 7.5 miles later I returned.

I took regular paths and streets to get to the lighthouse.  When I got there, it was clear that I was not going to get to see the rock slide.  The authorities made it clear that I was not to walk the path in that direction.

I am quite sure that the rocks in this picture are not the rock slide, I took it any way because it is in the direction of the rock slide.

The lighthouse (as was everything else) beautiful in the afternoon sun.

The first part of the path from Villefranche to the lighthouse can be steep, rocky and a little challenging.  From the lighthouse to Saint-Jean, it is much smoother and flatter once you get down these stairs.

The path continues along the weather beaten coast line.

The rising moon made the walk even more magical.

Cap Ferrat actually has two parts.  I have been describing the main part.  The smaller part is called la pouce (the thumb).  If you look back at the first image you can see the thumb sticking out to the east.  You get a great view of it from the main cap.

As you near the end of the walk along the coast, you can see Eze high above Saint-Jean.

    

Thanks for reading and please comment,

The Unabashed Liberal

Villefranche-sur-mer 2023 - 1 Constants

 Dear Friends,

We have been in Villefranche since December 29, 2022, and this is the first post I have made this trip.  We first came to Villefranche in January 2014.  In that time, we have seen many changes and many things that remain the same.  When we are here, it is more like we live here than like we are visiting here.  Nevertheless we have new adventures, and we see things change.

Early in January we visited the town of Saint Agnès for the first time.  It claims, "Le village du littoral le plus haut d'Europe."  (the highest costal village in Europe)  Given the number of switchbacks we did to get there, I am not going to argue with their claim.  It is a beautiful little town with spectacular views.  Even if I were Ansel Adams, I'm not sure I could do them justice.  Here are a few.

One thing that has not changed is that there are storms in the winter.  A storm over the Mediterranean can result in large seas in the Villefranche harbor.  The harbor is well protected from three directions but opens up straight south so seas have the full fetch from Africa to build.  The seas build over a several day period allowing for beautiful sunny days but with high seas.  Of course, that brings the surfers out in force.  There is really only one small area of the harbor that is good for surfing and it, ends in rock cliffs so the surfers have to bail before they get to shore.  Here is a picture of beach as the sun is rising and the swells are growing.

Here is a picture from the same vantage point a couple of weeks later.  Notice that a lot of sand on the beach was pushed up to the wall particularly on the right side of the picture.  In actuality, the sand was pushed over the wall and covered the road several inches deep.  So in Villefranche they have to shovel sand instead of snow.

The surfers came out to test their skills and they had some good waves.

This is the area they are surfing in on a day without swells.  Notice the rock cliffs at the end of the run.

The storms do more than move the sand and rocks on the beach around.  They can wreak havoc with the boats anchored in the harbor.  In recent years, the town has been trying to clean up the harbor.  First, they decided that they would put in mooring buoys so that there would not be so many anchors damaging the sea floor.  Now they are making an effort to clean up the sea bed by getting rid of some of the more recent ship wrecks.  For several days, they brought in a barge with a large truck crane on it.

They would move the barge near to the yellow buoy marking the wreck.

Once they are near the spot of the wreck, they deploy the crane.

They also deploy a diver to connect the crane to the wreck.

Then they would hoist the wreck up.

And place it on the barge and repeat.

Another thing that happens when the swells get big, is that the beautiful lights around the bay short out.  Here is a photo of a full moon and the lights last October from our balcony.  

We have really missed the lights for the last couple of weeks.  Fortunately, today the crew came out to fix them.  So we are looking forward to seeing them again tonight.

While the local fishing fleet has dropped from about 30 families to just one or two, we can watch the fishermen doing their work from our balcony.  We also get to eat some of their catch in the local restaurants. Here the fisherman is putting his nets out.  He starts by dropping a buoy and then makes a really big circle with his net and returns to the buoy.

Then he comes back at night to take in his net with the catch.

Another constant of our time here is that we can always find new wonderful places to eat.  Yesterday, we went to Nice to run a couple of errands, after which we just roamed around the old town.  For some reason there were very few people even for a weekday in the winter.  Just around lunch time we came across a restaurant that we had heard about but had never eaten at.  Needless to say, we went in.  We were the only customers for the whole lunch.  The rest of the world didn't know what they were missing.  The name of the restaurant is Oliviera, and it also sells olive oils.  

The proprietor who was also the chef, waiter and sales person made us feel like we were guests in his home.  He spoke perfect English, but when we spoke some French, he immediately asked us which language we would prefer.  We said French because we love every chance we get to practice.  

He has a small menu.

We started by splitting the Aubergine Oliviera (Roasted eggplant with roasted red peppers).

We then split the Lasagne Butternut (Lasagne with butternut squash, spinach, cranberries, cheese).

Both of them were absolutely delicious.  We enjoyed a couple of glasses of red wine.  The proprietor also spent a lot of time talking with us and teaching us about all the olive oil he carries and ships around the world.  As we were finishing our lunch, he started to cook a rabbit stew for some customers that were coming the next day.  When we showed an interest, we got a wonderful lesson on how to cook a stew.  

All in all the perfect finish to a trip to Nice for a couple of errands.

Thanks for reading and please comment,

The Unabashed Liberal