September 12, 2026 Breakfast- Toasted slice of Honey bread and yogurt with strawberries and peaches in syrup Lunch - picnic on the patio. Dinner - sautéed Sea bass with a parsley and caper sauce with truffled linguine and salad.

September 12, 2026 Breakfast- Toasted slice of Honey bread and yogurt with strawberries and peaches in syrup Lunch - picnic on the patio. Dinner - sautéed Sea bass with a parsley and caper sauce with truffled linguine and salad.

I woke up at 8:30. I have been sleeping better on this vacation than usual.

I made breakfast of the usual, a toasted slice of honey bread buttered and spread with pear jam and then the rest of the strawberries and peaches in syrup with two heaping T. of yogurt.

Then at 10:00 we all drove to an antique brocade in the next small community named Six Fours. I bought a small salt cellar of silver plate. Something we can use and a memento of our trip.

Billy and Elaine walked back to the Sanaray and ate pizza for lunch and then back to the villa, arriving around 3:00.

We drove to the center of Sanaray and after unsuccessfully looking for a restaurant that no longer existed, we bought two large sea bass, 8 shrimp, and 6 local oysters raised in Tamaris in the next bay to the east.

We then returned to the villa around 12:00 and laid out a picnic lunch onnthe patio table including the six oysters on the half shell. melon, duck pate’, pork pate’, brie cheese, goat cheese, and cow cheese coated with seeds, plus slices of baguette and green olives. We drank beer. These are the type of lunch we like in France as we sample the local foods.

Then at 1:15 Suzette walked to Portosolis for a swim and I drove to meet her there and waded up to my swim suit in the water along the beach, By the end of the trip I might even swim at Portosolis.

When we returned home around 2:30 we rested and read and worked on the puzzle until 5:45 when we prepared dinner.

Billy and Elaine prepared the salad and Suzette and I prepared the truffled linguine and sautéed sea bass filets with a parsley, caper, and lemon sauce.

We had run out of rose, but had the bottle of chilled champagne we bought at the Divine wine shop in Beausset several days ago.

It was fabulous with the fresh tender White Sea bass filets. And the pasta was lovely also, cooked the way I love it to just beyond Al dente.

It was a lovely dinner. 

Billy and Elaine then went for a walk. Suzette and I read and worked on the puzzle until 9:45, when we went to bed.

Bon Appetit

September 11, 2026 Breakfast - Croissant with butter and pear jam. Lunch - Shrimp Salad. Dinner - Leftover Cassoulet with Tomato and Cucumber Salad

September 11, 2026 Breakfast - Croissant with butter and pear jam.  Lunch - Shrimp Salad. Dinner - Leftover Cassoulet with Tomato and Cucumber Salad

I slept until 8:30. Suzette was doing yoga when I woke up.

We toasted croissants and spread butter and pear jam on them.

After breakfast Suzette walked down the staircase to the market in the center and I drove to meet her at the tourist information office. She had bought a bought bouquet of flowers for the living room. We found lots of information in the tourist information office about events and a map of the houses of all 21 exiles who moved to Sanaray from Germany after the Nazi takeover in 1933.

We walked into the Market and bought red leaf lettuce, chives, green beans, an eggplant, parsley, radishes, a cucumber, and dill.

We then walked to our favorite cheese truck where we bought the cheese monger’s favorite, a seeded cheese from cow milk and a thin slab of pork pate’

We then drove to the coop store where we bought balsamic vinegar, pasta with truffles, and two bottles of local rose’.

We returned to the Villa at 11:30 and started making the best shrimp salad I have ever eaten with the fresh radish slices, cooked green beans, cucumber slices, three kinds of Provençal tomatoes, Six large cooked shrimp peeled and quartered, and warm boiled potato slices.  I made a shallot, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, olive oil, and mayonnaise dressing that was wonderful.

We drank the last half bottle of wonderful

Terrabune rose we bought at the vineyard. Also sitting on the patio with its startlingly beautiful of the bay probably enhanced the Lunch experience.

After lunch I ate two squares of chocolate with hazelnuts and raisins and a sip of Marc of Provence.

We then put on our bathing suits and drove to Portosolis beach the waves were up, no one was swimming, so we walked the beach wading ankle deep in the water to soak my feet with salt water.

Then we returned and rested for an hour.

At 4:00 we drove to the Marseille airport to pick up Billy and Elaine.

We arrived 1 1/2 hours early so we split a sandwich and a can of coke. When they arrived at 6:45 we drove back to te villa.

The traffic through Marseille was horrible. There is a winding system of tunnels that forms a bypass under the center of the city that is scary and at rush hour slowed to a crawl.

We probably will avoid Marseille if possible in the future.

When we returned to the villa at 8:00 Suzette heated the leftover Cassoulet and I made a tomato, chive,, and cucumber salad with a fresh shallot dressing.

We opened a 2025 Pey Neuf rose that seemed to have gone bad, so we  then opened a local rose’, Ray Jane, that was wonderful.

Billy and Elaine got unpacked and settled in, occupying the other end of the villa near the kitchen.

After dinner at 10:15 we went to sleep, although I drank a cup of tea and blogged this entry until 11:30.

It also was a good day in the market for my portfolio, increasing by over 1%.

BonnAppetit

.

September 10, 2026 Breakfast - Toasted Honey bread with Pear jam. Lunch - Red Mullet and Potato Omelet with Onion Tart. Dinner - Octopus Couscous

September 10, 2026 Breakfast - Toasted Honey bread with Pear jam. Lunch - Red Mullet and Potato Omelet with Onion Tart. Dinner - Octopus Couscous

I woke up at 6:00 and finished yesterday’s blog. Then I toasted and buttered a slice of honey bread and spread pear jam on it. After a cup off tea with the bread I also ate a bowl of yogurt with peach and strawberries. Suzette walked to Portosolis beach but did not swim as the waves were up. So she walked back to the Villa.

I rested and napped until 11:30 when Suzette prepared an omelet with the leftover sautéed red mullet from last night’s dinner and potatoes. We split the Provençal onion tart and rose’ on the patio.

Then we drove to Brusc at the south end to of the bay.

When we returned Suzette napped and I worked on the puzzle until 5:00 when we walked to the church at the end of the street that dates to 1540 that probably dates the Villa and explains the existence of a tower in it and the next Villa.

When we returned we prepared dinner. We combined the leftover couscous with the octopus salad we bought and 1/2 diced green bell pepper, 1/2 small onion, and 1/2 zucchini.

We opened the 2023 Terrabune rose we bought at the vineyard. It was wonderful, full bodied with good character.

The octopus was a little tough but we ate most of the chunks of tentacle.

After dinner we watched Gloria Steinem’s last interview released after her death on September 6, 2026, on Netflix and then went to bed, Suzette to sleep and I to blog. 

I ate a meringue and sipped a bit of Marc with a cup of tea during the interview.

Bon Appetit