September 13, 2026 Breakfast - Two Men on a Raft Lunch - Mac Sym’s Dinner - Charcuterie

September 13, 2026 Breakfast - Two Men on a Raft  Lunch - Mac Sym’s   Dinner - Charcuterie 

I woke up around 8:00 today. Suzette and Elaine wanted to take the ferry to St. Pierre de Embiez. Today was the day I decided to walk to town and back. I fortified myself with Two men on a raft for breakfast and a cup tea. I sliced slices of the whole wheat Round loaf of bread we bought several days ago toasted one side in a skillet with butter and turned them over and placed an egg in the hole I had dug in each slice and fried the egg on the toast. 

After breakfast we walked down town past the boat collection and I rested and talked to a Californian who had landed from the Wind Star cruise ship that made port in Sanaray today. He really was enjoying the 8 day cruise he was on from Barcelona to Rome. Suzette and Elaine walked down to the shopping area to the antique Brocate. When they returned around 10:45 we lined up for the 11:00 ferry to Embiez.

         The Wind Star cruise ship

Embiez is the island purchased by Paul Richard as his private residence and it is still owned by the family and he and his son are buried on the island.

When we arrived we immediately walked to the

little tourist train that for 9€ trolleyed us around the island.

Long ago it produced salt. During WWII it was occupied by Germans. Richard planted 23 acres of grapes and it now produces wine.

We drank beverages after the train ride returned us to the port and then Suzette and Elaine swam in the Mediterranean while I finished Slow Horses by Nick Herron.

Our Villa sits on the edge of the cliff above the apartments in the trees

At 2:00 we returned to Sanaray and met Billy. Several of us were hungry and we tried to find a restaurant. We were turned away at Hotel de Tour as it was too late to order a full meal. We finally settled on Mac Sum’s b3cause it was offering Mussels with Fried Potatoes for 19€.  The mussels were steamed in herb water instead of herbed wine and lacked flavor even though there was lots of garlic and herbs. The French Fries were really good. Suzette refused to eat the mussels and Elaine ordered cold Octopus salad. So Billy and I gorged on mussels.

After lunch at 4:00 there was a race of restaurant workers and owners with a tray with a glass of wine and a mug of beer around a course laid out in the downtown area that we stayed to watch that was a very spirited event and lots of fun.

We then walked back to the village. I made it all the way up the stairs on one sugar pil, none the worst for ware, but to make sure I drank a glass of Dr. Pepper and ate two squares of chocolate around 5:00 

I then worked in the big puzzle until dinner at 7:00. Billy prepared a charcuterie board with duck pate’, pork pate’, Brie, Tomme de Savoie, goat and Brekis cheeses, slices of melon and figs cut in half plus Cassis and Quince jelly he bought in the market.

We drank the bottle of Bandol red wine we bought at the Bandol Maison du Vin near Castelet the other day.

Billy did a terrific job making the charcuterie and cheese board and it was a splendid dinner.

Tomorrow we will buy more rose’ wine and eat shrimp salad for lunch.

I worked on the puzzle until 10:30 and then blogged this entry.

It is 12:00 and I still feel great. So my body seems to be strengthening from the extra walking.

Bon Appetit

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

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