September 3 and 4, 2026 Dallas to Sanaray Sur Mer, France
We woke up at 5:00 at Billy and Elaine’s to make an early flight to NYC. I ate a lovely breakfast of two slices of white sandwich loaf bread with Raspberry Fruit spread and slices of Leyden cheese.
When we arrived at Love before our flight we bought a bagel with egg, a sausage patty, and cheese that we ate on the flight to New York.
We flew to La Guardia and taxied to JFK for our 8:45 p.m. flight on British Airways to London. Since we were flying business class we were given access to the expansive British and American Airways lounge at JFK.
Suzette first attacked the long line of cold and warm dishes, finding the chicken meatballs in a cream sauce dusted with micro grated Parmesan to her liking. As Suzette fortified with food, turned her attention to working on her computer. I then turned my attention to food and went through the Tasting Room with its full bar and two bartenders to several more smaller rooms. In one was a smaller line of food choices with a lovely fresh watercress and cherry tomato salad and dried dates and cranberries. I came back to the food line and took five more chicken meatballs for Suzette and an interesting pork red bell pepper and carrot stew and cassarecce pasta in an Alfredo and Asiago suace, sort of a super fancy, Mac and cheese.
I ate and checked the market and it had another super day with my portfolio up about 1.38%. I also ate a dense flourless chocolate dessert and a square of moist lemon pound cake with a cup of Earl Grey tea.
We flew Business class, which meant each person has their own small cubicle with a seat that reclined flat into a bed. Suzette and I sat in adjoining seats in the middle, a Honeymoon suite, with a sliding partition, so we could talk to each other. I started the flight with an obligatory glass of champagne and orange juice.
Suzette watched the Devil Wears Prada 2 and I watched, It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley, a documentary on Jeff Buckley’s short but brilliant life and career.
I reminded of Saturday mornings during college making love to Tim Buckley and at the end Jeff’s amazing cover of Leonard Cohen’s great song “Hallelujah “.
Then dinner was served. Suzette ordered the Burrata salad and chicken. I ordered the Cream of Tomato soup served with a vinaigrette eggplant and cucumber salad and a roll, chicken with vegetables (haricot vert, carrots, and English peas [of course] on a bed of lovely mashed potatoes to which I added a cube of butter that enriched the potatoes into a sauce for the sautéed floured chicken breast. I finally ordered a light scotch with the pistachio souffle covered in a thick layer of chocolate sauce for dessert. I drank champagne with dinner. This was the best airplane food I have eaten in years.
Suzette sleot like log, but I spent a rather restless night, until the last hour or two of the flight, choosing to sleep instead of breakfast, although I found lying flat much better than sitting in a tight row of economy fare chairs, which I hope never to do again on a trans-Atlantic flight.
We arrived at Heathrow in a cool drizzle. Welcome to England. After we cleared Customs, took the transit train to Terminal 3, obtained a boarding pass, and re-checked our luggage for Marseilles we looked for a place for breakfasts and on one side of the large waiting room for a restaurant that served breakfast. Soon I saw the Curator that served Coffee and Breakfast. We were shown to a table for two and both ordered glasses of fresh squeezed orange juice, finally it felt like we were back in Europe. Suzette ordered a latte and I ordered a cup of Earl Grey tea. Suzette ordered Bubble and Squeak (a sautéed mashed potato cake garnished with wilted spinach, two poached eggs and covered with hollandaise sauce but no cabbage). I ordered Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon on two pieces of thick toast covered with a large slice of smoked salmon two poached eggs some hollandaise sauce and several fresh pea sprouts. The dishes were almost indistinguishable.
We both loved our dishes. Perhaps the best airport ever.
The gate was not assigned until 1:50 for our 2:40 flight, so we waited in the large lounge and began reading Lost Horses for book club. In the large lounge filled with hundreds from all over the world I imagined there were several MI 5 agents among the crowd watching several of the more unseemly Russians or Poles.
At 1:45 we boarded the British Airways for Marseilles, this time in a tight seat in economy, but that did not phase me because I stretched my legs out under the front of Suzette’s middle seat and went to sleep. I awakened as we flew across the Rhone River, In the distance we could see the Carmague. We were in Provence.
Around 4:00 we landed in the sunshine in Marseilles. We picked up the rental car, a Simca SUV, and drove for 2 1/2 hours through the labyrinth of tunnels through Marseilles in 5:00 traffic bumper to bumper until well east of Marseilles where the traffic finally flowed at 70 MPH (110 kmph).
We arrived at the Villa in Sanaray Sur Mer at 7:00 and the assistant property manager, Anna, arrived around 7:15. She showed us around the villa that stretches about 200 to 300 feet along the top of the hillside above the Mediterranean, I do not know the history of the property but it sits on the highest point on the hill overlooking the ocean with a tower built into it, so it might be quite old.
Thank goodness it was fully renovated inside.
Needless to say it has magnificent views of the bay and surrounding countryside. Picture perfect is not too strong a word.
It took a while to examine the whole villa with its three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two patios, and move the car into the garage. At 8:00 I asked Anna to drive us to the Bard’ O restaurant she recommended for dinner. It was not very far by car. She walked us to the stairs where it was located down the hillside but above the Plage de Portissol (beach), where there were lots of people swimming.
Even though it was 8:15 the restaurant was already 1/2 full. Perhaps the French have started eating earlier than their traditional 9:00 p.m.
Bard O is a large restaurant with large indoor and outdoor dining areas. We took a table outside and studied the menu and wine list and watched the sunset and Venus rise in the night sky in the west.
When we ordered I asked the waitress, who spoke English, which Bandol rose she recommended AMD she suggested the cheapest one, Loup for 25€?
I soon decided to order the Prix fixe three course menu with a regional appetizer called something like Manza that is really a carpaccio and tomato salad with lovely heirloom tomatoes, lettuce, pinon nuts, cheese slices, and cucumbers, on a bed of thinly sliced raw beef. We loved it.
Suzette ordered Burrata salad served with strawberries, pinon nuts, and an assortment of heirloom tomato chunks.
I now looked like there will be lots of burrata cheese and heirloom tomatoes eaten on this trip.
My entree of sautéed floured Loup (sea bass) was served with her burrata salad. It was laid on a pile of green mashed potatoes on one side of the platter and lightly sautéed spinach and the filet garnished with tiny squares of carrot and cucumber.
I was rather full after the fish entree but would think of passing on dessert of chocolate mousse. I was happy I ordered it. It was perfect, dense, dark chocolate suspended in a rich incredibly creamy mousse. Although it was about 1 1/2 cups in a glass we ate it all.
When we paid for dinner (97€) I asked the waitress to call a cab. Instead she said, “Follow me” and we followed out of the restaurant her up the stairs to a parking lot and she said to get into her car and she drove us back to the Villa.
I gave her a US $20 dollar bill. One good deed deserves another.
We fell into bed and asleep immediately.
Bon Appetit
