We woke to the sound of another loud thunderstorm. Since it was raining, I decided to drive the car down to the Boulangerie to get our breakfast supplies. This was also the second time I wore long pants on our month away. With the muggy day, we stayed in and sorted out things ready to pack as it was our last day here. After lunch, the maid came in to make up the room and we decided it was time to leave now it was brightening up.
We walked along the main street of the village. It turned out to be a good day to explore the shops since most are closed on Monday and those that were open on Monday were closed for lunch. They seemed to be mostly real estate agents with price ranging from €1 million to €3 million. On the way back we stopped at Carrefour to buy a couple of bottles of wine to bring home.
In the evening, we went into the old town of Mougins for our final meal. We wandered around for a while checking menus and finding a table. Several restaurants were fully booked or only had tables indoors. Eventually, we found a suitable restaurant where we ordered the set meal and Paul just wanted fries since he couldn’t find anything he was familiar with. My set meal started with onion pie with maceral, followed by veal stew and creme brulee which was very filling. After dinner, we walked off the big meal and then drove back to the resort to pack.
As I look back on our time in Europe, I can contrast the experience with life in Canada. On the positive side:
- I really enjoyed fresh baguettes each day from the boulangerie
- Everyone brings reusable bags so there are no plastic bags
- Prices are rounded to the nearest Euro and include tax so prices are predictable and there is less need to find change
- There are smaller independent stores and very few American franchises
- Most people speak English which did not use to be the case
- There is a very good reliable and economic transit system such that a car really was unnecessary
- People drive smaller economical cars
On the negative side I did not like:
- Congestion driving on the road
- Difficulty parking and very little free parking space
- The toll roads
- A lot of things such as eating out seem expensive
- Paying to use the toilet
- Most outings include a lot of walking
- My own mistake not getting the CDW which was a source of anxiety
Chris's Wanderings 