Monaco, a fantasy wedding, Keith is naked again

For several reasons I have been a bad blogger. First off we are having an obscene amount of fun and we often do not get back to our room until well after midnight and we are not as spry as we once were. Then there is food and drink, too much of both. Wi fi has been a big of an issue too. But mainly I have been way too lazy to blog. When I have a little down time a nap always seems to win. I will attempt to catch y'all up on the highlights. 

July 5th we went to Monaco. It was just like I imagined it..elegant, French, and it smelled like money, it dripped in extreme wealth. We spent much of the day at the Palace area. We took a tour, walked through the gardens, the usual stuff one does in Monaco. The yachts were spectacular, mini cruise ships really. My only complaint was that there was not enough about Princess Grace. I mean really she was the best thing about that family. There was a cheesy portrait and that was about it. I was kind of pissed if you want the truth. They did not deserve her. We were traveling with my brother Paul and Nada going through a very long tunnel and in front of us was this electric blue Ferrari and we were very excited to see it and as we came out of the tunnel there was another Ferrari passing the blue one. All of a sudden they seemed to be everywhere. It was wild. Later that day we went to lunch in Nice where I enjoyed mussels and fries. Very garlicky, oceany, and good. As Keith has been saying "the food here is going to ruin us for back home". It is true, things taste better here. 

The main event was July 6th the wedding of Delphine and my Nephew Jared. I have been to

Many weddings and all are special this one was very memorable. The ceremony was in a Catholic Church a block from our hotel.  The guests were evenly divided about half French and half American.  The ceremony was mostly in French as the priest was French. Once the deed was done we took open air shuttle buses to the reception. We passed massive mansions, some owned by wealthy Russians, others by Arab sheiks, and one once owned by Ms Elizabeth Taylor. The reception was at a hotel / restaurant on the water. The attached pier was set up with a bar for us, I enjoyed many glasses of champagne , appetizers were served and everyone was happy. It was very international. I spoke with Italians, French, Germans, Slavs, and a Russian. The reception itself was held a few feet from this exquisite beach. The first course was the most extravagant buffet . There was crab, oysters, sushi, scallops, prosciutto, prawns, several salamis and marinated veggies, it went on forever and if was s top notch. I would have been very happy with just that but later we were served filets of beef in a chantral mushroom  cream sauce. Heaven. We danced all night to great music. At one point I went to the ladies room, came back, looked for Keith on the dance floor but he wasn't there. I saw a crowd gathering on the beach and everyone was pointing towards the sea. I was informed that Keith had gotten naked and was going for a swim. He was also doing back flips and hand stands. His white white bum glowed like the moon herself. Later in the evening he convinced others to join him. The groom Jared said    his uncle Keith started a revolution . It was a great night, one few will forget.

After another day relaxing, eating, and swimming in Antibes we bid adieu and headed  for Montpellier. It was a beautiful  drive through Provence about 200 miles. It was like dream. Very green fertile land, lots of vineyards, dotted with country estates and an occasional castle. Just what you would think it would look like. I could not believe we were there. We kept looking at each other with our " can you believe this" faces. We know we are lucky, we really do. We wish everyone could have this experience. We stopped for a bite along the way, took our time and arrived at our hotel in the early evening. We got very lost finding our hotel. Very friggin lost. But we made it. Our hotel was charming and we had a nice suite. It was an old French building with high ceilings with some years on it but elegant and a touch opulent. Keith likes that. It was in the historic district and we could walk everywhere we wanted to go. Montpellier has the oldest medical school in the world and numerous universities. It is the most culturally diverse place in France we have visited this far and a bit gritty. I liked it a lot. We went to dinner at a place recommended by the hotel . Les Baines de Montpellier was located in what was a city bath In the 17th century. The dining occurs in a lovely outdoor setting. I had fish, Keith filet of beef. It was so pleasant there, mostly locals and very relaxed. I ended with the tastiest strawberries with Chantilly   cream. 

 This morning we headed for Toulouse about 180 miles west. Mid way there we stopped at a Carcosanne, an awesome midevil, roman rampart( castle)  Keith discovered that the origin of the word loophole comes from the ventricle slits in the castle walls where the archers placed their arrows to fend off attackers. In any case it was some castle, like a fairy tale. We took a tour, shopped a bit, and had a great lunch. I had a salad with duck, goat cheese and fruit which was refreshing and deeply pleasurable. This region is known for duck for good reason. It was succulent and perfect with the fruit. Keith had a huge caprese salad that was very good too.  We are now in Toulouse finishing dinner. While I'm blogging Keith is talking to other diners, making friends everywhere. There are no strangers when Keith is around. It is only 9:45 still light out and we are headed back to our room with our gelatos, the earliest evening of the trip so far. Usually we don't sit down to eat till 10.  Tomorrow Biarritz..I love you Mom. Peace out

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