Oops…we almost missed it!

Antibes beach

Antibes is simply astonishing and oops, we’d almost missed it while driving from Nice to Cannes. Frankly speaking, we must have done poor research of our route as we had not even registered Antibes as a place to check out along the way. Therefore, discovering every corner of the town by walking through its web-like lanes was a delightful surprise.

We felt like children eagerly opening heaps of presents, one by one, showing each other what we had found, what we had seen, touched and felt.

Shopping musical trinkets at Antibes

Located along the French Riviera, Antibes is an old town believed to have been inhabited since more than 2000 years ago. The town with its old rampart walls, narrow sloping lanes and impossible curbs is ideal for walking, although some confident drivers do zip around flamboyantly. Small shops selling antiques and trinkets sit cozily next to museums interspersed with residential quarters belonging to the locals and hotels for outsiders, seamlessly blending commerce, art and society. The white sandy beaches and the blue Mediterranean Sea along the Antibes look picture perfect. We made our way to the Picasso museum (Picasso is believed to have stayed here!) albeit a little late as the museum was closed. We sat in the square, bought some trinkets and tried to absorb the vibrancy of the old town before we got back on our scheduled route plan. Moral of the story: (1) poor research is sometimes good-that’s the only way you can see the unexpected; (2) happily deviate-sometimes it can actually make you forget your planned destination; (3) Remember and be thankful about such small surprises along the way-they keep you hopeful throughout the journey.