A Year in Villefranche sur Mer - Moving to France

  Day 1726 (Monday) 28 th February 2022 It was lovely and sunny again this morning and while Huw did a check-in at the apartment I did a 2-hour Zoom lesson with Eduard and Olga while Badger had a nice snooze on his pillow on top of the wardrobe. I was really pleased to see a tourist boat in the bay and soon heard that it was the usual ‘jamais plus jamais’ guide. Spring has arrived! The guide does his speel in French and English and he says the same thing every day and has done so since we moved here three years ago (and I’m sure he did every day before that) is referring to the James Bond film ‘never say never’ with Sean Connery and Kim Bassinger.  This is Sean Connery standing in Parking Wilson. Of all the glorious films that have been made in this area that surely was the worst one. Why not mention the hilarious ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels’ instead?  Here are Michael Caine and Steve Martin walking along the seafront near the Welcome Hotel Michael Caine sitting opposite Parking Wilson 

  Day 1725 (Sunday) 27 th February 2022 Shock horror is was quite cold this morning so Badger and I stayed in bed to keep warm while Huw did some pottering around the flat. The most expensive wine in the world I am reading yet another Peter Mayle book, this one is called ‘The Vintage Caper’ and it said that Château d'Yquem is the most expensive wines in the world so I Googled it and found this article which was written in 2017… In 2011, a bottle of Château d'Yquem 1811, a ridiculously old vintage from one of the world's most celebrated wineries, sold for a white-wine record of $117,000—the equivalent of two Alfa Romeos or a down payment for a half million dollar home. The buyer, Christian Vanneque, was not a billionaire financier or oil magnate, but a French sommelier in Indonesia. Vanneque said he planned to drink it on the 50 th anniversary of his career in wine. Yquems, which are Sauternes, sweet wines from Bordeaux, are known for their exceptional longevity. This we