Bonjour. I’m going to try not to write too much today. My heart is a bit heavy anyway – it’s our last day here in Villefranche-sur-Mer. It’s our last full day here in France. Tonight we will pack and organise ourselves for the trip home.

But that’s a few hours away yet. And here I am in one of the most wonderful places in the world, I’m sure. Villefranche-sur-Mer. “Sur mer” translates as “on (the) sea”, and it certainly is that. Sitting in all it’s glory in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region on the French Riviera, I think it really is worthy of being described as a jewel. It pretty much has it all. Sweet cobbled streets wind up between high, warmly-coloured houses, intriguing doorways boast fanciful doornobs and windows are framed with storybook shutters. Bursts of red geraniums and purple bougainvillea add to the soft pinky aura that seems to appear as the afternoon moves into evening. There are just enough shops, patisseries and eateries and the crystal-clear sea is wonderful to both be in and gaze upon.

We arrived here after spending three weeks travelling from Paris, southwards through central-eastern France and have had six full days of basking in its beauty. This last part of our time in France has been made all the richer by the company of four very precious friends. I’m not going to say anything more about them at this point as I don’t have any tissues handy, and I’d probably get all teary and snotty.

Our last day here has been a wonderful one, with a slow start for us all and time spent simply taking in the sparkling views from our terrace. The guys eventually ventured out for a walk, while the gals found new flavours of gelato and made sure there were no shops left unseen. We met up for a late lunch, spent some time shopping for dinner and then had one last swim in the magnificent Mediterranean sea.

I hope these photos will give you a taste of the jewel that is Villefranche-sur-Mer.

Bonne nuit ma chère Villefranche-sur-Mer.
Bonne nuit ma chère France.