I have traveled to Antibes in the dead of winter, cocooned in a scarf, turned-up collar, and mittens and watched the waves pounding the sea wall from a window in the Picasso Museum.

I have luxuriated on Antibes’ beaches at the height of the summer season and not even minded the jellyfish sting or two. The lifeguards are well-prepared with a special balm for tourists who do not heed the warnings.

I  will never tire of walking its narrow streets and lingering for an hour or two in the Picasso Museum. And this jewel on the Mediterranean was always within easy travel reach whether my home away from home was in a camping site near Cannes (2006) or a medieval Logis in Les Arcs (2004), or a luxury hotel in Eze (2005).

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