Janny and I love the water. We love being in it, on it and overlooking it. It is calm and peace and at the same time, an overload of all your senses. You see it of course, but you also hear it, smell it, touch it and yes, taste it, whether it be the fresh water of a lake or that sweet salty taste of our oceans and seas.

There is no choice when getting a hotel room if offered the option of water or other view. It costs more, yes, but to us, it is so worth it. We have both always dreamed of having a place overlooking water. And Janny and I, even though we are at times “ying and yang” have always agreed that where we ever to be lucky enough to have such a place, we would want to be close to it, as opposed to high above the water looking down on it. The better to have your senses take it all in.

During the summer of 2021 while attending an engagement party in a vineyard near the seaside town of Bandol, we stayed overnight in a little hotel which we had been to one or two times prior. It is nothing fancy, but sits no more than say 25 metres from the water’s edge and up a hill, itself no more than 15 metres or so above the sea.

Bandol happens to be one of our favourite little towns outside of Marseille. It has always been a favourite for Janny and it was the first place that she ever took me after we reconnected 15 years ago. Like many seaside towns, it once was a fishing port that is now a pleasure craft port, but still with a few fishers mind you. The town is home to about 8,000 permanent residents and the main street by the sea is lined with shops and restos (Note – the better restos are a block or two behind the sea). Bandol is also the name of the wine appellation, which is famous for the roses that it produces. And just up the road is the hilltop walled town of Le Castellet and Circuit Paul Ricard (being he of Ricard pastis fame), home of the French Grand Prix.

During the intervening years, we would come to Bandol often on day trips, touring the market and then pulling out of our car the beach gear for the afternoon (that is a whole other story. See https://yyztomrs.com/mrs/see-you-on-the-beach/ ). It had become a favourite place of ours to bring guests as well.

As for the town itself, there are at least three boulangeries, a number of cafes, a few small supermarkets, and a pharmacy (closed of course from noon to 200 pm for lunch), There is a theatre and a year round arts program, and music festivals are a common occurrence. There is a daily fresh food market (no fish on Mondays as I found out mind you) and every Tuesday there is a traditional market set up along the sea. Every night during the summer, there is as well a market of crafts and brick a brack as well. It is not as sophisticated as Sanary, the larger next town to the east, but it has sand beaches right in the town that Sanary does not have. That was important to us.

And the best part – it is only 45 minutes by car from our home in Marseille! It is also a good bicycle ride door to door as well, should my eyeball issue ever let me bike again.

And so during that engagement party weekend last year, as we often do, we picked up a real estate book on a walk home from dinner and flipped through it. What we saw where a few listings for apartments in a brand new little condo development that had been built really right parallel to our hotel. We had noticed the sleek white tiered buildings as we drove in the prior day and as we sat at the beach right in front of it. There were a few units on offer and with a bit of a “why not” attitude we called the agent and later that day went to see one of the units. Really it was not for us. Yes there was a “sea view” but only if you sat in one place in the living room and kricked your neck all the way to the right. If we were going to get a place by the sea, we agreed we really did want to be able to see the sea.

Dejected, we wandered next door to our hotel along the sea and it was then that Janny looked up and saw a “a Vendre” sign in the window of what was the top apartment within the complex. Well, Janny wasted no time in calling the number and the next day we walked all of 20 metres from our hotel to the road side door of the apartment to meet the agent. We were led into the unit, which had never been lived in and the agent opened the electric shutters to let in the light. As the shutters went up, Janny and I stood there in amazement as the sea and the mountains forming the other side of the crescent shaped bay came into view. It was breathtaking and our jaws dropped as we looked at one another and then the view and then one another again.

Suffice it to say, we were able to negotiate terms and earlier this year, we had our “shack by the sea”. Janny worked hard all winter and spring arranging the work that needed to be done and buying all that we needed. Our garage in Marseille became a warehouse as things from appliances to TVs to beds were all delivered. Valentine, the only person ever to have done work on our house in France worked his magic along with his very able mentee, Jes. They did such great work.

In July, the work completed, we loaded up our SUV with more gear and off we went for move in day. We pulled up, went inside and I looked around at our completed apartment in disbelief as this time Janny put up the electric shutters. Again, the sea and mountains filled the view and I stood there with tears in my eyes. While yes, it is still just a “thing” a life long dream was being fulfilled. “Thank you, Janny”, I said followed by “Thank you, Stikeman Elliott.”, in homage to what made it possible.

We have only been there three weeks now, and we are finding our routine. To wake up to the view, to sleep to the sound of gentle waves hitting the beach, it is our “Fortress of Solitude”. Not every day is a beach day. But when it is, sometimes we go to the private beach and sometime the public beach. It was so hot this past July that our favourite time to go to the beach was after 700 pm or so, with a cold bottle of Bandol rose, of course. I have met our local poissonnier, and I know where to get the International New York Times. We now know the aisles of the local supermarket, which is just the right size, and we have our favourite restos in both Bandol and Sanaray.

We are looking forward now to seeing the seasons change out our window and hearing the roar of an angry sea. When in the south of France, come to Bandol. Enjoy the town and the sea. But don’t tell anyone. We don’t want to spoil it!