Villefranche-sur-Mer and Institut du Français, France

Checking out a sculpture by Volti in Villefranch-sur-Mer at Fort Saint Elme 

We searched far and wide, high and low, thinking we could find a mooring for our 128 foot peniche for this coming winter.  The South of France is beautiful, but apparently not meant for our size boat.  The places we liked were full, and the spaces we found (except for one) we didn't feel would be safe if we wanted to leave Rabelo for a while.  It was fun exploring but we were on to our next adventure:  

We arrived at Institut de Français in Villefranche-sur-Mer.  A boot camp for those wanting to learn French.  Or as they put it, an intensive French course that runs for 8 1/2 hours a day, 5 days a week for 4 weeks.   The Institut was founded in 1969 and they run an impressive program.  This was possibly the most difficult thing we have ever done.  The first day English was spoken in order for us to understand what the next 4 weeks would entail.  From then on we could speak only French.  Having once been fluent in Spanish that's what kept coming out of my mouth.  The teachers were patient and we all got a good laugh on a regular basis over my French/Spanish.  For those of you who know me, you can imagine my frustration at breakfast, lunch, and break time when other students (more advanced) were chatting away with each other and I couldn't say more than hello and how are you.

The view looking out over the bay to Cape Ferrat.

This gives you an idea of how the town of Villefranche-sur-Mer is built.

We managed to get up early one morning for a walk before school. The sunrise was lovely.

The garden and view from the school are breathtaking.

Another view of the bay.  We never got tired of looking out at the scenery.

 The school understands that all work and no play will burn us out.  Knowing that they are located in a beautiful area they arranged field trips and dinners which allowed us to see some of the local sights as well as meet  fellow students besides those in our class.  The first outing after class was a boat ride from Villefranche-sur-Mer to Monaco and back along the coast.

A view of the fortified walls of Villefranche-sur-Mer from the water.

The picturesque town of Villefranche-sur-Mer.

It was a perfect afternoon for a boat ride.

Monaco has some very large yachts.

Tom is always happy on the water and viewing yachts.  Monaco is behind him.  

 Our next field trip was a walking tour of Villefranche-sur-Mer on a Saturday morning.  Included in the tour was Fort Saint Elme which houses the artwork of their local artist Volti.

An old canon.  Rosiers de la Resistance et de la Deportation

The town is painted in traditional mediterranean colors.

One of my favorite sculptures by Volti.

Volti had different styles.

The work of Volti is well respected.

Chapelle de Saint Pierre des Pecheurs

This was originally a street.  When the new walls were built to protect the city the homes lost their view.  Arches were built over the street and homes then constructed above the old street.  Each arch is unique as different people built their own arches.

We had a nice hike from our apartment up to Fort du Mont Alban.  We couldn't go inside but we could at least walk around the exterior and admire the view.

Fort du Mont Alban

View of the bay from Fort du Mont Alban

Another angle of Fort du Mont Alban

The teachers and staff at Institut du Français are all impressive, hard working, entertaining, extremely patient and most importantly excellent teachers.  The fact that I was almost in tears at the end of the day after our lab work was not an indication of their lack of effort, but rather my being slow at grasping/memorizing/understanding all those verbs.  My one complaint are the chair/desk we had to sit on all day.  For me it was painful.  Tom thought they were meant for children.  A treat when the weather permitted, was holding class in the garden.