I had gladly stayed longer at the anchorage outside Villefranche, it ís such a nice area with lots of opportunities for things to see and do, but I have to start moving towards Fiumicino, so I don´t miss the flight to Sweden and my son's wedding. Saturday looked like a good chance for crossing the Ligurian sea, but after ten miles or so from land, it didn´t look that good any more. I had counted with 24 - 30 hours but at five o'clock there was no wind at all. I stopped and laid drifting for almost an hour to wait for the Windy update, but after seeing it I was not much wiser. It seemed like it was a difficult situation to forecast. I had no desire to go for the engine for hours, nor listen to flapping sails, so I decided to go back to the French coast. I opted for Menton, a nice city I have returned to several times. This was the first time with boat. though. It was not a ripple on the sea when I came close, so I dropped the anchor just outside the old port.

The day after I took a berth in the marina, mostly because I wanted to apply for a place for the winter there. I figured it wouldn't look so good if came in the dinghy to do that.

Menton was one of the birthplaces for modern tourism, it was a favourite spot for the English aristocracy for wintering. Queen Victoria spent at least one winter there, I think I read somewhere. Some very fashionable villas and hotels bear witness about this time. Nowadays it is much more low key, the super rich crowd have found other places to flash their wealth. Not one super yacht to see.

And in the real estate brokers windows I could see the prices were surprisingly low.

I spent the afternoon and the early evening strolling around, mostly in the old town where the streets are so steep and narrow so there are no place for cars. Not even for wheel chairs in most places, since many of the streets are stairs.