Last Tuesday was interesting for me because my hubby had to go to Marseilles to do a simulator. He’s a Search and Rescue helicopter pilot and has to be prepared for many different kinds of emergencies. As for me, like every year, except for last year due to the pandemic, I always go to Saint Tropez for presenting a private event organized by the international and prestigious boat company RIVA, which of course is always an honour. My husband thought it would be nice to spend the week in France together so he found a hotel in Aix-en-Provence, which allowed us to visit different locations and be together as much as possible between jobs.
I was already at the airport when I was informed that my flight had overbooking and I was put into standby. I decided to breathe deeply and start thinking about how to proceed if I couldn’t get on the plane. Having alternative plans and finding them quickly, in my experience, is what makes you move forward. Remaining angry and paralyzed are attitudes that really don’t help at all, so why go down that road! To make a (very) long story short, the staff ultimately informed me that I had a seat and... YES, I finally got on the plane and we arrived in Marseilles safe and sound! I had a well-deserved long shower and truly slept like a baby that night, then woke up full of beans and excited about the RIVA Event and being in France with my hubby.
One day we visited Cassis, a lovely village on the French Riviera. Victor was being funny all the time saying the French had “stolen” our persianes mallorquines (Mallorcan shutters). They were everywhere and he was pointing them out every time, which was hilarious for me but I told him maybe it wasn’t a good idea to tell the French that or be so adamant about it out loud! After a nice walk around the village and the Cassis port we went to eat out and ordered some local wine to go with their well-known dish called rillettes.
Rillettes is a sort of pâté and this one interestingly enough was made of sardines. Hon and I really enjoyed it and part of the fun for us is always going as local as possible! This restaurant in Cassis was called “Bonaparte”, a name which my hubby also found exhilarating. I personally loved the fact we were the only non-French sitting on the terrace! The staff and food were lovely and I was congratulated again on my French. As good as it gets!
That’s the sort of linguistic approval I needed for presenting the RIVA Event in English, Italian and French! I always thrive on finding opportunities for practising my languages, but this becomes specially important when I have to do it on stage in front of quite a crowd. I love communicating, entertaining, interacting and the feedback I receive instantly... Magic occurs on stage with a crowd! Getting out of my comfort zone on a regular basis gets my adrenaline high and makes me feel truly euphoric.
The first time I worked for RIVA was actually at Es Baluard here in Mallorca in 2010, I think, and that was before my documentary Mallorca is not Magalluf (and Magalluf is not Punta Ballena). I’ve been fortunate enough to repeat this wonderful experience every year with them, lately in Saint Tropez, and it’s always a pleasure. Having said that, I did remind the organisation how wonderful it was in Mallorca the first time and how much I would love them to choose us again! No offence to Saint Tropez but Mallorca really has it all, especially the high level of the hotel and restaurant offer.
Please don’t get me wrong because France is really a beautiful country and all the French Riviera, Côte d’Azur, is truly stunning. However, the more I travel, including staying at good hotels, wining, dining and living certain experiences, the more I appreciate Mallorca, its beautiful villages, nature, culture, architecture, local products, wine, hotels, gastronomy... Let’s hope we get to learn how to sell ourselves as well as the French sell their Riviera… or do we need a Mallorcan Brigitte Bardot?