Most days started with a trip to the bakery.

One morning The Idiot sent a thank you photo to a group of dog-walking women who sent him some baked munchies at the crack of dawn.

The Idiot ate a croissant aux amandes (almond croissant) almost every mornings that he was on the French Riviera. He’d heard it was an essential part of the Mediterranean diet.

The Idiot spent at least an hour each morning having coffee with friends in cafés, like Chez Felix in Antibes where author Graham Greene hung out a few decades ago. He was amazed to learn on this trip that his friend Mira Rocca, who looks 50, just turned 80. Time flies.

The Idiot gets the latest Riviera gossip from Ludivine “Stevie” Reck during mid-morning drinks in Antibes before a guided visit to 16th century Fort Carré. (Photo: Sonia Stratte-McClure)

The Idiot often shopped for cheese in the Antibes market before it closed at noon.

It was a daily joy choosing a restaurant, like this one in the perched village of Gourdon, for lunch on the French Riviera.

Despite all the chatter about the healthy Mediterranean diet, it doesn’t take long to learn that people in France still eat French fries for lunch. The Idiot was the only one at lunch in Saint-Paul-de-Venice who didn’t order French fries.

One of The Idiot’s guests had a beef carpaccio for lunch at the Café Latin in Valbonne on the French Riviera.

The Idiot Thai’d one on at lunch in Valbonne on the French Riviera.

The Idiot had Oeufs à la Neige for a luncheon dessert at the Café Latin in Valbonne, where he lived from 1984-2004.

Enjoying a lunch with Craig Harvey at the Yacht Club in Monaco. (Photo: Valerie Guillérmin)

The Idiot ate up  one of his daughter Sonia’s mozzarella salad concoctions at her home in Antibes when he arrived after a 20-hour trip from California.

The Idiot spent at least an hour each afternoon having a drink with friends in cafés like Key West in Antibes. Elisa Brainos, his favorite French sculptress (the Idiot is a long-time collector and Elisa’s doing a new piece for his garden in California) enjoys an Idiot-recommended detox cocktail (think lemon water, cayenne pepper and ginger) for the first time after a day at her gallery near the Picasso Museum.

The Idiot’s favorite drink in France, since he gave up booze in 1985, is a Perrier menthe.

It is a daily joy choosing a restaurant, like this one on the Mediterranean seaside in Cannes, for dinner on the French Riviera.

Preparing to sit down for dinner with Roy Kirkdorffer and his family in Saint-Laurent-du-Var. (Photo: Sonia Stratte-McClure)

The Idiot eats an oyster to kick off a seaside dinner in Antibes. (Photo: Sonia Stratte-McClure)

Although the post-pandemic service can be erratic, French-cooked Mediterranean fish is still delectable. (Photo: Sonia Stratte-McClure)

The Idiot has a simple mozzarella,  prosciutto and tomato salad for one dinner on the French Riviera.

The Idiot had a strawberry soup for dessert after one dinner on the French Riviera.

A piece of wall art in Antibes illustrates that the French appreciation of food begins at a young age.