Anything that floats or flies, do not buy it; rent it. A little financial wisdom from a friend of mine. Even better, surround yourself with friends that own boats and jets. I have to confess it has a little something special about it; friends with an apartment in Cannes.

Considering I’m still working on my wish list, I’ll just add; it would be very nice if those friends were to befriend my old friends. Those who have always held a place in my heart, but as it sometimes goes in life, that you’ve lost contact with.

And so it goes. We type in Croiset Cannes into the in board computer, filled the tank (the Espace is more than economical. For €60 we can deliciously cover kilometer after kilometer) and went up to our apartment. With the 5 of us we decided that sleeping at our friends place was pushing it a bit too far, but hooking up on the beach proved a perfect idea.

Friend W. was ready at the private parking lot of their complex. He gave some admiring and approving eyes to our car, and indicated to the beach. In addition to his own wonderful family, was my dear old girlfriend, O. In ‘my time’ she was very single. But now had a husband and children.

There was rosé, there were Popsicles, I did fishtail braids in the girls hair, we dived and played in inflated tyre tubes and ate until the mountains across the bay were covered in a grey haze and our glasses were grimy and empty.

The following day I tapped into my inner Martha Stewart. The apartment had a decent washing machine and the mountain, labeled ‘dirty’ was becoming unavoidable. After a few loads, some serious decisions had to be made: shopping or beach? I chose the beach, but from my deckchair managed to grab a salesman by the short hairs. He had the cutest dresses. I haggle him down a tenner and was very pleased. Then we jumped into Carine and she purred all the way to the Juan les Pins fair. This beauty of a car has revealed yet another trick! You can set the airco in the front of the car cooler, keeping the driver fresh and alert, while the temperature in the back is a bit warmer for the comfort of those who want to take a nap.

Cannes was great, but the road trip calls. Time to move on to Bordeaux where my friend and her husband run a B & B. That’s another addition to the list; friends with a B & B. Now, I just need to find someone with that jet.

Anything that floats or flies, don’t buy; rent. One of the wise financial lessons from Jort Kelder. Even better is to ensure friends with a little boat and a jet. I would like to add something to that. Friends with an apartment in Cannes.

And if I’m already working on my wish list, it would be really nice if those friends became friends with your old friends. Those people who have always traveled in your heart, but with whom you, as it goes in life, have lost contact.

And so it happened. We entered the Croiset of Cannes into the board computer, filled the tank (economical, our Espace, for €60 we could enjoy kilometers again) and went to our apartment. Sleeping at the friends was a bit much with our invasion of five, but hooking up on the beach turned out to be a perfect idea.

Friend W. was already ready at the private parking of their complex, threw some admiring and approving glances at our car, and led us to the beach. There was, besides his own lovely family, my old girlfriend O. In ‘my time’ still very single. Now with a husband and children.

There was rosé, there were ice pops, I made fishtail braids in the girls' hair, we dived in inflatable tubes and we ate until the mountains across the bay were grey-black and the glasses were grimy and empty.

The next day I had to unleash my inner Martha Stewart. The apartment had a nice washing machine and the mountain labeled ‘dirty’ was too big. After the washing session we would shop or go to the beach. I chose the beach and grabbed a seller by his arms from my deck chair. He had the cutest dresses. Haggled down a tenner and I was pleased. Then our Carine purred us to a fair in Juan les Pins where I discovered another trick. You can turn off the air conditioning in the back so that you as a driver are nice and fresh and alert while they can sleep in a more comfortable temperature in the back.

It was good in Cannes, but the road trip calls. On to Bordeaux where my friend and her husband run a B & B. Because that should also be on the list; friends with a B & B. Now just that jet.