It’s still early morning when I arrive in Villefranche-sur-Mer.
The air is fresh, infused with the promise of a beautiful day ahead. I walk through the streets from the station, passing pastel-colored facades. The shutters are still closed, as if refusing to let go of the night.
I observe life unfolding before me at this early hour. A woman sweeps her sidewalk, a brown spotted cat stretches out on a wall. From an open window comes the sound of pans clanking together; someone is already preparing lunch there, and from another window I smell freshly brewed coffee.
I breathe deeply. Here, between the sea and the mountains, everything seems to slow down, as if time itself pauses for a moment to observe and truly be in the moment.
In another street, laundry hangs out to dry, white sheets swaying in the rhythm of the sea breeze. I walk down the steps to the boulevard, where the view unfolds like a postcard I used to send to relatives. The sea, a full three shades of blue, the fishing boats bobbing in the bay. A man in a straw hat and linen shirt fluttering in the sea breeze passes me by and greets me, “bonjour madame,” and I feel completely at home. I stand still, absorbing the breathtaking view, looking, feeling, and thinking of nothing.
A long time later, after enjoying a breakfast of a baguette with jam, fruit, and coffee on a terrace, I dip my feet in the sea and look around. People are enjoying the sun and the playfulness of the beach. A child laughs, a woman turns the page of her book, an older man gazes thoughtfully at the horizon.
Perhaps this is true joie de vivre: the ability to not want to change anything for a moment. To watch life unfold naturally, no rush, no plan. Just the sea, the smell of sunscreen, and the thought that joie de vivre is the art of letting a small moment shine.
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Darina Nykl is an avid writer and is currently writing a book about the south of France. Since she was twelve years old, she has written stories and her first book, “The Night that Changed her Life” appeared in 2009 following her participation in a writing competition. A book of the same name is being published this year by an American publisher. She also writes articles for the newsletter Hans in Provence.
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