After two weeks at the Pink Palace in southern France, I’m burnt to a crisp, relaxed as hell and paradise is starting to become a bore.

Yup. I said it: boring. Don’t get me wrong I am having much fun and recommend this little gem between Cannes and Nice, which are only fifteen miles apart, to anyone who wants to see the Cote d’Azur a.k.a the French Riviera.

But how many times can one go to the beach, the marche or the bar?



During the day, there’s not much else to do here except shopping and eating both of which I do sparingly. Otherwise, I break up my sunbathing by looking for work in the morning, eating a cheap lunch then I hit the beach.

There is no bigger industry here than yachting. There are yachts of all sizes but everyone clamors to work on the super yachts. You know, the ones owned by either Saudi Princes, oil millionaires or Paul Allen of Microsoft.



This guy actually owns three super yachts. His fleet resembles the family of bears in the children’s fairy tale. There is Meduse which at about 200 feet is the baby, Tatoosh is around 250 feet and there’s an even bigger one I have yet to see.



Antibes is crawling with ‘yachties’ in between jobs or those of us who are new and trying to break in. Why work on a yacht? Well, there’s the low overhead because you live on the boat rent free. Then there are all the places you get to visit — again for free — as the boat travels and most of all, the salaries are quite high — for the work — ranging from $2,500 to $5,000 monthly. That doesn’t seem like much when you have bills to pay but most of these ‘yachties’ don’t have ties to apartments or other bills associated with land-based living. Another plus, if employed by a European boat, you get paid in Euros valued about 25 percent higher than the U.S. Dollar.

So, I’ve decided to try being a sous chef on a yacht for the rest of the season. There are a couple of boats going to Fiji, some to the Caribbean and some are here in the Med. If I do get on one, I’ll stack my cash and resume my European tour after the season. Sounds good, eh?

Antibes has a big port with lots of yachts floating in and out. At the same time, every person with any boating experience is down here. So there’s lots of competition for the work. Job markets seem to be the same everywhere.

But yachting seems to ignore the other "employer don'ts" that would bring suit against a corporation in the States. For example, ageism, racism and all around discrimination based on one's looks and weight are totally acceptable and expected here. One boat was known to only want to employ blondes.

The industry attracts nationals with natural boating experience. Mostly, I’ve met Australians, South Africans, New Zealanders and Britons. However, there is a little bit of everybody including another American who is a mixed Puerto Rican but she’s from Boston instead of New York (a Red Sox fan!) and her combination includes Cuban instead of African American.

Jessica and I have had quite a time around town.



The Pink Palace (the hostel where we are currently staying) is clean, cheap and has a spectacular view. But it’s far from town. A tiny network of buses exists and acts as public transportation but it’s completely limited and can’t be relied upon. The last bus goes to town around 7:30 p.m. That’s too early for any respectable woman to head out, so we put shoe leather to the pavement for the 45 minute walk to town.

This weekend we really didn’t feel like walking. Next thing I know, Jess was using a finger to ask for a ride. Hearing my mother’s voice in my head, I completely ignored it.

Crime may be non-existent but paradise isn’t without its issues. As if they were following the Pied Piper, some rats have made their way to the beach. If that's the only problem, I can deal with it.

Be it by boat or by plane, I’m leaving the Riviera on Monday. I hope to get a job as a chef on a boat so I can experience things beyond Europe. If my ship doesn’t come in, there’s nothing lost and I’ll be on my way to Berlin.