Chronicle #18: The moments that stay

**There is what we plan.

And then there is what stays.**

We plan our holidays.
We note down addresses.
We think about the photos we will take.

And then, without warning,
they are never the ones that stay.

They are usually very small things.

A silence at just the right moment.
The scent of pine trees at the end of the day.
A light that suddenly falls exactly where it should.

Nothing spectacular.
Nothing worth telling stories about.
And yet.

No one scheduled them.

They appear between two ideas.
Between two steps.
When we stop checking the time.
When we stop checking our phone altogether.

That is when they settle in.

In Antibes, they like to walk barefoot.

A useless detour.
A perfectly placed bench.
A cat crossing the scene without asking anyone’s permission.
The sea you hear before you see it.

And that precise moment when you think:
“Well… this is nice.”

They ask for nothing.

No planning.
No explanation.
No particular effort.

They come when you loosen your grip a little.
When you stop trying so hard to make the most of it.

We do not always photograph them.

Sometimes we forget.
Sometimes we do not dare.
Sometimes we know it would be pointless.

So we keep them somewhere else.

They are the ones that come back later.

Not the visits.
Not the lists we ticked off.
But that exact laugh.
That strange feeling of calm.
That moment that did not even have a name.

Those are the moments that stay.

Not the biggest ones.
Not the most impressive ones.
But the truest ones.

— Nathalie and Pierre

About La Jabotte

La Jabotte is a small boutique hotel hidden just 60 meters from the sea.
A secret garden, a peaceful atmosphere, and a slower rhythm — a place where evenings feel softer, quieter, and a little outside of time.