A week in St Tropez

Saturday 7 September 2013 - Friday 13 September 2013

It's all been quite quiet since Josie and Paul went home but we have managed to settle back into our old routines here in St Tropez. We absolutely love it, and feel quite at home spending time walking the narrow cobble-stone streets of the town or going for walks along the coast paths or cycling the local roads. 

The weather has changed slightly in that when we arrived it was very hot even at night, but on Sunday we had a downpour of rain and then the wind picked up. It only rained the once in the morning but the wind plagued us for about 4 days. Eventually, it blew itself out but the nights are now cooler (and so is the sea) than they were and the mornings and nights are getting very much darker. It's a sure sign sadly that winter is on its way. Apparently it can be quite cold here in the winter, we were talking to a British girl in one of the shops about it. From what she was saying most of the town closes once the cold weather arrives and visitors stop coming. It must be just like St Ives, a place that reverts back to a normal fishing village in the winter.

Usually when we leave the campsite we turn right and head for the beach, but on Sunday after the rain subsided we decided to go for a walk. Instead of going to the right we turned left and followed the narrow bamboo lined country road for a good couple of miles. We passed large gated estates with beautiful gardens. Around the properties signs advertise impressive surveillance equipment presumably to keep unwanted visitors away. We carried on until we reached the sea and a very nice silver beach. It is normally a very popular beach but not today. We now had two choices, first we could head back the way we came or secondly we could walk along the coastal path back to our beach and back to the campsite. We opted for the latter and set off with gusto.

The walk was long and at times hard work, especially, as we were reaching the end. We were tired and really underestimated how far it would be and how much climbing up rocks and across sandy beaches there would be. But, we would not have missed it for all the world. It was spectacular, fantastic wide blue skies and brilliant sunshine made the sea a beautiful blue interspersed with little white horses on the waves caused by the wind. We climbed craggy inlets and passed some of the most lovely houses perched on hilltops overlooking private beaches and jetties. It was quite wild as well and I am sure in the winter it sees more than its share of storms.

On the way back to our beach along the coastal path and literally just around the corner from the site the path takes a sudden detour around a very exclusive block of high tec modern apartments which were too fantastic to describe, suffice to say they even had a jet-ski suspended on a hoist for the use of the residents. A short distance away the track passes another older house called La Madrague. This unassuming house has a wall around it and a door in wall painted in royal blue. At the main entrance the gate was open and you could see down the winding somewhat overgrown drive to the small Mercedes parked in front of the house. By the side of the gate was a white painted concrete bowl filed with water and above it was a small mosaic of a poodle and sign saying 'Toutop's Bar'. It's the home of Brigitte Bardot. We didn't see her but she lives so close to us we are ever hopeful our paths might cross. Her pictures are all over St Tropez in all sorts of styles from Andy Warhol to rather beautiful photographs. It is said it is because of Brigitte Bardot and a film she made in the 50's called 'God Created Woman' that St Tropez was transformed from a quaint fishing village to the 'must be seen' place for the glitterarmy. She didn't do too badly out of it either!

Another lovely day we have had was to get the free bus in to St Tropez and systematically walk around every street in the centre of the town. Again this involved quite a lot of walking it was really worth the effort as we found streets and shops we had no idea existed. The first shop we came across was one specialising in Panama hats. The lady assistant was from Australia and we had a delightful chat with her. She had to get up at 5am every morning to get the ferry from Ste-Maxime to St Tropez not getting back home via the same route till 20.00. The shop was lovely and had some really nice fine hand woven Panamas from Cuba. I didn't ask the price as it didn't seem worth the effort but they were very desirable.

The harbour area is of course bristling with beautiful big and expensive super yachts. Now you either love them or hate them. Personally, they have lost their edge for me. I thing this is because when I first came to St Tropez with my best friend Keith Sadler 35 years ago the boats were smaller yet owned by one person who used it solely for their own enjoyment. Yes it was all a bit show-offy, especially when you have a helicopter on board. But it was all good fun, they liked to be watched and we liked to watch. These days things are different, these boats are so big and expensive they have to earn their keep and they are rented out at huge cost to those who can't afford to buy one of their own but, still want the kudos and lifestyle. (Is that snobbery?) All the big boats are registered in the BVA  George Town as a tax fiddle. One was called M.Y Alibi, nuff said. Still each to their own, they live in their world and we live in ours. Secretly I can't wait for them all to be kicked out of the harbour at the end of the month for Les Voiles and the classic yachts. Bring em on.

It is our habit in St Tropez to buy our lunch from the local bakery, usually, a baguette. We then get our cheese from the supermarket then go down to one of three places we have earmarked as cool, shaded and with good views. We can decided which one based on where we are when the hunger kicks in. The last place we ate was on the quay side on the opposite side to the harbour wall. There is a large cylindrical stone built building with a stone bench circumventing the bottom. We sat in the shade tearing of chunks of bread and cheese whilst watching the gin palaces going in and out. It is always a treat to see the 'Riva' motor boats too. Parked on the quay side was a big F1 power boat which was of course called 'Cigarette' Why? I don't know they're all called that....

We have decided that we are now officially beach bums. We like it on the beach, it is usually hot and sunny and we can go for a swim in the sea. Petra can read her Kindle and I can slowly baste myself on both sides whilst I people watch. So we decided to get ourselves sorted with the right gear for the task. First, we got ourselves two nice new beach bags (his and hers) then we got two sets of swim wear each, one for swimming in and one for sunbathing in. professionals would NEVER swim and then lie down all wet on the new cotton beach mats, Noooo. Finally, we now have two sets of snorkel and masks. We haven't gone as far as the flippers yet, but I am sure it is only a matter of time till we do.

So that's it we love it, we sunbathe and we swim together chasing the fish around the shore line in between the reed beds. We have seen some lovely colourful fish and some shoals of smaller fish. They don't seem to mind us at all. Looking around under the water though, you can see why it is so difficult for anglers to hook a fish as it can be quite difficult to find them.

Today, we cycled into St. Tropez, its only 4km and not at all difficult to do. Thankfully there is as much up hill climbing as there is down, so you have plenty of time to recover. We needed some food shopping. I stood guard over the 'Brompton Twins' whilst Petra went into the shop. As I stood outside the shop I watched the madness that is St.Tropez in the morning. There is basically only one very busy road into the town from the south and inside the town is a succession of narrow streets and a one way system that sends people on a circuit that requires you to go round it at least three times before you finally get your bearings. Just to throw more confusion into the fray, police cars and ambulances rush in forcing people to bounce their Bentley and Jaguar convertibles up the curb. One thing that really made me titter, was an elderly man who pulled up to the pedestrian crossing on his moped, (its opposite the supermarket) with an articulated lorry right behind him. He parked it not only on the road causing said lorry to swerve into the path of a rather dolly looking lady in her topless Mini but, actually on the crossing itself. He didn't care and, nobody else seemed to be bothered either. Petra eventually came out with the shopping and we loaded it in the Brompton bags and set off on our way, just another part of the mayhem.

So that's it another week gone and only one more week until our friends Greta and Luc arrive. Time is really moving on.....Must dash, got to go and do some sunbathing before its too late.