St Tropez and Le Pneu

Wednesday 26 July

Dire warnings of traffic so we were on the road early for the 2 hour drive to St Tropez.  We took the southern route which has some motorway but there is no bypass around the naval port of Toulon and even at 9 am it is not fun to negotiate.  Neither does it look to be a particularly charming city although there are signs that the centre is undergoing a substantial rejuvenation.  Anyway, beyond Toulon and past Hyeres it was slow going - single lane and busy and then the road through to Cogolin is hilly and windy.  Eventually we reached the peninsula road which leads around the Golfe de St Tropez  to the town itself which is at the end.  Although there was much congestion at Port Cogolin the final part of the journey was relatively easy and we had no difficulty securing a car park  - the car park at Le Port is gigantic and has lovely views across the gulf.  The harbour side of St Tropez was full of people - mostly gawping at the obscenely huge yachts which are moored there.  It is strange to see the people on board being served food and drinks by their crew only metres from the tourists passing by - we felt as though we were watching the monkeys at the zoo at feeding time - no I am definitely not envious!

Le Port - St Tropez

After this somewhat vulgar display of wealth (some people have no taste haha) we wandered through the back streets of St Tropez - tiny narrow streets with tall shuttered houses in shades of pink, beige and terracotta.  This part of town is charming and not nearly so crowded.

Colours of the Mediterranean - St Tropez

 Eventually we arrived at the Place des Lices where a boules competition was attracting a large crowd.  The lovely plane trees in  the square give very welcome shade.   We sat at a street café and had breakfast - OJ, coffee and mouth-wateringly light and flaky croissants.  Yum!  Checked out a few shops - either tacky or horrendously expensive and then it was back to the car and off to the beach.

Jess and Mel - St Tropez

 The famous beaches of Pampelonne are on the other side of the peninsula from St Tropez but only a short drive away.  We found a car park right at the beach and then did a double take as we looked at the view in front of us.  The sand is golden but quite coarse, the sea is sapphire blue and anchored just off shore were dozens of seriously enormous white "yachts" - not the kind with sails.  The scene was almost surreal. 

Pampelonne Beach

 Of course the beach was littered with brown bodies and there were plenty of people swimming.  We walked along the beach,( the water is divine), and checked out all the swanky beach clubs.  Anyone can reserve a beach bed at the clubs and have access to waiters, cool drinks and meals all day - it costs around 80 euros for the day.  There are also public spaces where one can sit for free and there are bars and restaurants too.  Jess was keen to be a beach bunny for a few hours so Maree, Mel and I left her to the sun and sand and drove a few kilometres to the  pretty hillside town of Ramatuelle which has great views over the vineyards and forests and out to Pampelonne Bay.

View from Ramatuelle to Pampelonne Bay

  We found a nice restaurant with great views, ate lunch there and then strolled through the medieval town centre before returning to the beach to collect Jess who had enjoyed her afternoon by the sea but didn't come across Brigitte Bardot or Johnny Depp.  Behind high walls along the beaches are beautiful gardens and villas - we saw a few advertised in the real estate window - you need about 12 million euros for a  decent pad here.  Excessive traffic and crowds are free!  (I shouldn't be so cynical).

Ramatuelle

 It was not too bad getting away from the St Trop area around 4 pm but I was not keen on driving through Toulon again and chose an alternate route - over some mountainous terrain behind Port Grimaud to the A8 autoroute - the main road to Nice and Italy.  We had only just hit the autoroute when poufffff!  There went a tyre. Le pneu etait kaput!  Luckily we were close to a rest area and an intercom system from which we could phone for assistance from the highway patrol. Half an hour later a nice man with a tow truck arrived - could speak some English which was useful - and without further ado he loaded our car onto the back of his truck with Jess and me inside.  Maree and Mel got to ride in the cab with him. 


View from a tow truck - A8 near Brignoles

We sailed along the autoroute for about 20 km - birdseye view of the countryside - and finally arrived in a largish town called Brignoles.  In no time at all ( but needing some specialised tools) the mechanics had the spare on and the office girl had extracted 148 euros from me (glad to pay it!).  Luckily it was a full size wheel as we still had an hour to drive.  We got home safely and phoned our landlord for some advice on purchasing a new tyre before we leave Cassis on Saturday.  So we have the name and address of Patrick who is a local garage owner - we will call on him tomorrow.  Happy to polish off a bottle of our Burgundy chardonnay tonight and happy not to have the problems of the BMW owner whose totally demolished car arrived at the highway patrol garage while we were there.  Will be even happier when I have a new spare pneu.