France 45 Port Grimaud and the lovely naked ladies

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After our events in Cagnes we headed a little way along the Cote D’Azur with the intention of spending a few days at Port Grimaud. We had found a possible campsite Prairies de la Mer which was ACSI. When we arrived we were ushered into a holding area and told to go to reception. Reception advised us to go and find a plot and come back with the number. The site itself was huge and easy to get lost around. Vans were packed in to every possible space and even the plot we found was hemmed in to the front, back and both sides. Not really the type of site we liked. Far too busy and rather noisy. Our plot was number 3275 which tells you a little about the site size. The plots were quite large but very sandy. There was supermarket on site and we were in need of replacement stock so the first job was a visit to a Carefour. My first stop was rather nice bakery stall where I stocked up on pane, croissants and a flan filled with custard and raisons. We found a well stocked cheese counter and a good vegetable, fruit and salad stall. We bought ham and cooked chickens and crème brulee deserts. Wine followed as did fruit juice and ice cream. At last back to decent breakfasts and a few good meals through the day. Eating like a king again.

We also invested in olive oil to oil the O ring on the toilet cassette so hopefully that should open and close more silently and smoothly. On site Kathrein would not work which was a shame and WiFi cost 12 euros which was a tad too expensive for us so we gave it a miss. Some nights the cost is just too much.

We spent the rest of the day cleaning the van, brushing the carpets, cleaning bird marks from the body work and cleaning the loo. How nice it is when everything smells fresh and is cleanish again.

Felt a bit better today my virus have finally bitten the dust and has gone. At least now I have stopped coughing. The sun, the weather and the rest have done me the world of good. Continuing reading my Poldark series on Kindle and heard today about the review on the Hillsborough disaster. At last vindication for the supporters. This has taken a long time coming and is well overdue.

Walked to Port Grimaud and to the beach just outside the campsite. The beach was heaving with some beautiful young things and some pretty awful old bodies bared in the sun. We saw one topless lady who must have been in her 60’s. Not a pretty sight. Everywhere was heaving and it was noisy so we headed along the beach to the quieter old port. This was more of a fishermans village with pretty painted houses which looked similar to Burano in Italy although not on the same scale. The harbour was tiny and very clean. Earlier on in the season the beach area must have covered with the most pretty mauve succulent plants which had by now gone over. Boats left the harbour to visit neighbouring villages and one went to St Tropez at a cost of 11 euros return. Had we liked the site we might have stayed another day and gone over to St Tropez but we had made our minds to move on tomorrow and find somewhere quieter.

This is a nice coast and the weather is good. The sea azure blue and the sky also. The Gulf of St Tropez is beautiful. And if you are happy on busy campsites then it is possible to spend a week dipping in to the little towns and villages along the coast or to go to the more commercialised Monaco, Antibes, Menton and Nice. The last time himself had been here was in 1977 the year Virginia Wade won Wimbledon and it was the Queens first Jubilee her 25^th. It was much quieter then.

The night was busy and noisy with police cars or ambulances with sirens going loudly. Port Grimaud must be a lawless place or a place where many people are ill.

Still what have we enjoyed – the weather for a start which has been better now than it was in May, the bread which is always fabulous. Tesco can make nice baguettes but they still don’t match what we buy here. Italian San Carlo crisps, quite different to Walkers at home, cups of coffee both expresso and capaccino and cream caramel or tiramisu ice cream. Gnocci with olive oil and tomatoes – I don’t want to go home and that is only a week and a half away.

Our next stop is to Cassis which will be a long drive and no guarantee that there will be plots available. It is not an ACSI sight so we hope it wont be too expensive. We feel it may be between 18 and 20 euros. We hope Kathrein will work as it is Moto GP from Misano and we need to watch it and have a few catch up days. Driving does get hard going and sometimes it is nice to find a lovely site, do nothing and just waste time. If Cassis works we plan to go to Marseilles and Toulon by train. Another reason for picking the site is that it is within walking distance of both the small town of Cassis and also the Gare. We don’t expect much of Marseilles so hopefully it will surprise us.

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Photos

Port Grimaud
Perhaps being fully clothed is a must at a certain age :)