Blogs from Saint-Tropez, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, Europe

What do you think of when you think of St Tropez? Bardot the French former actress who portrayed sexually emancipated characters with an hedonistic lifestyle? A sex symbol of the 1950's and 1960's. Do you think of a tacky seaside town that has lost its glamour or is the home to some very glitzy superyachts ?. The super rich who overwinter in the warm climate ? Or is it Roger Vadim the man who married Bardot when she was 18? Does St Tropez make you think of a hippy lifestyle ? A busy place making the most of itself or a sad pastiche of a past long gone . In the sunny climate of the Cote D'Azur it is a magnet to be sure . The temperature over the last few days had crept up from ... read more

Everyone knows that song, ‘Do you know the Way to St-Tropez’. Well at least that is the way that that song made famous by Dionne Warwick in 1968,has been going through our heads since we put St-Tropez onto our must visit list for the BBA V3.And today is the day we make to St-Tropez and not San Jose as the song title is really about. We said our thank you’s and goodbyes to Thomas, one of our host’s (Chantal must have been at work) and headed off towards Arles to get us on the right track to the Cote d’Azure. We hoped that Gina had plotted a path that would take us around Marseille, which is a large and busy city with a substantial amount of industry and a large seaport which would probably mean significant ... read more

August 17, 2014 Last I wrote (besides reflections on Lyon) we were on the road to Marseilles with a visit to Orange planned. Our travels have provided us with a challenge on every little jaunt and a constant changing plan. The constants have been Lyon and Marseille and will continue to be Normandy and Paris/Versailles, but within that our plans seem to be every changing. Some is due to those challenges I alluded to and part due to what we find when we arrive somewhere. As we headed to Marseille we were excited to have our first glimpse of the Mediterranean and to swim in the “crystal clear blue” waters of the Mediterranean. The drive was beautiful – wide open farmland, herds of the beautiful white French cattle (Charolaise), remains of huge castles high up on ... read more

A bit of a lie in this morning, by accident, we didn’t really stir until the school across the road from the site could be heard! We didn’t feel the need to rush as our first stop of the day was just over 8km away. Carrieres de Lumieres had easy signs to follow and we found ourselves in striking limestone scenery. Woolly says – it was so different to the views we had experienced before it was stunning. Parking up opposite the quarries, Ian opted to stay with Oliver, I was tempted but letting Jo out on her own is never a good idea. Tucked up tightly into her hoodie we paid our 9.50 Euros (approximately £8.10 GBP), a little steep but this was something that promised to be a little different. Different didn’t describe it ... read more

Oh, St. Tropez... Well, there's being drunk and there's being in a whirlpool of drunken debotury. We were in the latter. We arrived with our little yellow mini in hand and set off for a beach weekend with friends. Looking back, we should have known where this was going, but the sun, fun, and french sucked us in. We arrived in Sainte-Maxime in the early afternoon. After locating our hotel, we decided to locate Rob's parents house. This never happened. We drove around the same street about 20 times, before throwing in the towel, and agreeing that yes, Rob's PH was impossible to find. The next day we set off to Nikki Beach in St. Tropez. I'm not even sure how to describe what transpired over the next few hours. Basically, St. Tropez is where people ... read more