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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 warm to extremely warm.
I was not sure what I was going to make of it .I guess like all things I had an open mind . I had no idea what to expect . We had driven past St Tropez on many occasions .. The closest stop at nearby Port Grimaud . We could see St Tropez in
the distance but it had no pull for us at the time . I guess now had we been in Gabby with all the traffic and people we would have passed on by.
Glenn had been to St Tropez once before . In 1977 so things were very different then to now. I think we both wondered how it had fared since 1977. Would it be better than we expected . Worse even as the years had taken their toll . Perhaps sometimes you give something a low expectation and you are proved wrong. The place is better than expected . Sometimes it is hyped up and you are disappointed . What was St Tropez going to be like ? Was it worth the hastle of the drive south ? . Virtually three days of driving since we left home . Would it deliver ? Glenn had not been to the castle before as it may well have been closed to the public in 1977. He said the whole of St Tropez seemed less impressive in 1977 . With older eyes perhaps he appreciated it differently now . We were about to see and the verdict be
given.
Our first task was to get there . This part of the coastline is extremely busy and clogged with cars . It is a no go area for motorhomes . We had seen enough signs yesterday forbidding motorhomes to park up. We had driven by in the past without stopping . Today was no different to any other down here . Having fallen into conversation with the owner of the property and their handy man mate we came to the conclusion that travelling round would be a nightmare even at this early point in the season . So instead of driving we chose to travel in by bus . There are not many buses to St Tropez from Cogolin . Around 9.00 there a few then a bit of a gap . We decided on the 9.23 bus which should take 20 minutes to travel between the Rond Point du Kock in the town into the gare in St Tropez . The walk from the house is gruelling at this time of year with the heat . Downhill but much further than we anticipated . Even with the joy of Google EArth the town seems further
than we thought it was . Would we pick this house again for a stay ? Probably not . With hindsight it is a lovely property but like many things you don't always get what you see . Perhaps Glenns memories of St Tropez were like that . He did not enjoy it that much I wondered if he would enjoy it today .
The bus was a little late arriving . One was in as we arrived but just as we tried to get on it the driver closed the door and ignored us . The school bus turned up and took away a large number of screaming teenagers . Teenagers no different to any other part of the world . The inspector was on hand waiting for the bus . He kept checking his watch and his phone . Eventually it turned up at 9.30 and we all piled on the minibus . The fare was 2 euros 50 each and was valid for one hour and thirty minutes of travel . That was perhaps something we should have checked on before coming home . Coming home was going to be more problematic than going
. The bus was not full as the bus station had rapidly cleared when the previous bus came in. We were on a mini bus which seemed an excellent idea for this part of the world .
We set off after the inspector had checked all our tickets despite seeing us buying them off the driver . We were to see him again on our return journey as he joined our bus again on the way home . He just counted us on the bus the second time rather than check our tickets .
Our first stop was just outside Cogolin Port at the Rond point de Foux. . Port Cogolin never used to exist . Latched on to Port Grimaud they almost were the same thing . Lately though it had achieved its own identity . We had thought to drop down to the marina at Port Cogolin but with the horrific traffic that idea went out of the window pretty quickly . After the debacle of trying to park in St Maxime we had quickly realised that was not going to be a good area for driving the car . The back roads
were narrow and felt too narrow for anything more than a horse and cart or one car . Each time we turned a bend we would meet a cyclist or a car coming the other way . We worried about the car mirrors being damaged . That is not good for your health . Would we come this way again ? Never we both said .
. Stop and start all the way from rond point to rond point. We were extremely glad not to be in Gabby nor in the car . We crawled for mile after mile until we reached the outskirts of St Tropez. The sea was to our left and we started to see boats plying their trade in the blue water just off the Gulf of St Tropez . Boats heading for St Maxime and back . We had thought to do that today but times just did not work . The bus station was on the Avenue Charles De Gaulle. We climbed off and headed into town. The sun was beaming down on us by now and the houses shone in the bright sunlight . Superyachts were parked up like cars with
the minions on board completing their daily cleaning chores . The town was bustling and extremely busy . Not the sort of place we liked. We headed out of the town towards the sea hoping to get away from the crowds and the wall to wall heat . You can always find some peace if you head out of the centre. Tacky shops lined the way selling anything from holiday tat to beach balls and the like . Cafes were full to the brim whilst others were empty. The staff were laying the tables with pretty napkins, cutlery and shiny glasses all ready for the lunch onslaught . The toilets were 50 cents to use . And all along the harbour we were attacked by women selling tickets for boat trips to some place or other . No beggars to be seen though nor rough sleepers . Are they not tolerated in St Tropez?
St Tropez began its life as a military stronghold with a massive castle defending it . A castle we intended to visit as it housed a maritime museum . Something a little different and not to everyones taste . St Tropez was also
a fishing village until the beginning of the 20th century . It has the distinction of being the first town on this coast liberated during World War 2. After the war it became an internationally known seaside resort building its reputation on the influx of artists in the cinema and in music . A home to the jet set and tourists .
Our first stop as always was a backstreet cafe for a coffee and to get our bearings . We walked through the citadell walls and the yellow and orange painted shops and houses with their red tiled roof . The colours only served to increase the feeling of warmth . Despite being on a back street we paid more for our coffees here than anywhere else I could remember . I would have argued we were paying for the view but we could not see the sea from the cafe seats . Dogs and cats roamed the streets .
The walk up to the fortifications was gruelling in the heat . The citadel stood above the town and gave stunning views across the Gulf or down into the town . The church
stood out painted in orange and white . The citadel was constructed in by the kings engineer Raymond de Bonnefons who had been given the job of fortifying Provence . For 400 years it has towered over the town . Typical of the 16th and 17th centuries it was as good a coastal defence as any. With its defensive high walls and massive doors it would have been easy to defend . It cost us 4 euros each to enter the defensive walls . White and colourful peacocks roamed the gardens . Although perhaps gardens were the wrong choice of word to describe the wild areas . Full of natural grasses and wild flowers and very little else . Henry the King was concerned about the Spanish hence his new defence system. It lost its strategic importance once cannon balls were no longer a war weapon . On the first clear area inside was the water supply and a large number of cannon . Also sculpture modern artworks . Part of a seasonal exhibition . These were dotted around the mound the citadel stood upon . All were impressive and large scale . As the museum was 10 years old
the town had commissioned a complete collection of works by the artist Nicholas Laverenne . Never heard of him to be fair but then why would we ? It seems his art works are displayed all over the world . The are large , naked and hung up either across and between structures even trees or left to hang from poles . They are athletic and quite compelling . Even though we don't like modern art these were somewhat different and caught your attention . Some figures were fighting . Another hung between two trees as if sleeping in a hammock strung between the trees . Many were on the lower walls looking out to sea. One in the keep was a frightening looking figure . Strung up with arms spread out . He looked almost crucified . The exposition was running all year to celebrate ten years since the museum opened . For once I actually felt quite privileged to see this exhibition . I could not believe I was even thinking that let alone saying it .
Inside the citadel had been set out as the towns maritime museum . It was a massive space
curling ever upwards until we reached the terrace on the top where modern sailing and sponge and coral diving were highlighted . Each room held a different period of sailing with parts of ships and everything maritime . From models of sailing boats to boat equipment everything was set out clearly and described in both English and French . We saw guns, scrimshaw, opium den equipment and diving suits . Ships in bottles and surgeons boxes of implements . We both agreed in each room that it was one of the best museums we had been in for a while . We had the place to ourselves as well which was a godsend as it gave us time to stop and look at the intricate fishing nets and the captains logs . We could look at everything in our own time .
Back outside it was almost lunchtime and we had one more place to stop off at . After a long walk downhill we found ourselves back in the warren on streets that made up the quiet old fashioned side of St Tropez . I thought the church was closed until we found one large green
wooden door open. The Italiante baroque style church with its yellow lower parts and orange belltower is dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption . It can be seen from most points in the town . The church and the belltower were built in 1784 when it replaced what probably what was a much nicer 16th century church which had become unstable , That building had replaced an 11th century construction . It was fairly quiet inside and welcomingly cool . . The walls painted cream, a few stained glass windows with most windows clear letting in the light . A very dark oak baroque altar and side chapels and massive pulpit . It was a pretty church from the distance but not that inspiring close up Nor was it really an interesting one . Statues , carvings and stations of the cross covered the walls . We lit a candle as we always do . And we sat for a while just to enjoy the cool . Not many came in . A few stopped at the bust of St Tropez . The idea here is to venerate the bust of St Tropez. A gaudy looking affair with a
bejewelled costume crown and a red sash is brought out every year during the Bravades celebrations . Beneath it was the story of the saint . A boat which was rotten , a headless corpse of St Tropez , a dog and a cock. All washed up in St Tropez and venerated ever since .
We found a small back street cafe with neat and pretty tables outside in the blazing sun and a few inside in the shade . We ordered a pizza and two plates , a bottle of coke and one of lemonade and two Tiramisu . The pizza had been carefully cut in half and divided between us . The Tiramisu a little sweet but service was excellent although the food a little pricey . St Tropez prices .
We timed it wrong coming home . We had missed the direct bus to Cogolin at 12.30. We had no idea that the next bus was not going to leave St Tropez until 2.45. We had a rather long wait so walked back into town hunting out a taxi . We found the stand with only one taxi . A seven
seater affair whose driver was propping up the ice cream counter and in deep conversation with his friend the owner . I caught his eye and enquired "Combien Cogolin ?" His reply caught me out . I had expected a price rise with the cost of fuel but 60 euros for a 20 minute ride made me think he was either expecting me to turn up with seven passengers or that was the going rate . We were never going to pay that so headed back to the bus station . There is no cover at the bus station and only one double sided seat so we caught the next bus that took us to the Rond Point du Foux. I paid my 5 euros and we headed for the Casino supermarket for some shade and had a coffee at Cafe Paul . After purchasing a cake to take home and a baguette for tea we headed back for the 2.55 to Cogolin which still left us with a long walk home uphill in the hot afternoon sun. We paid a further 5 euros which we needed not to pay as our first ticket was still valid for another quarter
of an hour of travel . We were just glad to get home .
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
I guess there is no low or shoulder season anymore...
I guess we were blessed to be able to visit the world before tourists jam packed everywhere.