Yesterday was very much a day when we drooled at the mouth.
We moved from Nice to Cavalaire-sur-mer stopping off at Cannes on the way.
Given the time we were there and it being a Sunday morning it was a surprise to see the town rather crowded however when we saw 3 cruise liners in the harbour that gave the answer.
Mrs GPS gave us a laugh today as when we arrived in Cannes she sent us into a car park on the wharf and calmly told us to “board the ferry” – it was all I could do to stop throwing her into the tide.
There were numerous large yachts in the harbour basin which made our Auckland viaduct look one sick puppy.
We didn’t do any tourist spots in Cannes but just strolled around the waterside area before continuing on to Cavalaire.
Mrs GPS had us leaving the motorway quite quickly into the 90km trip and took us through some delightful seaside towns however if only she had realised it was a Sunday and in the height of the French summer and school holidays we perhaps may have travelled at a reasonable speed rather than a stop start crawl for some kilometres – no for many kilometres.
Found the accommodation and then back in the car to return some 19kms to St Tropez – now this was an eye opener.
A lovely old town dominated by a harbour basin housing yachts up to super yacht size and it was a hive of activity with these large vessels coming into berth in front of crowds of people standing there watching.
These yachts ooze wealth beyond belief!
We saw at least 4 vessels manoeuvre their way into the basin and tie up and looking out into the bay there was a constant stream of them coming in for the night.
Also off shore was another cruise liner so that was another 1000 or so people in the town along with the thousands of other.
We took a walk up behind the town to the Citadel of Saint Tropez which has overlooked the town for 400 years. It was in a relatively poor state of repair and is undergoing slow renovation however the site gave superb views out to sea and also across the roofs of St Tropez and neighbouring areas.
After watching another yacht berth we got in the car to return home - nearly got in the wrong one -but alas so had hundreds of other tourists and so we endured a slow crawl most of the way back to Cavalaire-sur-Mer arriving here at around 8pm and then walking down to the village for dinner.
And that is another 30 degree day in the can (or is it “in the Cannes”).
As a matter of interest Google the following names of yachts to see who owns them:
- · Wedge Too
- · Glaze
- · Diane
- · Wedge Three
- · Yalla
- · Aqualibrium
- · Party Girl
- · China
It is something we are going to do when we have a good internet connection.
A word about Hotel Villa Provencale in Cavalaire-Sur-Mer - quaint & tastefully presented villa in French country style but room half the size of a normal bedroom, no air-conditioning, toilet so small you can barely fit in it, breakfast almost non-existent, internet pathetic and host not overly friendly.
Today we moved on to Marseille stopping at Toulon for morning tea only to find that Toulon (& I suspect the majority of France) closed for a public holiday.
Got coffee at old reliable McDonald's only they didn't have any milk!
Toulon particularly at the harbourside was very pleasant and picturesque but the camera was still in the car!
Marseille looks a dirty city though we have only had a quick look while we waited to be able to check-in - more of Marseille tomorrow.
Not much luck over the last couple of days what with the traffic yesterday, Hotel Villa Provencale not quite being up to standard and today the lifts at our hotel in Marseille not working and we are up 7 storeys.
Text from home suggests that you are suffering in bitterly cold weather, snow even, and we sympathise.
More tomorrow.
Au revoir mon amies
