St. Tropez, France

Happy Tuesday from Saint Tropez, France!!!
Well……..that was a WOW! Super small, very charming, nice people, fabulous shops, wonderful restaurants, lots of artists painting the scene….and it’s all sitting right on the Mediterranean Sea!

As soon as we tendered to shore…the “big yacht envy” began! Huge yachts line up in the port rivaling to see which is the biggest, the prettiest, the best kept, or has the snappiest crew! It’s quite a sight to see! Then, they sit on the back of their boats all day and watch people!!! One woman finally climbed down to shop a bit. It was fun to watch the “crew” of one yacht getting lunch ready & setting tables for the owners. You’ll see in our pictures that these are true “adult” water toys!


Every day has been such a visual feast for our eyes that we often times have to come home and just process what we’ve seen that day! Today was another glorious weather day….73 and sunny! Can’t say enough times how fortunate we’ve been on this trip with weather!
Let’s see……about Saint Tropez: It is an International tourist mecca that is famous for her beaches, her celebrity sightings, her Pastis (drinks), her “Tropeziennes sandals, her art! Saint Tropez became “St. Trop” when the show business people, artists and writers fell under her spell in the 1950’s. With the arrival of Brigitte Bardot in the 60’s…the myth of this great resort town was sealed! Since then, St. Tropez has become the “in” vacation spot for chic Parisians and the international Jet Set. People watching is a favorite sport here in the summer. Visitors like to sit at the outdoor cafes hoping to either be seen or to see some one else.


Saint Tropez can be appreciated in the off months…when it’s size is roughly 3200 people. In the summer months, St. Trop swells to 32,000 people!!! We were told that if given the choice…..come here in May, June or September…without the huge crowds.

First thing this morning – we found an olive oil shop that WOULD ship to the USA. Yay! Darling little shop with very kind people there.


Then, we headed to the center of this extremely small fishing village and found the local market. This has become our favorite thing to do wherever we go!!! Wait until you see the photos of the olive market booth or the guy making fresh paella for you to go.... or the cheese vendors, the meat vendors, the fish vendor, the flower vendors and bread vendors! SO COOL!


Then, there’s also clothing, fabric, hats, belts, etc….and on and on!





We did climb up to the highest point of the village where the Citadel of St. Tropez is located. It was built in 1602 as a tower of defense for the hill of mills. It is characteristic of the 16th and 17th century fortifications of the Mediterranean coast. It includes: the moat, the cannons, the inner courtyard, etc…
We had lunch at a famous brasserie…..Le Gorille. Love, love, love the narrow streets and the even more narrow alley-ways. This is a photographers paradise!!!


One of the coolest discoveries we made was of a very old fisherman’s cemetery while strolling along the sea. It was just outside of the main town area. We have pictures to show the serene beauty of the place and the differences in burial customs. Best part was that the deceased get the BEST VIEW IN TOWN!!!! The cemetery sits RIGHT ON THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA!!!


Stu and I found a small oil painting here for our home. There are many artists painting the local scene here and it’s fun to watch them work on these pieces as you stroll by!
Each day we leave about 9 a.m. and get back to the ship around 6 or 7 p.m.. Tonight, we will not go down for dinner. Instead, we will relax and eat in our room and take in a movie tonight. Ahhhhhhh!
Thanks for following along on our adventure! Merci beau coup!