July 21 - Saint-Tropez, France

Partly cloudy, 26 degrees, breezy, humid

It’s amazing what a good night’s sleep can do for you! We put some background noise on the iPad speaker going and either that drowned out the partying neighbors or they were quiet last night…either way…solid!

ship on the right, tender on the left

Today we are anchored off the coast of St. Tropez. Apparently, this is the playground of the rich and famous – didn’t see any of those, but the yachts certainly suggest someone with a bit of cash is here somewhere. I’m not sure our boat is the biggest in the bay…there are some enormous yachts here. Because we are anchored, we tender to shore, the ride is only about 10 minutes and we are off on a morning tour of Port Grimaud and Grimaud.

First we visit a quiet, medieval village

Kowalski gallery

of Grimaud, basically at the top of the Maures Mountains. It is quite a hike to the top where a castle is perched. The surrounding remains of the castle is in ruins, but some of it is restored. The views are pretty spectacular. It’s obvious why the castle would have been built there…views of the entire area are clear.

soap on a stick

Our second stop is Port Grimaud - a small town built in the early 1960s as a system of canals and islands, kind of like Venice, but tiny. Apparently, the houses must be a different colour from their neighbors, so there’s lots of colour. We take a 20-minute boat ride through the canals – this is a whole different vantage point to see the giant yachts. The houses all have canal access and are apparently the most expensive in the area because of this. There are some enormous boats squeezed (back side in!) into areas that don’t even seem to be able to have enough room for them at all.

We decide to have lunch here…pizza, calamari and a bottle of wine. One of the most interesting parts of the day was using the facilities at t

backed right in!

his restaurant. As usual there is no seat, but what there is, is a piece of soap attached to a piece of metal coming out of the wall...a variation of soap on a rope – kind of disgusting, but fascinating.

Once back at St. Tropez we wander around the town a bit celebrity hunting…apparently there is a big gala in a couple of days. Someplace in the tiny streets, spot a familiar name…a Kowalski art gallery – didn’t know Kowalski’s were artists. A glass of wine and a 15.00 beer later we head for home.