May 3 - Saint Tropez

Only two days left until this leg of my cruise is over and several of my friends leave. Quelle dommage! (I’m trying to remember some of my high school French to sound very cosmopolitan,)

It’s a Saturday and not sunny at all which my British friends don’t like.   I have been here at least once before on a tour of the Côte d'Azur so I didn't book any kind of shore excursion.  I tendered ashore and encountered a delightful market selling everything under the sun.  Evidently these vendors set up here along the waterfront every Thursday and Saturday so it was our luck to be here.  The market was crowded with locals as well as tourists.  It’s not the high season here yet, but it’s a nice time of year to come because it’s not yet blazing hot.

Saint Tropez from my veranda

The fort overlooking the old town

There must have been hundreds of stalls with vendors selling everything from clothes to pottery to knives and food.  There was music playing and a general vibe of excitement.  I walked through and bought another scarf; I’m getting quite a collection.  Now I just need to become adept at tying them.  The French love their dogs and there were plenty walking along and little ones being carried.  I passed a vendor selling baked goods and as I watched a handcart came up to bring a fresh load of baguettes.  I can’t resist a crusty loaf of bread so I bought one (it was still warm!) and since the sky looked like it was about to fall I headed back to the ship with my treasures.  It wasn't until I got back and looked at my photos later that I realized I didn't take a photo of the bakery stall.  Sorry about that because they had wonderful pastries in addition to bread.  Next time.

I should tell you about the interesting character I sat next to on the tender.  He was an older Englishman who said he was traveling with his wife, her two sisters and their husbands, and his mother-in-law.  I think I mentioned meeting this family in an earlier post.  Anyway he asked my name and I told him Ann and asked his.  He told me some people call him Nigel, some call him Trevor and some call him Lord Something or Other which I didn’t catch.  I learned later after sitting with his wife and mother-in-law at the Club that he’s a little dotty and he’s a lord of nothing at all, just plain Trevor.

Back to my baguette.  Back on the ship I took my treasure to the Patio Grill and found some friends at a table.  I asked the staff at the grill if they could rustle up some ham, cheese and pâtés for us to enjoy with the fresh bread.  We tore hunks of the bread off and enjoyed a wonderful French lunch with some wine. I came back at the right time because it poured as we sat under cover.

A couple of my friends went beyond the local market into the little town.  There they found lots of designer shops and a couple of them went into Louis Vuitton and Dior.  One friend loves handbags and bought a couple at some shop.  That’s just not my thing, perhaps because I’m too lazy to move my stuff from one handbag to another.  

Later in the afternoon as we prepared to sail away the sun came out just in time for the sailaway party by the pool.  It was an ABBA sailaway which my friend Helga who passed away last year would have loved.  I joined some of my Scottish, British and Australian friends dancing by the pool as the band played.  Only one or two men got up and danced.  Why is it that we women are usually the only ones who will get up and boogie?  John, our cruise director who is a hoot, wound up jumping into the pool fully clothed at some point.  About John, I’ve sailed with him before and he is absolutely frenetic most of the time.  He’s from the north of England and I keep thinking he must have been an ADHD kid who kept his parents on their toes.  His wife and two sons were on for the first ten days and were delightful.

I should just write a little about Saint Tropez.  It’s on the Côte d’Azur, the French Riviera, and is known as a seaside resort for the rich and famous.  One of its most well-known residents is Brigitte Bardot.  Many modern artists have been inspired by the scenery here and along this coast in general.

In the evening my friend Hilary and I dined late and missed the wonderful pianist’s second show which I regret.  I so enjoyed his first one, but she’s leaving in two days so we wanted to spend some time together.  We were joined for a while with two new American friends and we laughed a lot.  They aren’t night owls like I am so eventually they said goodnight and I went down to the Club where I sat with the extended British family I wrote about and I and some of the three sisters danced until the band packed up for the night.  It was another lovely day or as the French would say magnifique!