June 14-16, St-Tropez |
We left Villefranche/Nice early Tuesday morning, June 14th. Caught a wift of good favorable wind, then a perfect gust, all sails up just to peter out in 5 minutes. Then nothing left but the motor to push. Luckily, there was no frontal wind. |
As we left Villefranche port, we noticed a new cruise ship in the bay, this one from Disneyland Cruises/Nassau. As you can see, we're not the only one to visit. And this is OFF SEASON. In a few weeks, all hell will break loose. So time to go home!
Arrived in Port Grimaud next to St-Maxime and St-Tropez around 3 pm. This is a special port built with vacation homes so you can park your yatch infront. Huge port... with huge sailboats parked infront... and yatchs! And more docks for boats...
An idea of the setup... and notice the yatch on the left. Recognize it from Porto Vechio??? I don't believe it's the same one but it is the same model boat.
Looks small here... and IT IS, compared with the yatchs anchored in the bay...
Yeap! the identical yatch... but another one. And this is small! You should see the ones backed up to the docks... people dining on the patio of the boat... Flower arrangements on the table. Elegance and luxury. If you wondered about money, there is tons of it... at least in some pockets and bank accounts!!! We're talking about yatch parked infront of vacation home here!
In the streets of old St-Tropez... a little removed from the more touristy shops and alleys...
Here is the captain and his skipper returning from a little tour of St-Tropez today, June 16th. Definitely another level of affluence! Shops and prices show it too as well as people walking around. I spared you the extra photos of 120 to 150 feet yatchs docked around the port of St-Tropez...
My new shirt and cap of St-Tropez. The first and only thing I ever bought on the whole trip... other than food. And the captain is writing everything down in the ship journal sitting at the Map table.
This is the dessert of our wonderful and delicious lunch. This was a meringue with frozen mousse and roasted almonds with coulli de framboise. Crowned a delicious meal of sushi tuna grilled and served with a rasberry vinegar and roasted pinenut sauce... A marvell for the taste buds. With a little rosé de Provence.
While eating...a surprise appearance... and I made a toast!! When I see a white dove or pigeon, it stands for my Sister Monique... It just so happens that she is in Madrid for a week with her daughter who is doing a student exchange for the summer. So I had a special thought for Monique who is definitely having a grand time according to the email I read yesterday. TOAST to Monique and Jada in Madrid!
Some examples of extravagant sailboat yatchs...
These are at least 3 to 4 times the size of the sailboat I'm on!!
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa... simple nature in its grandeur. Not one yatch can come close to the beauty of these Morning Glories (the real name I don't know) covering walls around here.
So time to wrap it up, get ready for an early rise tomorrow and sailing to the next port... hopefully with favorable winds. Another couple ports and we should be home, that is, home for the sailboat in Port Camargue.