Postcard from St Tropez - October 2010
We're enjoying a few days in St Tropez, the "Jewel of the French Riviera". But unlike "La Cage Aux Folles" we've been economical and certainly not enjoying "champagne from now until the Finale...". Anyhow, the permissive days of the Sixties have gone and the "Nearly Isle" (la Presqu'ile de St Tropez) now has noise control laws which the Gendarmes enforce diligently.
Good fast journey South through the Channel Tunnel and on the TGV from Lille to Marseille and a nice meal sitting outside at our favourite restaurant in Place de Notre Dame du Mont in Marseille.
Nothing happened on Sunday: everything was closed plus there was a big wind storm so we mostly stayed indoors. Half of the shops were still closed on Monday of course. Tuesday there were protests about the increase in the retirement age for the French, so there were some biggish demonstrations and the public transport was disrupted. Actually by Wednesday it seems there might be some work being done! Of course there's still the Mediterranean long lunchtime and siesta and the weekend isn't far off...
Anyhow here in St Tropez the season when the sun shines is a little bit longer than elsewhere in Provence. But even here the season seems to have shortened because we're here at the same weekend as previous years but more places are closed, or open just for the lunchtime tourists, mostly Germans and Dutch. And the exhibitions are being loaded in to vehicles to be taken away to wherever Art gets taken after an exhibition if it has not been sold...