Hard as it is to believe now, St. Tropez actually started out as one of those simple fishing villages along the Riviera. It acquired its name from a rather gruesome story. In AD 68 a Roman officer named Tropes was beheaded on Emperor Nero’s orders and was packed into a box with a dog and rooster to eat his remains. Miraculously, his remains washed up ashore completely intact and the villagers subsequently adopted him as their town’s patron saint. It would have remained just a picturesque little fishing town if Providence in the form of Roger Vadim hadn’t intervened. In 1958, Vadim shot the movie And God Created Woman, starring his then wife Brigitte Bardot and the rest as they say is history.
Needless to say there is a ritzy air about St. Tropez and during the height of summer, the town is filled to the rafters with the beautiful folk with their stupendous yachts and prices skyrocket to unimaginable heights. It’s almost ridiculously excessive and shouldn’t be taken too seriously. If you want to avoid the see and be seen crowd, the best time to come is after the season ends and the fancy yachts leave, when it becomes possible to walk around the little town and see its picturesque and less pretentious side. The locals too become much nicer and welcoming. Then it becomes a pleasure to sit and have a café glace at Café Senequier or indulge in the area’s speciality –the Tarte Tropezienne.
A walk along its quiet side streets reveals the St. Tropez that was once a fishing village. High upon the Citadel, you see the magnificent Bay laid out in all its glory. I shouldn’t also forget to mention that every Saturday, Place des Lices is taken over by its weekly market where you find among other things, beautiful cashmere shawls, provencal linens and local specialities. Its so much fun to wander about the stalls and I could easily spend hours there!
The rest of the week, the Place de Lices is a quiet shady place where you see people playing boules...
It turns into a jampacked market every Saturday....
And because we are still along the Riviera, a visit to the beach is part of the fun. We headed off to the Baie de Pampelonne with its 4 km stretch of sandy beach lined with exclusive restaurants and cafes. Easily a day could be spent just lazing about the beach and watching the more adventurous folks play with their jet skies. For me, a tall glass of juice in hand and a nice soft shady sun bed was all it took to complete my day.
2 commentaires:
Meg, St. Tropez is beautiful! It must have been really nice to go around the weekend market! Any more pictures of the stuff sold at the markets? Please post, if not here, then on Facebook! :-)
hey, meg. beautiful photos! i did not get to go around st. tropez last year, though i made a brief stop there on my way to, where was it,i think st. paul de vence? anyway, one thing i enjoyed while going around that area is watching men play boules. did not understand the game but their faces showed such joy, and their eyes were flecked with the intensity of true competitors. lovely sight.
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