We decided to venture out of St. Tropez a little bit, seeing as we had pretty much covered all its highlights in day one. Our target was one of a small group of islands lying just off the coast, Porquerolles. These islands are all national parks so development is limited and as a result the beaches and forests are more natural and unspoiled than those on the mainland.
We set the alarm for 7 am (yes, we’re on vacation) so that we could make the 45 minute drive to Hyeres, where we could catch the 9 o’clock ferry. We stocked up on some food provisions at the small general store in the island’s only village. We also rented bicycles, which my tailbone is now regretting. But the bikes did allow us to get out a little further onto the island, all the way to Plage Notre Dame, where we laid out our blankets and became the only residents of the beach for most of the morning.
The scenery was breathtaking – sort of like a postcard. The water was clear, the sand was like flour and the sun was blazing overhead in a cloudless blue sky. Sailboats dotted the sea and you could see the villas of St. Tropez and other mainland villages in the distance. The only aspect that didn’t cooperate was the wind. It was coming off the sea and had a decidedly chilly bite to it. When it went away you could quickly warm yourself again in the sun, but it was never gone for very long. Now let’s not get carried away, it wasn’t cold. But our choice of beach attire for the day was shorts, sandals and a sweater.
We packed it up in the afternoon and headed back to the village to return the bicycles. We also stopped for lunch at a harbour-side restaurant. I took a hint from some local children who had ordered the mussels and were proceeding to work through a huge pot of bivalves like a pack of hungry wolves. If wolves ate mussels. I ordered the Moulles au Roquefort and they were spectacular. Definitely a recipe we will try and replicate when we get home.
We have some interesting food experiences in St. Tropez – some good, like the Tarte Tropezienne, killer cocktails and the Moulles au Roquefort, and others not so much. Because everything here is so outrageously overpriced, it really stings when you end up eating something that is just ordinary or worse. We’ve also come across some strange flavours – Nasi Goreng flavoured Doritos and chicken wings used as garnish on a Caesar salad.
Not sure what’s on the menu for today.
1 comment:
Ha - 7 a.m. is nothing. Try getting up at 5 or 5:30 every day on a birding vacation. But the bonus is, you see so much more!
Those chips sound interesting. Jul and I have a Odd Flavoured Chip Bag Picture from each vacation. That would be one to add to the collection.
- h
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