Today, St. Tropez is the playground of the rich and beautiful set, but it wasn't always so. During the 16th century, fishing and ship building was its primary commerce. Protected from behind lies the Massif de Maures hills that has protected St. Tropez since time began. It wasn't until the 19th century that St. Tropez was even accessible from the rest of Provence by road. In the 1890's, artists discovered the beauty of this gem and the town grew into a recognized center for the arts. During WWII, the town was destroyed, but rebuilding was slow. Things started to pop when in 1958 Brigette Bardot filmed Et Dieu Crea la Femme -- paparazzi arrived and the rest, as they say, is history.
Neither one of us had a tour. That was fine by me as I was resting my knees from Barcelona. Michael went out in the morning for a walk around town, and wound up at The Citadel high above town. He said it was a fabulous view, including the snow covered French Alps; I asked to see the pictures of what he saw, knowing full well that he forgot to bring his iPhone, which he is using for his camera. I had to raze him about that.
Yachts of many sizes were moored in the harbor, the largest and flashiest closest to the action. Being former pleasure boaters, we checked out how the boats were moored. An anchor is laid down to steady the bow and then the boat is backed into the pier. Massive spring coils are wrapped around the stern lines for give when the wind blows. Since all boats are stern to, almost every boat has a ramp that comes out from a secret compartment in the aft deck so you can get off the boat to the pier.
Knowing me, I am all too curious and afraid I might miss something, so after dinner we took the tender back to shore so I could see for myself what was there. Lots of boats, and very expensive cafes and restaurants, as well as designer shops. A cup of coffee at a little cafe cost $6! So we walked around looking at the beautiful people as well as the locals, and then returned to the ship.
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