VilleFranche

For those of you following along, you know that our boat was hit in St. Tropez and we need some repairs.  In order to find a place for the repairs we contacted the Swan Service Yard in Barcelona where we spent the Winter, and they referred us to the Swan Service Yard in VilleFrance (very close to Nice.)
We arrived yesterday afternoon and this is a really nice small port.  Perhaps my favorite spot in France so far.  I was able to wander around a bit last night and the old town center is beautiful and built up a hill with narrow streets that seem to run in every direction.  Tons of restaurants, shops, bars, etc.
We leave today to drive back to Barcelona and pick up our new official resident cards.  With these our long term visa becomes official and our passports are updated to allow us to spend a year in Spain and the EU.  This visa process has been a long and expensive process, but well worth it if we can keep Deb from being pulled into the interrogation room by immigration officials again the next time we fly out of the EU!!
Some pictures below….



PS>  This is where we will be joined by Dr. Girard (Deb’s OBGYN), and his first night with us will be Bastille Day on the 14th.  That should be fun!!

Ile Sainte-Marguerite & Ile Saint-Honorat

We spent the afternoon and night of July 5th anchored off the islands of Ile Sainte-Marguerite and Ile Saint-Honorat.  These two islands are very close to Cannes and crazy busy with large and small yachts visiting during the day.  But, at night most all of them head back to shore and we are left almost alone in a beautiful spot!!
Ile Sainte-Marguerite is most famous as the site of the fortress prison (The Fort Royal), in which the Man in the Iron Mask was held during the 17th century.  We anchored below the prison and it does not look like a place in which I’d like to spend much time.

Ile Saint-Honorat has been the home to a community of monks since the fifth century.  St. Patrick, patron of Ireland, studied at the monastery in the fifth century.

We were without a doubt one of the smallest boats in the anchorage.  I guess those with super yachts enjoy cooling off and getting away from the crowds of the city for the afternoon just like the rest of us!!

I thought it was particularly rude, when “Mr. I’ve got a Helicopter” woke us up before 8am the next morning.  I think helecopters like leaf blowers should not be allowed before 9am!!

Fireworks on July 4th!

Deb and I are still trying to figure out why the town we were docked in had a fireworks display last night. But, we are not complaining!

Options we have considered...

1) They purchased them to celebrate a World Cup victory over Germany??  (That didn't work out too well.)

2) They wanted to practice for Bastille Day. 

I'm going with #2.

Jim

Jim Gregory 

Happy 4th of July

This one is a bit different for us. We had hoped to be celebrating with France after a World Cup victory. 

No such luck!

Jim Gregory 

A Very Windy Fourth of July

Thus far, France is certainly throwing some weather related challenges at us.  I can't deny an occasional thought that perhaps we should return to Spain!

We woke up yesterday anchored off St. Tropez to a fairly strong breeze and very uncomfortable sea state.  The wind was funneling right down the bay and it was clearly time to go.

Frejus is the next major stop along the coast and it looked to be a bit protected.  We arrived, tied up and all was well.

Then came the wind.  Slowly but surely the wind built from 12 knots in the evening to 40+ knots by morning today on the 4th.  40 knots sustained!!  What is it with this country and wind? 

       

And its not just the wind, they built this marina right next to the beach which I thought was perfect back when I planned to spend today kitesurfing.  So much for plans, now it appears that I will be spending the day cleaning sand from every nook and cranny of this boat!

Also, this harbor like so many others seems to have been designed to funnel the wind driven swells right into the docking areas.  When I first arrived in the Med. I wondered why so many of the local boats have “springs” built into their dock lines.  I don’t remember ever seeing them in the States, but they are very common here and thank goodness I followed their lead and purchased a set.  Last night while at the dock I felt like I was at sea!!

St. Tropez Harbor–After Dark

St. Tropez–After Dark (2)

Sights and Sounds of St. Tropez

Despite the fact that the boat got hit while in St. Tropez, Deb and I both agree that it’s a weird, interesting, and bottom line nice place to hang out for a day or two more. 

Yes, it does have the well deserved reputation as a playground for the rich and famous, but  we think the locals have seen so much of that show that they really are impossible to impress. 

The “vibe” is very comfortable regardless of your social standing, everybody has been very friendly and we are liking it.  Huge boats, fancy cars, etc. etc.  There is certainly no shortage of people and things to see!!

Here is a taste of what we’ve been seeing….

Cafes along the inner harbor

 

200+ footer Twissle leaving port, while dwarfing our mast (black one on the right)

 

Outdoor Café Entertainment

 

		Scenes from St. Tropez VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL