Frejus, San Tropez, Cannes & Super Yachts!

Frejus

We moved along the coast to a town called Frejus, just between San Tropez and Cannes.  We used this as a base to explore these famous towns, to hopefully do some “celeb spotting” but ended up disappointed!  No celebs to be seen anywhere!  However, we did see lots of mind blowing boats, beautiful coastlines (perfect for open topped sport cars or motorbikes) and several fancy cars, as well as the usual high rise glossy apartments and hotels!

Frejus is a large town with lots of Roman history, a lovely modern seafront and lots of pedestrianised walkways and cycle paths.  We took the tourist train one day and saw everything in one hit, the perfect way to do things!

San Tropez

The day we arrived in San Tropez, the sun was shining but it was very windy.  The 45 minute drive from Frejus was lovely, a single file coastal road that gave plenty of opportunities to stop and admire the stunning views.  The town was heaving, parking was at a premium but we luckily found a spot down by the port, and then realised why it was so busy.  The port was full of sailing boats, a regatta was due to start that same day but was delayed due to the high winds.   As the afternoon wore on, the rains arrived, then the thunder and finally as we left at about 7pm, the skies and clouds changed to the most amazing colours and shapes.

The larger yachts were moored out of the marina, at a glance we didn’t realise how large they were, until we saw them up close a few days later in Cannes!

The regatta boats were beautiful; long and sleek, wood and steel, brass and chrome listened in the afternoon sun.  The ethereal sound of the hundreds of masts being whipped by their ropes was something special.

San Tropez Harbour

It was sooooo windy!

We came across the odd Harley or two!!

A few modern yachts in San Tropez, together with the obligatory new BMWs for sale.

We were surprised at how small San Tropez marina and town is, a few restaurants line the harbour and the small narrow streets were full of small versions of named expensive brand shops; everyone (except us) was wearing obligatory sailing gear – cotton trousers, sweaters or shirts branded with their boat’s name, and loafer shoes!

On our way back to the campsite, the heavens opened and provided us with a beautiful sunset, the cloud formations changing colour every ten mintues.

Prices (excluding motorways services)

Fuel, beer and wine here seemed to have shot up in price, this is generally a guide for David’s wallet.  In Spain, Cadiz, we were paying €1.09 for a litre of diesel, €1.50 for a large glass of wine and €4 for a pint of lager.  Portugal it crept up to €1.50 for diesel, €4 for wine and €5 for a beer.  In France it went even higher, but in Frejus we hit the limit – €1.74 for diesel and we saw prices of €8 and €9 for a 500cl beer, just over a pint!  We did not indulge!!!

This cotton outfit will set you back a few hundred euros!

So, you cannot complain about fuel prices in the UK again!!!

We had expected prices to rise in Cannes, but they were very reasonable, €7.50 for a beer and €4.50 for a large wine!

Mandelieu & Once Upon A Time

The coastal road between Frejus and Cannes is amazing, about 20 miles of narrow and winding road with several areas to stop and admire the azure blue sea, beautiful coves and houses and the coastline. I understand why they call it the Cote D’Azur (Blue Coast), I have never seen blue like it before.

We stopped just outside Cannes for a lunch break in a town called Mandelieu and found a castle open to the public so we decided to pay a visit.  Chateau de La Napoule was a real eye opener, the medieval fortress had been privately owned since the 1920s by an artist and his wife, who restored it to provide a ‘fantasy and satirical’ home and, following their departure, a museum and a gallery for his works, as well as an ongoing art school for other artists.   The owners were Henry and Marie Clews,  who spent 17 years restoring the fortress called “Once Upon A Time” and a neighbouring house. Henry built a tower with one entrance/exit, and windows high above, overlooking the sea, where he built a crypt for him and his wife to be laid to rest.  The crypts are open, exposing the coffins inside, as Henry expressed a wish that following their deaths, their spirits would visit each other…..

Henry’s tower.

View from the gardens.

View of the front of the fortress.

Some of Henry Clews’s works.

His wife in bronze.

Henry’s open crypt waiting for his wife……

Inside the dining area of the house.

View of the fortress walls and gardens.

The adjoining house, also renovated by M & Mme Clews.

Cannes, Cote D’Azur

Cannes itself is huge, a long seafront parade peppered with dazzling high rise apartment blocks, expensive hotels (The Ritz Carlton, Hyatt, InterContinental, Radisson Blu and Marriott to name a few….),  very posh cars and even posher boats.  I know I was blown away by the boats in San Tropez but these were different – more modern, bigger, huger, gigantic, super yachts, with price tags in the millions!!  We look up some on a site called “Superyacht owners”, it lists the features of the yachts (X many bedrooms, x many staff rooms, pool and jaccuzzi on deck, how many tenders and jet skis….) as well as the year it was built and it’s sale price at the time!

I had a headache by the end of the day, reading and absorbing the values and understanding the owners of these gob smacking towns on floats!  Plus of course, the brand new BMWs and Range Rovers with blacked out windows on the docks adding to the value…….

If I ever win the lottery……………..you know where to find me……..

Initial view of Cannes beach, with a cruise liner docked.

A building’s hoarding that caught my eye!

The famous Palm Beach in Cannes. The Hotel at the end was popular in the 60s but closed and is now a casino.

Beautiful buildings everywhere.

And now for the Super Yachts……drool on…………

Lets start with this one, owned by the Saudi Royal Family, $80 million worth of yacht!!!