St Tropez - Daaarhling, Cannes, Antibes and Nice.

The St Tropez marina was booked out - we could see why when we took the dinghy in - huge huge boats all over the place! We anchored out but got moved on as we were in an unauthorised spot (along with about 5 other boats) but ended up in an even better place. The deeper part of the anchorage is full of very big super yachts. St Tropez is something else! Beautiful people and their shops in all the streets. Normal people as well though. Every designer label you can think of is represented here. We bought s couple of slices of the local cake thing - wow - you've got to watch out for that, yummy donut type bready stuff with cream. Thousands of calories. We ate some after dinner back on board after having a few Expresso Martinis and wines watching bocce games from a yellow and white stripey pavilion. All very French. Next day Peter and I had booked for lunch at the Dior Café/restaurant. All very Dior including the price! Nice, though the French Fries were overcooked - the quality control person must have been out to lunch. The water was clear so were swam a bit and cleaned the hulls - quite good exercise - 100 linear metres of leg and arm work! Whilst here we all went in the dinghy to Port Grimaud for a look. It is a big purpose built canal estate about 60 years old which we really liked - every house/unit with a mooring and a nice little town square where we had lunch. The architecture was nicer than Port Camargue we thought. Prices from half a million euros.

Cannes was the next stop where the marina was also full, if fact I think we were just too small length wise and our width is a problem. Even some of the 150 plus foot yachts are not as wide as us. We happily anchored out. The marina, like St Tropez, had a dinghy drop off spot - mainly to cater to the super yachts that like to anchor out. We were last here nearly exactly 5 years ago at the Cannes Yachting Festival where we looked at options for after "Chat Eau Bleu". It was here that we pretty much decided we didn't like the new Lagoon 67 motor boat and started looking at the one we now have. Never thought that we'd be back here in one! Let alone 5 years later - thank you Covid. Cannes was it's usual cosmopolitan self, much more glitzy than St Tropez which still had some old town charm. Peter and I took the bikes ashore for a service and to get his gear change looked at and one of my brakes. The guys were super helpful and even phoned the GoCycle people up for help. Got the gear fixed but not the brake - it needs a whole new assembly that will have to be ordered from England and delivered somewhere. Maybe a job for back in Australia. GoCycle are very good at selling new bikes but not so hot on service and parts it seems. Peter had the most enormous bowl of mussels for lunch and I had a crepe. I had to have 4 wines waiting for him to finish all his mussels!! The anchorage was pretty busy with boats towing toys and people all over the place but it settled down for the evening. We managed to drop a belt off the track/roller for the tender lift but Peter and Max got it sorted out after losing two screw drivers in the process!

We then went on round to Antibes for the night. Turned out to be another lovely old town behind the old fortifications. Peter and I have a very nice meal with a very French waiter that was a lot of fun, including a bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape. They were paying some horrible head bangy inse inse music when we arrived so we asked hopefully if they could put on some French music, which the obligingly did - it was lovely. Even the other guests preferred it.

The Nice marina, one hour around the coast was too small for us so we anchored in Villefranche sur Mer just around the corner. A delightful little town. Shaunagh and Max left us for 4 days to get a train to Avingnon where Shaunagh's mother is on a business trip from South Africa for a while. Peter took them to the Nice Old Port by dinghy to get going. There were tons of little to medium fish just off the back of the boat - pretty snorkelling on weed and rocks - not so good for anchoring but with no wind for the next week, we hoped OK.

Turned out not - during one night an unforecast wind got up which ended up with both of us up in anchor watch all night. We must have dragged a bit at one stage but luckily the anchor appeared to reset. Next day we were approached by the French Customs, one, we were anchored in a forbidden Posedonia area (weed) and two for a paperwork check. We re anchored and all was well.

Now we just wait for Shaunagh and Max to return and we head off for Corsica tonight.