Saint Tropez was a quaint fishing village that turned into a tourist mecca. It became well known after the movie star Bridgit Bardo made one of her movies here back in the sixties. Near St. Trop (as it is locally known) one can find a couple topless and nude beaches. However, Sharon thought it best to see the town first. The ship's tender took us to the port and from there we meandered through the narrow streets.

Then we climbed uphill to the castle where we had a good view of the port.

When we returned to town we had to do some window shopping. Saint Trop certainly has lots of exclusive shops and I had to tell Sharon, "You better wait. This is only our first stop."

Our next port of call was Cannes, France, just in time for the 2006 Film Festival. We were here two days anchored off shore.

When our ship pulled into the harbor area of Cannes we were greeted by the sight of numerous yachts. The largest one belongs to the finance minister of Saudi Arabia. Notice the helicopter on deck and the side entrance of the hull for small water craft. Rather extravagant for one guy! In the afternoon this "yacht" left the pier but returned a while later. It seems the helicopter was not allowed to land while they were in port. Hence, the landing took place at sea.

A tender took us ashore where we saw several more nice boats along the docks. It was a busy day in Cannes.

The festival is more of a trade show for companies involved in the film industry. For us there was not much going on except to wander along the boulevard and into town. Some people had passes to see one of the shows inside the pavilion while street artists were doing their thing along the beach (such as this fellow and his sand sculpture).

Somehow we ended up in an farmers market where vendors displayed fowl including quail and pigeons. There were olive, cheese and vegetable stands as well as a fish monger cutting fresh tuna.

For lunch we bought a French baguette and some wonderful Morebier cheese and had our picnic along the boulevard.

On top of the hill we found another castle and an old church where Sharon lit a candle for some of our dear departed. Then it was back to the ship again.

Our next stop was the island of Corsica.

Click here to continue our journey