St Tropez, the elite hotspot where wealth is exhibited to its fullest. Nothing is too opulent, large or expensive. I would never in a million years choose to holiday there, the idea of the rich looking down and the paupers gawping up at yachts simply wasn’t my bag but seeing as we are on this trip it seemed such shame to miss the opportunity to see if my pre judgements were right.
Our parking was another France Passion located wayyyyy out of town but we had our bikes so no issues for us plus it had tiles and water so we were perfectly happy. The cycle into the harbour was long but scenic riding past the prestigious polo club it felt like home seeing I had worked only recently on the artwork for the Chester polo events in June and September 2018. We cycled past the queues and queues of people in cars waiting to enter it was like Gibraltar. Within these queues supercars revved and hummed showing that not matter your money you still had to wait. We zoomed in-between the vehicles and long the pavements to the marina. Locking up we didn’t see the fuss really until we turned the corner.
Huge yachts bigger than our old house loomed above us. Half looked super bright white and cream polished to perfection reflecting the waves and the others were like bond ‘villanesque’ greys and blacks where I imagine there is a hidden shark tank beneath the floors. The people who own them were obviously sat on the back lower decks where of course they were most visible, supping premium champagne and indulging in meals served by their staff. It was as I expected they looked down occasionally smirking to see regular people like you and I staring up at the life they would never in a million years be able to have. It was such a show and clearly they only docked here for this reason. We ambled pastie the huge crowd and when we reached the edge we sloped off to the side streets to explore the shops and city. I had read about one of the top sights was a butterfly museum. My favourite review when looking it up was this – “Small museum with no liv butterflies” thank you for giving me the giggles Minneapolis Tourist! Still we went and it was cute a lovely artists work incorporating rare and beautiful butterflies for across the world – probably not ethical but it was already done so we enjoyed it. After that we walked the streets, so many designer shops or overpriced boutiques selling everything from clothes to antiques and sculptures…presumably to decorate your mega yacht. We stopped at a cafe and got to planning our next few days adventuring before cycling back home to our own little paradise which isn’t a yacht but I wouldn’t want to be either!
