Oh yeah, except I was the nanny for a very wealthy and demanding family. Even so, it was a pretty good work week, as far as being a nanny goes. When else do you get paid to lay on the beach and work on your tan while "supervising" an eight year old playing nearby?
Still though, Saint Tropez, famed as it is, isn't my favorite place on the Côte d'Azur. I adore Nice (it is nicer!) I'd give Cannes a second chance, and I still have Antibes on my wish list, but Saint Tropez? Eh. Here are my "yays and nays" of "Saint Tropay." (Because it rhymes. Get it?)
Yays
The Hotel
I stayed in the Byblos, one of the fanciest five star hotels in town. La classe, quoi. I had my own balcony, the bathroom was more sparkling clean than my kitchen, and the maids were so tidy that when they folded and put away my scarf, I couldn't find it for days. The breakfast buffet was to die for. Normally, I would have stuffed myself to capacity each morning, but I was just coming from a fantastic delicious wedding where I had already stuffed myself wayyyy over capacity (I ate so many hors d'oeurves, not only did I not have room for dinner, I literally wasn't hungry for days. I know in English we call that gluttony, but I think I can get away with calling it being gourmande - someone who enjoys and appreciates food - in French.)Check out the Byblos' room service menu. They even have a menu chien, if you're willing to pay the price.
Ta da!
I was also in love with the bathroom. I wanted to live in here. Mostly because it was so beautiful, not just because the tub was the only place no one could bother me.
Also, added bonus - we had a peacock friend who hung out by the pool.
He even posed for photos.
The Beaches
This was one of my favorite parts. Go to beach, lay in the sun near eight-year-old playing with friends, occasionally man a paddle boat with four kids under ten - oh wait, that wasn't one of my favorite parts. But the beach, I loved. Check it out.
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| View from the paddle-boat |
Visiting Saint-Tropez-ians
We got to visit the house of some wealthy friends (theirs, not mine) and I took photos of their mint-green kitchen and paradisiacal backyard when no one was looking. Shhh.
It's beautiful
I wouldn't want to own a boat (I don't even really want to own a car) but they have boats a-plenty in Saint Tropez, and they sure are pretty, especially at sunset.
Nays
Transportation
I never would have guessed that just getting to Saint Tropez would be such a challenge. First of all, there's no train station (really unusual for France - normally all but the tiniest towns have train stations) and there is no airport. If you're lucky, you'll sail in on your yacht, if you're not, you'll take a cab or car from the nearest train station (one hour away) or airport (two hours away). (Or you could drive in - duh - but brace yourself for the cost of parking.)
The cab ride from the nearest train station (Gare Saint Raphael) cost over a hundred euros and rendered me deathly, dry-heavingly car sick with it's bumps and turns. I was so grateful when I arrived at the hotel after nine hours of travel (vive la grève SNCF!) and my boss told me to order room service and watch TV.
It's expensive
Saint Tropez is expensive. I know, shocker. Food, lodging, shopping, beaching - everything is très cher. I'm sure there are ways to do Saint Tropez on a budget, but my question is, why?
It's a beautiful place, but it's not the only city on the Riviera. Why not go somewhere else on the Côte d'Azur (with a train station) and save all that cash you would have blown in Saint Tropez?
It's... eh.
I don't know how to express it. Saint Tropez didn't draw me in. I'm not an expert, and there's certainly much more to the city than I had a chance to see in my short, shackled time there. But the thing is that I really had no desire to see more of it. For whatever reason, I'm not inclined to return to spend more time there.
I'm glad I had the opportunity to go to Saint Tropez, and even gladder that it was on someone else's dime! Next time, though, I think I'll skip it - beautiful as it is, I don't think Saint Tropez is a city I could ever love.
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