Cruising to Provence

Our next port was Marseilles, France.  Hubby and I were signed up for an 8 hour tour of Provence, which was cancelled due to lack of interest.  In its place, we signed up for a tour of Avignon, a one time home of the papacy.  In fact, in the years of the Pope/Anti-pope schism, the "Anti-pope" lived in Avignon.  Lots of history there, to be sure.

 Unfortunately, the biggest takeaway from Avignon was the lesson, "Do NOT use the 'free' public toilets."  They were disgusting.  Worse than disgusting.  Worse than any overly full porta-potty I've ever come across.  Smelly, urine-covered floor, and no seat on the toilet.  yeah.  If you go to France and want a 'free' public toilet, be prepared.  There was no soap available for handwashing, and no paper towels or hand dryers.

I was more than ready to leave France for Monaco.  Unfortunately, because of weather, the port was closed.  Instead of Monte Carlo, we inched ahead to Toulon, France.  We had the choice of returning to Marseilles, or St. Tropez.  We chose St. Tropez.  How can you go wrong with the beach?

The drive was 90 minutes.  I was amazed by how much the landscape of the area resembles North County of San Diego County, where I grew up.  Escondido looks different now, but when I was (much) younger?  It looked very much like what we saw of French countryside.

In St. Tropez, I was more than happy to pay a Euro to use the facilities.  SO worth it!!

As we walked into town, this was the first view.  Click on the image to enlarge.  Some of the yachts, (in the front right corner) were HUGE!!  So this used to be the playground of the rich and famous, a place to see and be seen.  nice!

 Here is a stretch of beach.  hmmm.  I've seen more inviting beaches in SoCal.  Then again, a storm was brewing, and one had just passed.  It was quite the week for weather.

I don't have many pictures from the beginning of our trip.  We were in the air when I realized that I'd forgotten to pack the battery charger for my camera.  I bought an all-purpose battery charger while on layover in Heathrow, but the package had been opened, and it was missing the power pack to plug it into an outlet.  grrr!

Regent Seven Seas to the rescue!

I asked if anyone had left behind a battery charger - it's very specific for my Canon - and they looked in the lost and found.  Would you believe that someone left behind exactly what I needed?!!  That night, I charged my poor weak battery.  The next day, I was snapping photos with wild abandon.

Stay tuned, as the next stop was Florence, Italy.