Frejus

The next few days were spent exploring the French Riveria coastal towns near Frejus.

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20230520 - Toulon

I had to leave the VRBO keys next to the mailboxes on the ground floor. I sent a picture of their location to the contact through Whatsapp. The person didn't show up after we'd had an exchange confirming my departure time and the person's approval of meeting me.

The train carries me to Frejus on the Riviera cost with a few hours transfer spent in Toulon. I departed from the Marsaille Blancarde station not the one I arrived into the city at, Saint-Charles. The Blancarde station was deserted when I arrived. I had to use the Eurail ticket scan code to enter. Eventually others arrived as did the train for Toulon.

The hilly and rocky countryside to Toulon is green with trees and vineyards. There are scattered homes and small communities all along the route. The train stopped in Cassis briefly bringing a smile as I remembered the day spent here.

The sky spits rain enough to dampen but not enough to keep the spirit down or from exploring on foot. Arriving at the the National Maritime Museum - apparently one of several around France - the attendants happily stored my luggage. The museum gave the history of Toulon, its importance to Mediterranean seafaring, and many scale models of historical vessels. The exhibits include a few models showing how vessels were constructed or maintained in the past. I found them interesting as an engineering because of the pulley systems shown. We just see the finished ships and give little thought to the machines and techniques used to build them. The intricate hundred year old models were apparently used in the past to train officers.

The Toulon harbor has been an important naval construction and maintenance facility for many hundreds of years. The French currently calls it home for two-thirds of its fleet including its nuclear aircraft carrier and submarines. An adjacent village, La Seyne-sur-Mer is named after the company that built ship parts.

I tumbled across the large Toulon market just as booths were being put away. I believe I would have enjoyed lunch from one of the vendors as what was being put away looked scrumptious.

The spitting rain picked up so I took refuge in a church. These old majestic cathedrals definitely provide a place to shelter, rest, and contemplate. They are becoming a go-to for me.

The large crowds at the train station, with what seemed like half outside under canopies smoking, turned out to be a result of a train derailment at a station east of Toulon. All the trains were delayed about an hour. I was expecting cancellations and contemplating my options. Trains did start arriving and the crowds began to thin. A track assignment for my originally targeted was posted - wow! - amazing! Maybe all that option exploration could be ignored. A train arrived, However, the trackside display screen with red and white icons also displayed the message, 'ne pendre pas le voyage' translated as 'don't take the trip'. Hmm, has a fortune teller taken over the system? I asked a person next to me if they spoke english and he said no, but another person with an accent indicating he new at least three languages said yes. He confirmed the train was bound for Nice. We all piled on and I took a seat as the an announcement was being made. Immediately the person that spoke english started getting off telling me this was the wrong train. The track display monitor now indicated the train was doing something 'technical'. That trained pulled out of the station and the train I sought pulled in. When the system is working, its easy to navigate. When it doesn't it harkens back to travel before smartphones, the internet, and electronic displays.

The delay meant I missed the connecting train I needed meaning a two hour wait. But fortunately Google maps on my smartphone provided an alternate method with directions on a local bus and I was deposited a block from the VRBO in under 30 minutes. A short shopping at a nearby grocery (supermarche) and I settled in for the evening.

I've shared pictures of narrow old streets and buildings or multi-story condominiums, but there are suburbs with cubed shaped one and two story brand new homes. I haven't thought to visit or take pictures of these places since we have them in abundance in the States.

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The skies were devoid of clouds this morning. Only blue shown down upon me. Such a welcome change after about a week of grey and drizzle. The umbrella could stay in its holder at the VRBO today.

Waiting for the train from Frejus to Cannes, I met a couple from Germany - yes now, but he is from Germany and she was originally from the UK. She confessed to being a chatterbox. I welcomed her non-stop English as a language I understood without the brain conducting processing. They were on the train for Cannes than onto Monaco for the day.

The coastline from Frejus to Cannes is gorgeous and less developed than expected. The little coves seemed to either have a little harbor or just a single anchored sailboat. The rocks hillsides have turned to red covered in long needle evergreen trees.

Cannes is a moderately size city with a good size train station. There is an older section of town with the perfunctory narrow streets and boutique shops, but there are other more recently built sections. It seems the harbor and bay with its yachts, sailboats, and a cruise ship gives Cannes that special appeal.

I arrived before 9AM to a relatively quiet town. Shops were just opening their metal shutter doors.

By afternoon, the Film Festival had definitely consumed the town. Restaurants stretched along the beach for almost a mile. Some required special passes to enter while others were open to the general public. The red carpet entrance to the conference center didn't bear the weight of any stars as I passed by. About a dozen VIP BMW blacked window sedans with a police escort did zip away in heavy traffic mid-way through the afternoon. The cafes filled and walking down those old narrow streets took attention because of all the people walking. Maybe half the people had fancy lanyards dangling from their necks with different barcoded badges singling they had access. Young woman wore outfits to show off their long thin legs. Shoes probably struck me as the primary place people expressed their individuality. I saw maybe a handful only of outfits that drawing artistic flare saying I'm of a different species from the remainder of you.

I casually walked by a lineup of yachts. One (moderately sized) had a 'secret' compartment like a trunk that opened to revealed a small skiff boat. I thought that I'd aim for one of those the next time I've got 10 mil laying around.

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Today marks one of those extra special days. My goal was to visit Saint Tropez and a little hilltop village west called Gassin.

I explored alternative transportation approaches: train, bus, car, and bicycle. No train tracks run from Frejus. The bus takes over two hours. The cost for a car starts at 100€ for the day and comes with the challenge of driving in unfamiliar circumstances, parking, and fueling. The idea of renting a bike came late. The first place didn't respond to email inquires. The second one turned out to have closed the store near me though they did respond to email and offered to supply one. By that time, I went into the store that didn't respond and in English I walked out with a bike in 15 minutes. I opted for an electric one for 45€ remembering my lessons from Portugal to minimize the travel time and effort instead to focus on the places to visit. I confess to being nervous about the traffic.

The bike turned out to be the perfect solution for the day! Yes there were times the roads and traffic challenged me. But I got to see Gassin, Ramatuelle, spend time at the beach, Saint Tropez, AND enjoy the towns and vistas up close at a pleasant pace. It took me just over two hours to make it all the way to Gassin. I didn't have to break a sweat climbing the 600 meters to the village with the electric assist. The bike with power assist was limited to 15mph though I did manage to go faster at times. The traffic was stop-n-go at times making glad I hadn't rented a car as I slipped past the slow cars. I traveled 64 miles and climbed 1900ft for the day.

I was passed a couple of times by people on electric scooters. I had no idea how fast those two wheel devices can go!

Gassin rests on hilltop a tiny village that can be explored in under 20 minutes. A broken English speaker at the tourist office wanted to make sure I walked the "smallest street in the world". I'm dubious to the claim, but it was small! The 360 degree views of Saint Tropez and the countryside on the perfect morning were wonderful. I enjoyed several of the recent sculptures scattered about the village.

My next stop took me along a rolling ridge line dropping and alternately climbing to a hilltop ancient windmill. Immediately I noticed all the cork trees! I hadn't seen them since my horrific day in Portugal. Peaking between the trees down the hill rested the town of Ramatuelle. I passed a cyclists standing up on the pedals as he climbed upward while I kept my hands on the break descending to Ramatuelle. In terms of medieval charm, Ramatuelle wins the award of all the towns I've visited. A maze of narrow walkways passing rustic doors and blooming vines tantalized the imagination. I enjoyed a flaky croissant and a canele before pointing the bike toward the Mediterranean sea and a beach.

Google maps fell short on this next leg. It wanted to send me down what turned out to be private roads. Some backtracking resulted but, hey, with power assist and no heavy luggage on my back who cares! I wet my legs in the waters of the Pampelonne beach and ate my packed lunch. Sitting there I lamented not setting aside a day for the beach although I confess laying about on the hot sand in the sun is not my idea of fun; swimming, or better yet, diving in the cool water captures my fancy.

A short 20 minutes on the bike brought me to Saint Tropez. The name conjures something exotic for me. I took a walk down to the Saint Tropez beach and circled the Citadel before walking the bike through the small streets of the town. The place definitely has a charm. Exploring the galleries of art work I saw pieces very unique and enthralling. I had to search hard to find the Butterfly museum and almost threw in the towel - I'm so glad I didn't. Of what I saw, THIS was the reason to visit Saint Tropez. The collections of spectacular butterflies mounted as art left me staring extensively.

I took me a little over two hours to cycle back to the bike shop. Along the way, I violated one of my core safety precautions about securing and zipping up things ALWAYS and nearly lost something. All is well.

The day was made special for several reasons. Being back on a bike exercising was actually invigorating. I got to see all the towns I wanted when it was looking like that would happen. A stop over at a beach to feel the cool waters hadn't been originally anticipated. The places I visited oozed medieval charm in ways not fully expected. And the art work seen along the way brought enjoyment.