FRENCH WEDDING

This week saw the marriage of my wife's niece Corrine to her fiance Mark in our local Marie ( Town Hall) in the picturesque village of Grimaud, where we live.
They wanted to get married here instead of UK as Mark's mother is French and his family mainly live in France, as for Corrine her Grandmother lives near us and of course we live here!
In France the wedding is carried out by the local mayor and any religious ceremony follows but has no place in French law.
The mayor wears his tricolour badge of office and the ceremony is quite quick, which is more than I can say for the vicar who performed the service at a beach club! It was quite distracting to have the vicar performing the service whilst the nudes on the beach adjacent were watching what was going on and preening!
After the Marie service we had lunch at our house and some took a swim followed by a trip to the beach, for a religious ceremony, and a slap up meal with music going on until 1.30 in morning. I believe the bride and groom and their young friends even managed to go on to a club to dance until the sun came up. All in all there were about 85 people at the wedding, many of whom had traveled from the UK!

P.S. The pretty lady pictured above was NOT the vicar but a school friend reading poetry!

Mr.L. 9/09/2011

BASTILLE DAY IN CAVALAIRE SUR MERE

This Thursday was Bastille Day in France and it usually celebrated in our area with each town having a firework display. Normally I would stay at home on the principle that you have seen one firework you have seen them all! I take the same view of Safaris, you see one Elephant or Lion and you have seen them all, so why go twice on Safari!

Our dog was left at home with the television and radios on to ensure she could not hear the fireworks that frighten her.

This year I was forced to join friends and family for a meal in the L' Espadon restaurant in Cavalaire Sur Mere. This restaurant is facing the prom and is right in front of the firework display.

I had a great meal of Oysters, Whelks and Prawns for starters and followed with a great steak and finished off with a chocolate gateaux. A really good meal.
The firework display was amazing and we were so well positioned that we saw everything.

In all I had a great night!

Mr.L. 14/07/2011

http://restaurant.espadon.free.fr/

0494 646605

Var in Spring

The season in The Gulf of St Tropez has finally started after a long winter. The vines are beginning to sprout and the wild flowers and especially the poppies are in bloom.
We have just had a rush for Easter but this has now quietened down.
The restaurants are now all open after a long winter holiday and we are beginning to have our first visitors at home and the grandchildren have used the pool.
We have had several car clubs visiting. I have seen lots of classic Mercedes and Alfa Romeos and next week we will be hosting the Harley Davidson yearly event in the area.
Last weekend was the Bravade when all the local villages have processions with the population in medieval costumes with brass bands and the many of the men firing muskets into the air, which is not so funny when they are really drunk!!


Mr.L. 09/05/2011

Mimosa Festival

Here in France the Mimosa season is about to begin. This is a time when many villages have a Mimosa Festival with processions, bands and much joviality. Not really sure why this happens but guess it is the first sign of Spring.
Our local town, St Maxime, have their festival ('Corso Fleurie' ) on Feb. 6th and floats go through the town with much noise from the bands! Our dog hates the noise!
The big festival, of the region, is in Bormes Les Mimosas. Not sure why it should be there but guess it is its name!!! This is a lovely quiant village to the West of us on the road to Toulon.They have their celebrations 29/30th Feb.
Well off to UK for a week after a 4 month absence. Great chance to see my family!

Mr.L. 12/2/2011

The Clem bar and Music in The Streets

Every Tuesday night during the season the village of Grimaud put on a musical extravaganza in the streets of Grimaud. This commences with the musicians going around the village towards the main square where a stage and audio equipment are erected. The village is full of tourists watching the spectacle.

We visited this week with our family and went to the popular Clem Bar, which used to be just a bar for drinks and coffee, but is now extended and serves excellent food at a good price.

The village was really busy and the atmosphere is one not to be missed.

Mr.L. 24/07/10

Bastille Day

July 14 is celebrated as Bastille Day in France. The Bastille was a prison in Paris, which the people stormed and seized in 1789, starting the French Revolution that toppled King Louis XVI and the aristocracy.
The Marseillaise is specific to the celebration of this day and is sung with great gusto, especially after a few glasses of wine!
Locally each commune celebrates infront of the Marie ( Town Hall) and is followed by displays of fireworks as the evening gets dark.
In the Gulf we will have firework displays in both St Tropez and St Maxime and a good place to see them from afar is at the end of the Gulf, at Marine de Cogolin. We will certainly join friends at one of our favourite restaurants, Belucia, on the beach.

Mr L. 11/07/2010

Sardines in Grimaud

After living in Grimaud for 8 years I discovered that there is a celebration for the summer solstice each year. I arrived at the beautiful old church, which is situated in a field, just outside of the village expecting a few people dancing around a bonfire ( very pagan with vestil virgins!). What I actually found was about 400 hundred villagers seated at tables waiting for grilled sardines to be cooked on loads of barbeques. Free wine was being served and everybody in jovial mood. The Catholic church had made the event into a religious event and a service was taking place inside the church. After the service the locals in Provencal outfits were playing drums and blowing pipes all very noisy! The obligitory speeches took place on the steps of the church and the party began.

As the meal was finishing and it was getting darker the bonfire was lit and the guys with guns started firing into the air. The dog freaked!!

The funniest thing was to see the priest and the mayor dancing around the pagan bonfire!

Cannot wait for next year!

Mr. L. 25/06/2010

Fete de La Vigne et Du Vin

Each year on the Saturday after Ascension Day the vinyards of France open their door to the public for a Fete.
We decided to visit one of our local vinyards to see what goes on. We were amazed!
As we arrived there was traditional Provencal dancing being carried out by a troup of dancers and wine and snacks were served, whilst we all had a chance to visit the cave and to inspect a selection of French classic cars. For the children there was a pony and trap giving rides all afternoon.
In a meadow next to the cave 20 bench tables were set out and music was playing. We were presented with an excellent 4 course meal followed by coffee and lots of people were dacing to a great band that played everything from accordian music through rock and roll to line dancing!

The three hundred people there really got into it in the brilliant sunshine helped no doubt by the limitless supply of wine!! For this meal and wine we were charged €25 per person, which was very good value.
A great time was had by all.

Mr. L. 15/5/2010

St Tropez on Sunday

On Sunday we decided to follow the Harley Davidsons that had passed our home in a mamouth procession and go to St Tropez to see the great display of customised bikes.

The port was very busy with spectators and bikers and the restaurants were full.

We went up to the Place de Lices and in normal fashion the locals were playing Boules as though nothing was happening in the town!

We ate in the Brasserie Des Artes which is situated next to the Boules court and had a good meal. We just went for the main courses as we had eaten out the day before! My Cote de Boeuf was excellent and cooked to perfection and came with fried new potatoes. My wife had Lamb chops which were also excellent, however she had so many that a doggy bag was produced and our dog got a great meal that evening.

Mr. L 14/5/2010

The Bravade

For more than 440 years, the Bravade has represented the attachment that the people of Saint-Tropez feel for their land and, at the same time, their devotion to the city's patron saint, the Pisan martyr Saint Torpè, who arrived here from Pisa, after being beheaded by Nero ( presumably without his head!!). Sorry this passage is from the official commentary and my guess is that it was his body that arrived!

The procession in honor of the saint takes place following a ritual that has remained unchanged through time and that requires several stops, during which hundreds of participants wearing traditional historical costumes pay their respects to the patron saint, whose bust is paraded throughout the entire ceremony.

Among those paying homage to the saint is the Capitane de Ville, whose presence symbolizes the redemption of the community from the city's historic invaders. In the year 1500, Saint-Tropez had earned the title of tax- and duty-free city, yet retaining the right to maintain a fleet under the authority of the Capitane de Ville that proved to be capable of defending the city even from the terrible Spanish galleons.

For three days, the entire historical city center actively participates to this festival, where religious ceremonies, songs, dances and choreographies of Provence join an exciting sound show made of drum rolls, trumpets, springald explosions, and musket shots.

This year The Bravade in St Tropez is the 15th/16th/17th May and is a sight that is well worth the trip to see.

Mr. L. 26/4/10

Les Voiles de St Tropez

Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez is an amazing rendezvous of yachts, first run twenty-six years ago as La Nioulargue. The regatta gathers together the most extraordinary modern sailing boats alongside the most beautiful traditional yachts during the first week of October. A host of racers and sailing enthusiasts come from all the corners of the globe to do battle in the bay of Saint Tropez. The Trophée Rolex is awarded to the winner of the Classic Division over 16 meters.

Well the end of the St Tropez season is nigh and the sign of this is the arrival of all the beautiful sailing boats that arrive in the port. The summer tourists have left and all the meg yachts have left and the port and Gulf are full of high masted boats. The beautiful people and tourists have left and the cafes and restaurants are full of sailing types. In the harbor there are both modern high tech racing yachts but also a plethora of beautiful wooden yachts with perfect varnish and brass polished to a beautiful brilliance. The sound of rigging rattling in the wind can be heard throughout the port and the conversations of seafaring friends from all over the world renewing relationships.

Some of the boats are more than 100 years old but look like new and many of the crews wear matching sepia jumpers to match the colour of their sails.

It is a truly magical time in St Tropez but, as I said, it forecasts the end of the season before many of the restaurants and shops close down for the winter and the village goes to sleep for the winter!

The only thing left is the Braderie (the clearance sales) at the end of October, when all the shops put there unsold items outside their shops and massively discount their wares. This is very special and fantastic discounts are to be found on High Fashion brands. The women never miss it!!

Mr. L. 28/08/09

http://www.societe-nautique-saint-tropez.fr/