In haste – I’ve been away and have lots of lovely photos to post from our trip. Here is the first instalment of lovely things to do in the South of France – a brief overview of all that we did. I am not entirely sure what originally prompted the booking by a group of seven ageing females of a week in the Provençal seaside resort of Le Lavandou in Var on the French Riviera but needless to say it seemed like a good idea at the time. Booked months ago it was possibly in order to support a friend who is relocating from far far away, or to support a friend who has recently suffered a bereavement or to support a friend who is going through a difficult time in general, or to support a friend who has recently had surgery, or to support a friend who lives in another country, or to celebrate a friend’s birthday, or to celebrate a friend’s anniversary or indeed all or none of the above – perhaps a wonderful mixture of everything – a group of women who have been around the block a few times and know what is needed for a week of fun and frivolity mixed with a lot of discussion about menopause and bunion shoes. By the time we had finished debating and discussing around a few bottles of the local plonk, it would probably have been better described as a tasting tour of all the rose wine available in the region as well as a culinary feast of flavours. Suffice to say, seven middle aged women laughed and cried their way around a short trip to the South of France and came back with their souls replenished.
Here’s the team:-
We walked (a lot), we talked (a lot), we laughed (a lot), we drank (a lot), we ate (a lot), we cried (a little), we swam (a little – but we all seemed to get cramp – too much rose? Or just our age..), we sunbathed (a little) and we slept (a lot) and it reminded us all of the joy and importance of friendship and the healing power of women. We even, after a few too many bottles of rose solved the problems of the world – by ultimately agreeing (I think…we were a few bottles down by then) that the world would be a much better place if it was run by women.
So we were seven “middle-aged women on tour” – which doesn’t sound as sexy as “girls on tour” but who cares. We were there to relax and replenish our batteries. I was the only singleton – all the others are still happily married and so it was very chilled. The idea was that we were going to get fit and walk a lot but my trainers didn’t even make it out of the suitcase. It was a little too hot to hike, so we strolled, stopping off for regular refreshments along the way. We were there for Bastille Day, celebrated on 14 July each year. The French National Day commemorates the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, which was the culmination in Paris of a violent revolution that had begun two days earlier, as well as the Fête de la Fédération which celebrated the unity of the French people on 14 July 1790. Celebrations are held throughout France. The oldest and largest regular military parade in Europe is held on the morning of 14 July, on the Champs-Élysées in Paris in front of the President of the Republic, along with other French officials and foreign guests but we just enjoyed the celebrations in the centre of Le Lavandou and watched a very splendid firework display from a fantastic restaurant whilst being serenaded by a rather lovely singer that sounded just like Elvis.
Located in the south of France, Le Lavandou covers 12 Km of Mediterranean coastline with 12 fine sandy beaches and small coves in a natural environment and is a really pretty, buzzy seaside resort. We were staying with a friend in Super Lavandou which is up a very steep hill (not good after a few glasses) but has superb views of the sea.
The week went ridiculously fast and we packed a lot in. Our itinerary was generally decided the night before, which meant little time for lounging around in the sun, but we made the most of our time and whizzed about the area in a seven seater bus.
If you want a recommendation for a perfect five luxury days in the French Riviera, then you won’t go too far wrong with this itinerary:-
Day 1: Arrive in Le Lavandou from Nice airport (two hour drive) and have drinks in the village anywhere along the seafront, people watching.
Day 2: Croissants bought in the local patisserie for Bastille Day breakfast and a chilled day by the pool where I managed to burn my stomach in lines by spending too long reading magazines of different thicknesses. Then we wandered down to Le Lavendue resort for dinner and at one of the seafront restaurants that had the best view of the beach fireworks ever. All the local families were out in force.
Day 3: We took a bus to St Tropez (3 euros each way) instead of the ferry (50 euros return approximately) which took an hour and a half and strolled around the town, which I love. Had coffee down by the marina and drooled at the boats and then took another bus to Club 55 which is sur la plage de Pampelonne and one of my favourite restaurants in the world. The location is out of this world, spilling out from under fan cooled awnings onto a white sandy beach, a laid back, bleached wood and pale sunlight filled venue is piled high for two sittings by UBER cool people which I can guarantee will give you the best people watching vantage point in the world. Wealthy socialites galore and ageing lothario’s stroll off super yachts and out of vast cars and you can observe, often with open mouthed wonderment, the work of the best and worst plastic surgeons on the planet sitting at almost every table. Elton John was there when I was there once, Brian Ferry too and many, many famous faces are dotted about although we didn’t recognise anyone obvious this time around.
We then strolled down the beach and had another taste test at Nikki Beach – a different sort of vibe and a younger crowd, but again worth having a drink at…the pool party was just kicking off and full of beautiful people dancing in their bikinis and high heels (hence we didn’t join in) to the cool vibes.
I even found an elephant there to hug:-
Day 4: We got back in our mini bus and did a road trip to Cap D’antibes for a look around and lunch at Keller Plage, another perfectly located restaurant spilling out onto the beach. We thought about going to the Matisse church but the temptation of the beach beds after a long lunch was just too much to pass up. Even though we played loud Ed Sheeran and Hotel Costes in our car most of us nodded off on the way home and let ourselves down a bit on the energy front, but hey…we’re getting old.
Day 5: We took a ferry out to the islands and explored Port Cros, part of the Mediterranean island group known as the Îles d’Hyères. It is part of the commune of Hyères, and part of the department of Var in the region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur. The island was donated to the French government with the promise that a national park, the Port-Cros National Park, which means it’s a little rustic island with some gorgeous walks to secret beaches with clear blue water and much flora and fauna to admire.
Followed by dinner at Bistr’eau Ryon which is owned by a friend of a friend and run by Alain Ryon a Michelin star chef who provided an exceptional meal for us and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Again on the beach with beautiful views you can find it at Plage Saint Clair Boulevard des Dryades | Les Flots Bleus, 83980 Le Lavandou.
More info to follow!
