Day #77 - St. Tropaz, France

St. Tropaz - busy beach town

St. Tropaz

Cloudy day - but impressive scenery

Train stops at main port - huge boat dock


Sunday, May 30th

Today I went even further south from Nice - St. Tropaz. This was a lengthy travel day. I took the 1hr, 15min train to St. Raphael and then a 2-hr bus to St. Tropaz. It's really not that far away, but with traffic and stops, it took a long time.

I could only stay here a few hours because I had a 9pm train to Paris. With 3.5 hours of travel to get back, I needed to get the 5:15pm bus.

Man I wish I had more time. I know I've been to some great places but there are so many more. What I didn't know about St. Tropaz was that if you wanted to hit the beaches, it was 2 more buses at about 40 minutes per trip from St. Tropaz city. This would have been over 3 hours round trip. I couldn't swing it. I did walk through the town - flashy, a great people watching place. I downed a 9 euro Heinekin and called it an early day. Now, my expectation of St. Tropaz was much different. I had very limited time and didn't get to see the beaches and such - so I'll hold the comments. What I saw; however, would be nothing much different than in Cannes - about 3 hours less travel time. It was my fault for not doing proper research. That's OK - leaves me another place to go someday.

If you're wondering who the best is -- I enjoyed St. Raphael alot of the 4 beach areas I went in the Riviera. I think a good rule of thumb - the further south you go from Nice - the better the beaches. That's just me saying this. In summary - I think I can still do better in Europe. If you're wondering who the best is in the world - I still give the honors to Ipanema/Copacabana in Rio (the whole package - this is at the tops)

I got back into Nice a little after 8pm - I had a 9:01 pm train to Paris. The one bathroom at the Nice train station closes at 8pm. I walked around to a few shops and restaurants before somebody would let me in. I used to be uncomfortable about this. Now, I stroll in, bag in tow, and won't be stopped unless someone physically gets in my way. (If you ask, they will never let you use the bathroom). You have to do what you have to do. I did some calculating, if I stayed in France most of the trip, I would spend over $2,000 in bathroom fees alone.

I'm writing this blog from my sleeper cabin aboard the train. This is my first overnight train trip. I'm in this 4 bed (2 bunk-bed) little room. I had this baby all to myself until about 10 minutes ago when a couple came in. They have the top 2 bunks and I'm in 1 on the botttom. I don't know how this will go. There's 1 overhead light. But, I do have my headlamp.

I'm in Paris on Monday-Tuesday before flying back to the states Wed. My Hub City has something special for me this trip - the French Open Tennis Tournament. I have plans to go to the quarterfinal matches on Tuesday. I don't have tickets or a hotel yet - I need to perform upon my arrival tomorrow.

Good night for now - I hope I can sleep on this thing.