St. Tropez, and the Justine de Provence

This morning we had dessert for breakfast. There was sugar pie and brownies as well as the regular fresh breads, jams, fruits and cheeses. We packed up our bags and said goodbye to our new Aussie friends and to Yolande and our ‘French uncle’ Albert.


With our custom-made hand drawn map of the day we went to St. Tropez. We stopped along the road in St. Raphael to take some pictures before arriving at Tahiti Beach.

I felt pretty awful, so I wrapped myself in a pashmina and napped in the shade while David went into the water and explored the beach. He helped a man who rents boats bring them ashore and was offered a free rental of a sea kayak, so after a refreshing nap, I joined him out of the water in a kayak.

After leaving the beach, we got caught in a porche parade. Our little Opel didn’t quite fit in, and we were detoured for a bit. We eventually found the road, gassed up and drove north towards the 2nd half of our trip. We quickly learned why you need to rinse off after going into the Mediterranean as both of us had an uncomfortable film of salty residue all over us. We made use of the big bottle of water in the car and rinsed off as best we could. We felt much better after rinsing off a bit more thoroughly at a rest stop along the highway where we also picked up a map and had a very late lunch. Along the drive we watched part of a trialthalon.


We arrived in Orange and at Justine de Provence just as it was getting dark out. This place and our room are incredible. It’s like a french countryside museum castle. Philippe and Isabel seem very nice. This was her family’s farm before they renovated and decorated it. We got a quick tour of the indoor and outdoor pools, gym, hamam, solarium, guests’ kitchen, massager room and common lounge area as well as an overview of local and regional activities as well as vineyards. Its clear they aren’t going to hold our hands as much as Albert and Yolande did- but they seem incredible helpful and willing to make any arrangements we want. They have a number of prepared itinerates for their guests with suggested places to eat, shop and tour.



We unpacked and showered before heading into the town of Orange for dinner. Since it’s Sunday night, there isn’t much to choose from, but we found Montverde, a nice modern restaurant that Philippe had recommended to us. Dinner was good and David got to watch some of the South Africa vs. Argentina rugby match. We didn’t do much else after that- I feel achy and stuffy and crappy. None of the pharmacies were open today, so hopefully we can pick something up for me tomorrow. I’m going to take another very hot shower and fell into my beautiful bed.