As I mentioned in the previous post, I crashed at around 8 the night before and woke up at around 7 the next morning. I made my way downstairs to get my coffee. Notice the shades and tank top?
The general plan for the day was to head towards Aix-en-Provence to the west but somehow I ended up on the freeway going east. There was obviously nothing for it but to swing by the big shopping center, CAP 3000. Hey, it was right there and I needed to turn around anyway. It was a huge disappointment though. At least I got to practice my French. Un croissant s'il vous plait!
Once I was back to the open road I decided I should get my ass out as westerly as I was going and then take a meandering way back. It took just under 2 hours to get to Aix-en-Provence. Side note and recommendation for anyone who wants to follow in my footsteps - do NOT drive down the A8 freeway between 130-150km/hour with the top of the convertible down, no matter how warm it is. By the end of the trip, I felt like Bridget Jones when she arrived to the B&B for her mini-break with Daniel Cleaver. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, let’s just say that it wasn’t pretty. I made a mental note to throw a comb into my bag (which I would forget everyday!).
Provence was beautiful. Everyone describing Provence always talk about the “light” there that drew artists such as Cézanne. As a very un-artistic person, I didn’t really know (or care) what they were talking about. But when you get to Provence, it’s immediately obviously that there’s something special there. The “light” washes everything in a warm glow. After lunch, I decided it was time to move on…still had far to go.
I immediately headed south towards the coast and head towards a blip in the map called Casse. This town was called out in the travel book and is well worth a pit stop. The center of town was difficult to get to (very, very narrow, winding and steep roads)and insanely crowded as there was some event going on. I made several laps and couldn't find a place to park so I just drove through. The thing to note is that all the roads in the center of town look like marble! Incredible. As I was leaving Casse, I got a little lost and ended up driving down this strange narrow path. It had a wall on both sides and I could barely fit my small little converible. I was driving down it for about five mintues before a car started to come out a driveway and turn towards me. I was going the wrong way!!! Oops. The French should consider putting up those Do not enter signs.
I made my leisurely way towards St Tropez just in time for dinner. The road into St Tropez was very long and windy. Reminded me of the drive to Tofino on the Island with less cliffs. St. Tropez is very posh (check out the parkade!) and insanely, insanely expensive!
I picked a nice little Italian place right in the center of town and watched groups of old men play bocci while having dinner.
Now that I was full of lovely seafood pasta, I was tired and just wanted to get home. So, I put the top up and got on the A8 (see, not as dumb as I look) and hauled ass home. Sort of anyway. I ended up missing my damned exit THREE times. Grrr.
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