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Sandis.Great.Riviera.Rail.Trip.S01E01
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00:00the French Riviera playground of the rich and famous and one of the world's great dream
00:10destinations this is paradise and by taking a simple rail trip of just over 100 miles from
00:16end to end you can see all its sun-drenched glories and that's what I'm doing wow it's
00:23luxury beyond all measure and I got the best seat in the house as well as the rather nice
00:30sea sand and Sun I want to explore the region's rich past we're sitting pretty much in the exact
00:38spot and vibrant present what a way to toast a new friendship I'll discover the famous characters
00:44that made the Riviera glitter you could say that they invented the Cote d'Azur in the summer time
00:50and I'll visit the places and meet the people that keep it shimmering today oh I love this
00:55what's not to like about my great Riviera rail trip
01:10look at that Massey the oldest city in France and the very beginning of the French Riviera is shimmering
01:18coastline that goes all the way from Marseille in the west to Montau at the Italian border and I'm
01:24going to do all of it I mean you know by train I'm I'm not going to walk the whole way this is well
01:30it's almost too far but first I have to conquer the station's mighty staircase it's an art deco feast
01:39and with a hundred and four steps it'll be enough exercise for the whole journey
01:43that grand staircase which connects the city with the train station is decorated with glorious statues
01:51this one says le soleil et la mer the sun and the sea and for generations that is why people have come
01:58to the Riviera but there is also bucket loads of history and art and literature not to mention
02:03incredible food and wine I mean it's going to be hell
02:07with more than 300 days of sunshine a year and skies as blue as the sea the Riviera was a rhythm
02:17of sleepy fishing villages until the English upper classes started coming here in search
02:22of a cure-all climate in the 1700s the arrival of the train from Paris in the 19th century transformed
02:29the region into the glamorous holiday destination we know today since then generations of artists
02:36and free thinkers from all over the world have flocked to this slice of paradise as a writer myself I can't
02:44wait to follow in their footsteps oh look there's my train 10 36 I'm off I love this it says don't
02:57forget me but I mean if you had a case that ties how it I've only got this but you'd be amazed how
03:02much I can get in here it's fabulous and the trains actually on time Wow double decker the French don't mess
03:16around
03:22that's it we're off
03:31I didn't bring a lot of things because I've got a theory that France has got shops
03:35I mean prove me wrong but that's my theory
03:37from Marseille the line goes all the way to Ventimiglia in Italy and it stops in so many legendary towns
03:48Cannes, Nice, Monaco, Montaigne and I'm gonna visit them all
03:52I love everything about train travel uh it just seems to be from another era uh I like checking the
04:07timetable I like having an empty seat in case I might make a friend uh I like the sound of it the
04:12rumble although of course there was a time when it was thought dangerous for women to take the train
04:18there was a wonderful article in the New England Medical Journal in 1870 in which the doctor advised
04:23against women enjoying the vibrations of a train because it might cause uterine dislocation I mean
04:30I'm willing to take the risk and it's fine and so with a great sense of jeopardy I'm approaching my
04:38first stop the seaside town of Sanaret-sur-Mer only 45 minutes away from Marseille and
04:48that's the 105th step of the deck
04:55with its pastel facades and picture-perfect port Sanaret-sur-Mer harks back to that time
05:02when the Riviera was more about fishing than tourism the sun is shining the pace is a gentle
05:08dawdle and I love it I feel a new novel coming on let's check out the view
05:19I mean sometimes you have a thought in your head what the view is going to be like
05:34this is better this is this is paradise hello I'm a writer thank you writing very important work
05:47very busy very busy writing in case anybody was impressed oh I could sit at the desk and write
05:55that would be good I could pretend I'm writing here I want to live here now
05:59what makes Sanaret's harbour view so special is the fleet of traditional pointy boats or pointy ones
06:12if you're feeling literal with their bright colours and wooden bows there are a glimpse of life here
06:17before the invasion of the rich and famous since I love sailing and it would be rude not to approach
06:23the Riviera by sea the Pointus Association of Sanaret have offered to take me for a spin
06:28how could I say no
06:30Jerry hello Sandy bonjour bonjour how nice to meet you nice to meet you too I'm so excited so is this
06:39is the boat that we're going on absolutely our boat is tranquillou tranquillou cool that's us we will be cool
06:46okay yes okay and this is great day with sunny days and so on so how lucky are we perfect to
06:51right perfect to sail okay tell me okay yes I will welcome you on board okay okay we're good and off
07:01we go you have an association don't you of the boats yes yeah how many boats the association we have
07:10we have 100 boats around 100 boats and 200 people in this association wow we are to maintain the boat
07:19each year so this is wood all uh all the boats so between I would say 50 to 100 years our oldest boat is
07:32120 years wow it could be destroyed with the time right if you don't look after yes if you don't take care
07:39yeah and they're all different bright colors the boats yes is that just the choice of the owner
07:45exactly the same feelings that if you have an old car and you have to take care this is same same feeling
07:52yeah thanks to all the great work from the point two association sanary proudly boasts the biggest
07:58collection of pointus in the riviera it must be important for the tourists I think to the way the
08:07town looks yeah yeah this is still a small place yes like I would say a fisherman village yeah it still has a
08:18feeling about it yeah yeah well I am never happier than when I'm at sea yeah because I'm from Denmark I
08:24am a Viking I like the boats I think the boats are very personally also so feel good yeah yeah now I have
08:33a burning question to ask Jerry I have a big favor yeah could I have a go at steering you you want to
08:40please please yeah okay yes my pleasure is it all right I pleasure okay okay I love this this is so
08:53wonderful my pleasure I can't believe a Frenchman is trusting a Viking with their boat Olivia we're gonna go
09:02go to England now okay okay oh this is magnificent actually I'm not quite ready to head home just yet
09:18especially as the dramatic craggy coastline begins to unravel before our eyes it's a visual feast and a
09:29powerful reminder that the Riviera's roots lie in the sea and those fishing traditions that heritage
09:38still lingers in the region's most iconic dish the boyabes this is the soup where you are cooking the
09:46fish and with potatoes and garlic and garlic French yeah yeah yeah yeah so but it's very good taste and
09:59where in town would I get the best for your base the best and I would say with a good reputation yes is
10:06hotel de la tour well that's Andy that's my hotel it makes tonight's choice for dinner nice and easy
10:14it's the first time yes very excited yes oh it's not lovely I mean I'm a spiller this is perfect
10:40the boyabes began as a poor man's dish the fishermen of Marseille using bony fish that nobody else wanted
10:49and what sets the boyabes apart from other fish stews is that it's served in two parts
10:56first you get a rich saffron infused broth served with garlicky bread and some fish followed by a second
11:09plate of potatoes and more fish that is incredible that is oh my
11:39I'm in the charming port of Salary Sur Mer the first stop on my Riviera adventure Salary may look
11:52like a tranquil seaside town but back in the 1930s it was the beating heart of European intellectual life
11:59it all began with British author Aldous Huxley who moved here in 1930 and wrote what became his most
12:07famous novel brave new world before long some of the greatest German writers followed including
12:14Thomas Mann and Bertolt Brecht I'm told a few of them even stayed at my hotel to find out more about
12:21Sanary's fascinating literary past I'm meeting up with Ina Barato a German-born local guide
12:27and welcome to Sanary oh that's so kind I'm so excited to be here so I want to know all about the
12:40writers that came here why did they come who came I mean I'm I couldn't I want to know everything and
12:46now you can perhaps you already you start to understand a little bit because when you see
12:51this lovely day when you see the blue sky the sunshine then you can imagine that those people
12:59when they have had problems in Germany yeah it was from 1933 when Hitler took the power certain writers
13:08the one that was against Hitler they have had to leave Germany because even some of them lost their
13:17nationality all their goods all their money has been blocked their houses has been confiscated so I
13:26understand why they left but why here why this my son I leave there's one important reason
13:32Tannery was not expensive so you know look all of the yachts and it's not anymore the same
13:44and so salary became the capital of German literature it was a kind of must to come to
13:51the hotel to give you an example Bertolt Brecht famous the stripping opera yeah absolutely and Bertolt Brecht
14:00for instance he came from 1933 several times he came with his mistress yeah I mean he officially
14:11he was his collaborator she was a young communist because Brecht was a communist and they stood a
14:19couple of weeks in the hotel yeah and during this time he was writing the opera three penny opera
14:26yes yes during his stay here while enjoying the company of said mistress Brecht wrote to his wife
14:35one gets bored on the Mediterranean I don't know how he had time so I'm trying to imagine this life
14:42right I'm trying to imagine there's all these writers and so what are they they must be sitting
14:47in the cafes and drinking and enjoying their lives absolutely if not together I love for instance you have
14:52the coffees on the other side there yeah it was called she small and is this this right it's the
14:59one what we have just on the other side I want to imagine that I'm a writer here and you're gonna
15:05ask me in German for a drink please yes so we say just last and I don't think yeah bitter okay let's do
15:13it so let's pretend we're German intellectuals and sit for a drink or if I get to choose it'll always be
15:21an ice cream I'm trying to think if I was in exile yeah with other people I would want to come to a
15:28cafe I think you'd seem like a way of believing that life continues yeah to go in the cafe was as well
15:35the opportunity to talk with other writers they made a circle of you say literature
15:45yeah circle of literature but they're only the elite came right okay and of course with elitism comes
15:54rivalry behind the cheerful cafe scenes simmered intellectual tension Aldous Huxley wasn't thrilled by the influx of
16:03German writers in Saneret he reportedly found them arrogant and full of themselves but this of
16:10course did not inhibit the Germans Bertolt Brecht he was singing satiric songs on Goebbels and Hitler he
16:21was playing on his guitar so I'm listening to all these wonderful stories that you're telling me
16:26but I can't get over as we're sitting pretty much the exact spot where they would have sat
16:32inventing stories so he's very famous Bertolt Brecht now but somebody sat in this cafe when
16:37hey Bertolt give us a song I love that oh yes it was you could say they have had a life a little bit
16:46like ex exiled in paradise but those days of happy exile were short-lived in 1940 France fell under German
16:56occupation Saneret was no longer a safe haven for the exiled writers who became persecuted by the
17:02collaborating French authorities French authority would deliver him through the Nazis so to to
17:09Auschwitz or somewhere yeah okay some like Thomas Mann and Bertolt Brecht managed to escape to America but
17:18many other writers were arrested and deported to the death camps is that a history that the French
17:27have been able to confront about themselves they start now to confront it a very long time they didn't
17:37want to see into or to hear anything on this but now as we have younger people they want to know
17:46surrounded by such beauty it's hard to imagine that this idyllic peaceful place once witnessed some of
18:01history's darkest chapters yet despite the scars left behind this town rose from the ashes and blossomed
18:10once again soon after the war it's time for me to say goodbye to salary and it's fascinating history and
18:33continue my journey only 15 minutes away by train heading back towards Marseille is the seaside town
18:43of La Ciotta and I've been told its station holds a rather fascinating claim to fame I'm going to be
18:50honest with you we have made a slight detour but it's a hundred percent worth it because this is the exact
18:56spot of the birthplace of cinema in 1895 the Lumiere brothers shot the arrival of a train along the
19:03platform it's a very short piece of footage but from here the whole of cinema explodes and France
19:09went on to become one of the greatest makers of film in the whole history of cinema
19:13while spending their summer in the family holiday home in La Ciotta Louis and Auguste Lumiere began
19:22filming scenes of daily life this footage of the train arriving in La Ciotta was shown to the public in
19:29December 1895 it was one of the first times moving images were shown in a theatre and people were shocked
19:37some reportedly ran away from the large screen to celebrate this great heritage the train station
19:44at La Ciotta has been turned into a mini museum there's the most wonderful quote up on the wall
19:50here by one of the Lumiere brothers saying basically that he thought that moving pictures were always
19:54going to be a scientific curiosity but they didn't really have a future and there's great photographs of
20:00the early equipment look at this they would hand crank not just to shoot the thing but to show it
20:06they projected their films using this exact device in a local cinema called the Eden and guess what
20:13it still exists today in the town centre of La Ciotta proudly claiming the title of the oldest cinema
20:20in the world but with skies like these it's not a day for the cinema and my train is arriving
20:26let's hop back on and make some movie magic of my own
20:32I'm traveling along the glorious French Riviera and after some quality time in La Ciotta and
20:56Saint-Marie-sur-Mer I'm approaching my next stop the city of Yers nestled between the hills and the sea
21:02Yers enjoys a front row seat to the Mediterranean it was this prime location that lured in British
21:11aristocrats in the 18th century transforming the town into the Riviera's very first resort
21:16Yers is a tale of two cities a modern town with majestic palm-lined avenues and a medieval heart
21:26with winding lanes and charmingly crumbling facades it's idyllic and frankly I'm starting to
21:32question all my life choices oh look at this look this is for rent right and in another life I rent
21:39this and I sit here and I write I become the mad old hag of Yers I mean I haven't got time but I love
21:46the idea guiding me around the city is American writer and Riviera expert Lainey Goodman Lainey oh
21:55I'm Sandy I brought you ice cream thank you so much of course oh this is nice now this is very nice I
22:02can't quite believe we're sitting in the shadow of a 12th century tower this town yeah is really properly
22:09old isn't it it is and I think that most people don't even realize all the history behind it it
22:16feels lived in well I would agree because I find it very laid-back I think a lot of people ignore that
22:23this is the Cote d'Azur a different Cote d'Azur Lainey's not the only American I know to appreciate the
22:30laid-back charms of a year New York born writer Edith Wharton lived here between the two world wars
22:36and her house and gardens still exist well I have felt all my life that not enough people are in love
22:43with the American author Edith Wharton I am in love with her I have always wanted to see her garden
22:48are you going to show it to me yes absolutely do you know what this is one of the best days of my life
22:53let's take our ice cream come on okay I'm so excited because Edith Wharton really important
23:11author to me but I'm always surprised how many people don't know her how do you introduce her
23:15to people well I would say that she's she's part of a media from New York old money that's sort of
23:23turn of the century having grown up in high society Edith Wharton became one of its sharpest
23:29critics in novels like The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence it took a director like Martin
23:36Scorsese to adapt The Age of Innocence one of her greatest novels for people to start understanding
23:43who she was then people went back and read the novel there are a lot of people who are trying now
23:48to adapt some of her stories so little by little like Jane Austen you know people are coming Hollywood
23:54and rediscovering yes rediscovering her and reworking her because some of the themes I think will be
24:00around forever oh I feel the book still read is fresh exactly and modern and of course we mustn't
24:06forget first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction so let's go enjoy her garden shall we yes
24:12fleeing an unhappy marriage and the strict confines of her social world Edith moved to France in 1910 and
24:26settled in Paris then in 1919 at the age of 57 she discovered this hilltop haven the house of Saint Clair built into the walls of a medieval castle
24:38and she turned it into her winter retreat today her perched garden is a free public park
24:45Wow it's high up it's very high both the views and the climb up here are breathtaking she must have
24:59been fit living up here she was and she even in her 60s and 70s she went tramping all around the gardens
25:05with her guests in fact she had obliged them after lunch some people's complained they couldn't have
25:11their nap and the gardens her creation as much as the books are her creation absolutely the money that
25:17she got for the Pulitzer Prize which was at the time considerable what did she do with it she poured
25:22it into her gardens oh it's here yeah it's right here she said I'm thrilled to the spine with her passion
25:28for gardening Wharton threw herself into this horticultural adventure cultivating Mediterranean plants
25:34that were entirely new to her she turned a tangled hillside wilderness into this glorious terraced
25:41garden imagine owning this this is unbelievable isn't it the house was a wreck when she found it is
25:48that right it was a ruin a ruin okay that's never good they don't put that on the particulars when you
25:53buy something it's a ruin why here why did she settle here she saw the ruin and she fell in love with it she
26:00talked about being torn away shrieking from yeah sometimes when she had to go back to Paris so she
26:06she she really did love it and she loved the view oh I wish she was here we could have tea but maybe
26:12she do think maybe she wouldn't like us I don't know Edith ended up spending all her winters in this
26:20house until her death in 1937 writing entertaining in style and tending lovingly to her beloved garden
26:27a true slice of paradise which she captured beautifully in this poem
26:34Mistral in the Marquis by Edith Wharton roofed in with creaking pines we lie and see the waters burn
26:44and whiten the wild seas race the racing sky the tossing landscape gloom and lighten
26:53here's to you Edith
26:55the next stop on my Riviera adventure is arguably the most famous holiday spot in the world
27:21the fabulous and ultra glamorous Saint-Tropez
27:24do I need jeans covered in sequence I'm discussing it with myself
27:30for the train nerds out there there is actually no train station in Saint-Tropez the nearest is in
27:40San Rafael just under 25 miles away and like me you'll have to rely on the kindness of strangers to get
27:47here I'm told that if you want to see the real Saint-Tropez you have to get down to the beach
27:54early so I've come to the legendary Pampelone Beach a three-mile stretch of white sands and
28:00turquoise water just south of Saint-Tropez's old town I've just arrived at Pampelone Beach I mean I
28:07think strictly speaking I should be coming out of the water in some sexy way it was in 1956 that Brigitte
28:13Bardot made this beach famous in a film called and God created woman and it kind of started that
28:19whole tanned sexual revolution once hailed as the most beautiful woman in the world Bardot put Saint-Tropez
28:28on the map transforming a sleepy fishing village into the beating heart of 1960s bohemian life
28:35I prefer Saint-Tropez for the beach for the young people and not for the fun evenings we spend it was
28:43on this very beach that bikini shrank tops vanished and a new era of sexual freedom began
28:52today with its exclusive beach clubs Pampelone has become a playground for the rich and famous word has
28:58it that it's the perfect place for a bit of celebrity spotting let's see if I can see one or two
29:07it's a little bit early so we haven't got the maximum number of people living their best life but
29:12oh look at all that look at wow look at all that donkey look yep okay there are donkeys on the beach
29:22this is not quite the Saint-Tropez glamour I was expecting you know sometimes you see a big ass
29:30on the beach two let's go and investigate oh bonjour bonjour je m'appelle Sandy je m'appelle William William
29:41Alexandra okay with hundreds of thousands of tourists visiting Pampelone every year keeping
29:56the beach clean is a challenge but the local council has come up with a genius and environmentally friendly
30:03solution. Every morning, Princesse and Justin roam the sands of Pompelonne and help pick
30:11up litter left by holidaymakers. 30,000 items a day, on average.
30:18Oh, Princesse, you do such a good job. Is this friendly?
30:23Yes, yes, yes. Hi.
30:26Hello. Beautiful. Bye, Princesse.
30:29Bye, Justin. What a great idea.
30:32Huh? Donkeys and rubbish. I mean, what a great job you guys are doing. Saving the planet.
30:43As much as I enjoy the company of donkeys, the reason I'm in Saint-Tropez is to experience
30:47some of the glitz and glamour. And my next date promises exactly that.
30:54Frederic Mausch has written a book on Epiplage, one of the trendiest beach clubs on Pompelonne,
31:00and he's invited me for a private tour.
31:02Frederic. Hello.
31:05Hi.
31:06Okay, so I can tell you this. I've just been on the beach, and I have so much sand in my
31:10shoe that I think I have taken part of the beach with me. Sorry, but I'm so sorry to get
31:15undressed as soon as we meet. I apologize.
31:17Don't need any shoes to get in.
31:18Don't need any shoes? I just want to take them off then. Okay, this is perfect. Here we go.
31:21All right.
31:22Oh, you do the same. See? We're friends already. Love it. Oh, do the socks have to come off?
31:28No, you can keep them.
31:29I'm going to keep socks on. There's a line for the British. I think it's socks. Okay,
31:33let's go in.
31:34Yep.
31:35Thank you, sweetie.
31:38Frederic's parents used to own Epiplage, so he knows all its stories and secrets.
31:44Here's the oasis.
31:45Oh, my. I was not expecting that. Oh, look at that.
31:50Yeah, that's refreshing, isn't it?
31:52It's like a movie. Oh, my.
31:55It looks like Hollywood.
31:56Yeah, but it's, and that's so appropriate, isn't it? Because the sunshine feels like California,
32:00doesn't it?
32:01Totally. And actually, the constructions here are inspired by, like, the American, like,
32:05constructions from the 50s.
32:06Wow.
32:07And it was built, actually, in the 50s.
32:09Right.
32:09Late 50s.
32:10So was I. Yeah, oh, late 50s. Yeah, me too. So I feel right at home. I think it's my, it's my,
32:14oh.
32:17With its restaurants and nine bungalows tucked behind the sand dunes, Epiplage is the ultimate
32:23private club. You can stay the night, enjoy a leisurely lunch, lounge by the pool, or even
32:29all three. Perfect, perfect, perfect.
32:35So you, you grew up here?
32:39Yeah, kind of. I mean, this was our, like, summer house. So I was, like, one year old when
32:44I first came here. Yeah.
32:46I mean, I can't even imagine the life. So when you're a boy, do you get, you get used
32:50to it? You just think, oh, it's the pool, it's the beach, it's all, you know?
32:53Well, first of all, it wasn't as, like, fancy as it is right now. It was much more bohemian.
32:57Yeah.
32:57Actually, here, it was really, like, a center for, like, music, creativity, like, starting
33:03in the late 50s. A lot of artists came here, intellectuals, like, Allen Ginsberg, for example,
33:09was here. Marlon Brando. There was, like, this melting pot of these, like, superstars.
33:15Then, like, you had, like, people who were, like, a little bit more in the gray zone, painters,
33:22bourgeois bohème, as we call them. You know, people who were not doing much, you know?
33:27I have to mention your book. Brigitte Bardot, is that here on the beach?
33:32It's actually right here where we're sitting, exactly here, this place. And Brigitte Bardot
33:36in the middle, which everybody knows. On the right, if you're from the UK, maybe you don't
33:40know Johnny Holiday, which is, like, the French superstar. Absolutely. People came here to
33:45be forgotten, like, so you had, like, the billionaire talking to the worker or the agriculturer.
33:51I always think there's something about when you come to the beach and people strip off
33:54their shoes. It sort of levels people out. In this place, I can tell you, in the 70s,
33:59people were not just taking off their shoes. Okay, right. But it was a different time.
34:03Yeah. No, I, and, you know, that's fine, too. I think that sounds good.
34:07Maybe I would have been fine with my socks off after all.
34:12And does it feel weird to be back now? Because you've not been here for a while.
34:16Actually, it has changed a lot, which is fine, you know? I think it's more in line with today,
34:22you know, the high-end luxury, the expectation of the market right now is very different.
34:29It has kept its, like, Robinson Crusoe spirit, which I like, you know? And they've stayed faithful,
34:35like, to the constructions.
34:38It feels very relaxed to me at the moment. I was expecting many more people, but we're not in the high season.
34:44I mean, the high season, the real high season, where you don't want to be here, is very short.
34:49It's basically between the 14th of July, which is the French National Day, till the 30th of August.
34:55And it's absolutely crazy. You can't really drive around, move around.
34:58But beyond that, it's really nice all year long.
35:03Yeah, because Paris is closed in August, completely.
35:06France is closed.
35:06France is closed in August.
35:08I think that's a very sensible thing that we should all do. I like that.
35:12If only that was an option for me.
35:14But alas, I'll have to keep exploring this fabulous town and seeing what other delights modern-day Saint-Tropez has in store.
35:21I'm in glitzy Saint-Tropez, a name that's synonymous with the French Riviera.
35:38After receiving the VIP treatment on Pompelon Beach, I've made my way to the bustling old town,
35:44where the harbour is packed with jaw-dropping yachts.
35:47Judging by the crowds, watching the super yachts has become a tourist attraction in its own right.
35:54But I have a more pressing priority.
35:57I never, ever take for granted that I can travel, and I love it, and I know how privileged I am.
36:02But I miss my children.
36:05And now I have four grandchildren.
36:07So the way I get over that is I find them a postcard that I think will amuse.
36:11Okay.
36:17Wow.
36:19Okay.
36:19That's, that is, this one, not for the grandchildren.
36:22This is definitely not, uh, I mean that's very annoying because they've, they've used my picture in the, that's very irritating.
36:30That, that one is annoying.
36:31Um, something, I think something less naughty.
36:35Oh, here we go.
36:35Oh, in Danish, uh, we say mormon, mother, mother.
36:40And all of these are from mormon.
36:48The port's a little too busy for my liking, so I'm heading deeper into the old town in search of a quiet corner to write my postcards.
36:56But first, I need a little pick-me-up.
36:58This shop is dedicated to the local delicacy, the tropezienne tart.
37:15It's a halved brioche, generously filled with a mix of thick buttercream and topped with pearl sugar.
37:22Just going to put that diet on hold for today.
37:26Here is la tarte tropezienne.
37:28I mean, it looks like a mini-burger.
37:37Mm, mm, mm.
37:40I mean, it's a lot of sugar content.
37:45That, that, that, wow.
37:47Okay.
37:47I maybe eat that slowly.
37:50Right.
37:52What's this one?
37:54Ha, ha, ha, ha.
37:55There we go.
37:57More, more.
37:59Is working so hard.
38:05And having a nightmare time.
38:08I don't want them to think it's too easy.
38:10Just a short stroll from the hustle of the port, this laid-back square, Place d'Élysse,
38:18feels quintessentially French, the kind of place that makes you want to try a bit of
38:23parler français and strike up a conversation with the locals.
38:26Oh, look.
38:29Est-ce que je dis bonjour au chant?
38:33Oh, we know you.
38:34We're English.
38:35Oh, fine.
38:36I was being my best friend.
38:37Can I tell?
38:38I am Sandy.
38:39How do you know me?
38:41From QI.
38:42Ah, from QI.
38:43I'm Sue.
38:44Sue?
38:45And Richard.
38:46Sue and Richard.
38:47Oh, this sounds very silly, but it sounds nice to be able to just speak fluently.
38:51What are you doing here?
38:52Obviously on holiday.
38:53Yes, we're on holiday.
38:54We brought our caravan.
38:56Where from?
38:57Down front.
38:58We live in Yorkshire near Bradford.
38:59Note to self, not everyone you meet on holiday is a local.
39:03So, would you like a QI fact about Saint-Clappé?
39:06Yes, please.
39:07Do you know why it's called Saint-Clappé?
39:09No.
39:10Okay, so I love this.
39:11This is one of my favourite stories.
39:13So, there was a knight about 2,000 years ago in the time of Nero.
39:17Okay?
39:18And he converted to Christianity and Nero did not think this was a good idea.
39:21So, he beheaded him, which is not nice.
39:23And then people started to worship the body of the knight without his head on.
39:27So, they put the knight without his head in a rotting boat with a dog and a rooster and set it out to sea.
39:34Okay?
39:35And this guy is Saint-Clappé and he landed on the coast just here and people thought it was a sign and so they named it after him.
39:43And the dog and the rooster pushed off and each founded their own village nearby, which I don't think is kind to just leave the beheaded.
39:50To leave him?
39:51Yeah.
39:52Right.
39:53It's not quite as romantic as the place itself then.
39:56No.
39:57It's a good QI story though.
39:58It tastes excellent.
39:59You like that one?
40:00Yeah, I do.
40:01Yeah.
40:02The joy of holidays is that they're made of lovely encounters like this.
40:08Now, I don't want to stereotype, but these men over here surely can only be French.
40:13The origin of boules, or pétanque, dates back to ancient Greece, but the current version of the game was invented in the early 20th century in La Ceota.
40:25Yes, the very same town where cinema was born.
40:29And, of course, the Lumiere brothers filmed it.
40:34These days, pétanque is as popular as ever, played in squares like this one right across France.
40:55And as it turns out, I'm not too bad at it.
40:59Oh, he's not as good as me.
41:22After that extremely energetic workout, I need a drink.
41:25So I'm heading for the hills above Saint-Tropez in search of refreshment.
41:30This region is renowned for its rosé wine,
41:33and I can't think of a better way of wrapping up my time in Saint-Tropez
41:37than visiting a vineyard.
41:40So I'm meeting winemaker Gwendolyn Berger for a tour and tasting.
41:48This is going to seem incredible to you,
41:50but I don't think I've ever seen grapes growing in real life.
41:54On television? Yes.
41:55Really?
41:56So show me how many would you have on a plant like this?
41:58So there is the grapes, so we can count eight.
42:02Bunches of grapes.
42:03Yes, absolutely.
42:04Now, it's falling over.
42:05Yes, it's falling over because for the moment there is no palissage.
42:12Like a stick?
42:13It's just a stick and a line in steel.
42:16Yes.
42:16So what we can do to take them straight,
42:21you can just dry them.
42:23I show you in the little piece.
42:25Okay.
42:25You turn like that.
42:27Oh, okay.
42:28But then, as they are far, you can just take these two pieces and...
42:33And wind them around?
42:34And wind them around.
42:35Oh, so they look after each other.
42:38I show you?
42:39Yes.
42:39And then it's your turn.
42:40Okay, oh no.
42:40Oh, okay.
42:42Honestly, I think I'm working too hard on this trip.
42:46So tell me about how you look after it.
42:48Tell me about the soil and what you do to look after it.
42:52I am working since the beginning in organic way and I am not using pesticide and nothing, only infusion.
43:03Right.
43:03Infusion to get stronger the vines.
43:07That works in two years.
43:09Wow.
43:09The plants say just thank you.
43:12Yeah.
43:12They look so healthy.
43:16Gwendolyn also follows the principles of biodynamic farming, which takes a holistic view of the vineyard.
43:21She treats it as a living ecosystem, which gives it a beautiful, wild look.
43:29When did you first decide, I want to make wine? Do you remember how old you were?
43:34My first memory is when I was 12.
43:37We just moved from another country to the south of France with my parents and I asked them if I could make the harvest.
43:44And they said, okay.
43:45And so I did it.
43:46And at the end of October, of September, when there were some grapes still at the end, I just took it, I pressed it, and I put it in the big bottle, five liters.
44:00And without knowing, I was doing my first Blanc de Noir because that was Grenache Noir.
44:05Then I make a white wine.
44:07So that was my first Blanc de Noir.
44:09Wow.
44:0912 years old.
44:10Yes.
44:12This magnificent view.
44:14Yes.
44:14Do you ever get tired of it?
44:15No.
44:15No, no.
44:16Not yet, no.
44:17I don't think.
44:18No.
44:18I will never.
44:19No.
44:20But you can feel the breeze from the sea.
44:22Does it make a difference?
44:23That makes a difference because the wind which is coming from the sea is bringing freshness, is bringing salt.
44:30Salt?
44:30Yes.
44:30Oh, okay.
44:31And this, you will find that in your mouth when you will taste it.
44:37You can taste it.
44:40Shall we go and try the wine?
44:42Okay, with pleasure.
44:43I loved walking here.
44:45This is, look at these, so pretty.
44:51Gwendolyn shares her passion with her husband who has joined her in this wonderful winemaking adventure.
44:56Ah, here is the wine.
45:00Is it your husband?
45:01Here is your, yes.
45:02Ah, bonjour.
45:03There is Jean-Jacques.
45:04Jean-Jacques.
45:05Let me introduce you to Jean-Jacques.
45:06How are you doing?
45:06Sandy?
45:07I'm fine.
45:08Nice to meet you.
45:08Nice to meet you.
45:10Oh, no, no, please, please, please, please.
45:12Okay, thank you.
45:13So what is the name of the wine?
45:15The name is Le Rosé because actually we only have one rosé.
45:21And Clou des Bays is the name of the vineyard?
45:23Clou des Bays is the name of the vineyard.
45:24Why?
45:24Why?
45:25Why?
45:26Why?
45:26Because Jean-Jacques, his last name is Branger and my last name is Berger.
45:33Okay.
45:33So then we decided to name it Clou des Bays as we start together.
45:38I like that.
45:39That's our adventure.
45:42The new adventure.
45:44Cheers.
45:44Cheers.
45:45Cheers.
45:45It's very fresh.
45:51It's totally natural.
45:52There is no sulfate in.
45:54It's delicious.
45:57It's so good.
45:58It's so good.
45:59Pink.
46:00Oh, congratulations.
46:02It's a dream.
46:03It's a dream.
46:04We make a dream.
46:05It's fantastic.
46:06And it stays with you.
46:08It's got beautiful flavor.
46:10What a way to toast a new friendship.
46:13To the sea.
46:14To the sea.
46:15What would you say in France?
46:17To the sea.
46:17To the sea.
46:18To the sea.
46:19To the sea.
46:20To the sea.
46:20To the sea.
46:21To the sea.
46:21To the sea.
46:21To the sea.
46:22To the sea.
46:25Cheers.
46:26Cheers.
46:37And Sandy continues her journey on to Cannes next Saturday at 5 past 8.
46:42Looking for ultra-realistic textures.
46:45Almost good enough to eat this week.
46:47New game of wool.
46:48Britain's best knitter continues tomorrow night at 8.
46:51Next, mulled cider.
46:52Tis the season after all.
46:54Devon and Cornwall at Christmas is on the way.
46:56Tis the season after all.
46:56Tis the season after all.
46:57Tis the season after all.
46:57Tis the season after all.
46:58Tis the season after all.
46:58Tis the season after all.
46:59Tis the season after all.
46:59Tis the season after all.
47:00Tis the season after all.
47:01Tis the season after all.
47:02Tis the season after all.
47:03Tis the season after all.
47:04Tis the season after all.
47:05Tis the season after all.
47:06Tis the season after all.
47:07Tis the season after all.
47:08Tis the season after all.
47:09Tis the season after all.
47:10Tis the season after all.
47:11Tis the season after all.
47:12Tis the season after all.
47:13Tis the season after all.
47:14Tis the season after all.
47:15Tis the season after all.
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