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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
00:24luxury beyond all measure and I got the best seat in the house as well as the rather nice
00:31sea 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 French I'll discover the famous characters
00:44that made the Riviera glitter you could say that they invented the go does your own the summertime
00:50and I'll visit the places and meet the people that keep it shimmering today oh I love this what's not
00:56to like about my great Riviera rail trip look at that Marseille the oldest city in France and the
01:15very beginning of the French Riviera a shimmering coastline that goes all the way from Marseille in
01:21the west to Montau at the Italian border and I'm gonna do all of it I mean you know by train I'm
01:27I'm not gonna walk the whole way this is well it's almost too far but first I have to conquer the
01:35station's mighty staircase it's an art deco feast and with a hundred and four steps it'll be enough
01:41exercise for the whole journey that grand staircase which connects the city with the train station is
01:50decorated with glorious statues this one says Le Soleil et la mer the Sun and the Sea and for
01:56generations that is why people have come to the Riviera but there is also bucket loads of history and
02:01art and literature not to mention incredible food and wine I mean it's gonna be hell with more than
02:11300 days of sunshine a year and skies as blue as the sea the Riviera was a ribbon of sleepy fishing
02:18villages until the English upper classes started coming here in search of a cure-all climate in the
02:231700s the arrival of the train from Paris in the 19th century transformed the region into the glamorous
02:31holiday destination we know today since then generations of artists and free thinkers from
02:38all over the world have flocked to this slice of paradise as a writer myself I can't wait to follow in
02:45their footsteps oh look there's my train 10 36 I'm off I love this it says don't forget me but I mean if
02:58you had a case that size how it I've only got this but you'd be amazed how much I can get in here it's
03:04fabulous and the train's actually on time Wow double-decker the French don't mess around
03:22that's it we're off
03:24I didn't bring a lot of things because I've got a theory that France has got shops I mean prove me
03:36wrong but that's my theory from Marseille the line goes all the way to Ventimiglia in Italy and it
03:45stops in so many legendary towns Cannes Nice Monaco mountain and I'm gonna visit them all
03:54I love everything about train travel uh it just seems to be from another era uh I like checking
04:07the timetable 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
04:17train there's a wonderful article in the New England Medical Journal in 1870 in which the doctor
04:23advised against women enjoying the vibrations of a train because it might cause uterine dislocation
04:30I mean I'm willing to take the risk and it's fine
04:35and so with a great sense of jeopardy I'm approaching my first stop the seaside town of
04:41Sanaret-sur-Mer only 45 minutes away from Marseille
04:46and that's the 105th step of the day
04:56with its pastel facades and picture-perfect port Sanaret-sur-Mer harks back to that time when the
05:02Riviera was more about fishing than tourism the sun is shining the pace is a gentle dawdle
05:09and I love it I feel a new novel coming on
05:17let's check out the view
05:18I mean sometimes you have a thought in your head what the view is going to be like
05:36this is better this is
05:37this is paradise
05:42hello I'm a writer thank you writing very important work very busy very busy writing
05:52in 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 a glimpse of life here before
06:17the invasion of the rich and famous since I love sailing and it would be rude not to approach the
06:23Riviera by sea the Puenteus association of Sanaret have offered to take me for a spin
06:29how could I say no
06:32cherry hello sandy
06:35bonjour how nice to meet you nice to meet you too
06:38I'm so excited so is this is the boat that we're going on
06:40absolutely our boat is tranquilo
06:44that's us we will be cool
06:46okay yes okay
06:47and this is great day with sunny days and so on so
06:50how lucky are we perfect to uh to sail okay tell me how to get on board
06:54yes I will welcome you on board okay okay we're good
07:00and off we go
07:05you have an association don't you of the boats yes yeah how many boats the association we have 100
07:11boats around 100 boats and 200 people in this association wow we are to maintain the
07:19boat each year so this is wood all uh all the uh boats so between uh i would say 50 to 100 years
07:30our oldest boat is 120 years wow it could be destroyed with the time right if you don't look
07:38after yes if you don't take care yeah and they're all different bright colors the boats yes is that just
07:44the choice of the choice of the owner exactly the same feeling that if you have an old car and you
07:49have to take care yeah yeah this is same uh same feeling yeah thanks to all the great work from the
07:55pointu association sanary proudly boasts the biggest collection of pointus in the riviera
08:01it must be important for the tourists i think to the way the town looks yeah yeah this is still a small
08:11place yes like uh i would say a fisherman village yeah it still has a feeling about it yeah yeah yeah
08:19well i am never happier than when i'm at sea yeah because i'm from denmark i am a viking i like the
08:26boats i think the boats i think the boats are very personally also feel good yeah yeah now i have a
08:33burning question to ask jerry i have a big favor yeah could i have a go at steering you you want to
08:40please yeah okay yes my pleasure is it all right my pleasure okay
08:46okay i love this this is so wonderful oh i love our pleasure i can't believe a frenchman is trusting
08:59a viking with their boat olivier we're gonna go to england now
09:07oh is that way is that way okay okay oh this is magnificent
09:12actually i'm not quite ready to head home just yet especially as the dramatic craggy coastline begins
09:22to unravel before our eyes
09:27it's a visual feast and a powerful reminder that the riviera's roots lie in the sea and those fishing
09:34traditions
09:37that heritage still lingers in the region's most iconic dish the bouillabaisse
09:43this is the soup where you are cooking the fish and uh with potatoes and uh and garlic
09:51and garlic french yeah yeah yeah has to have garlic in it yeah yeah so but it's very good taste
09:59and where in town would i get the best bouillabaisse the best and uh i would say with a good reputation
10:06yes is hotel de la tour well that's handy that's my hotel it makes tonight's choice for dinner
10:13nice and easy
10:18very excited yes
10:28ah so the bib okay
10:32oh isn't that lovely
10:33lovely i mean i'm a spiller this is perfect
10:43the bouillabaisse began as a poor man's dish the fishermen of marseille using bony fish that nobody
10:49else wanted and what sets the bouillabaisse apart from other fish stews is that it's served in two parts
10:55and here's the bouillabaisse
11:02first you get a rich saffron infused broth served with garlicky bread and some fish followed by a second
11:08plate of potatoes and more fish that is incredible
11:25oh my
11:45i'm in the charming port of sanary sur mer the first stop on my riviera adventure
11:51sanary may look like a tranquil seaside town but back in the 1930s it was the beating heart of
11:58european intellectual life it all began with british author aldous huxley who moved here in 1930
12:05and wrote what became his most famous novel brave new world before long some of the greatest german
12:12writers followed including thomas mann and bettel brecht i'm told a few of them even stayed at my hotel
12:18to find out more about sanary's fascinating literary past i'm meeting up with ina barato a german-born
12:26local guide
12:28ina hello sandy i'm sandy shall we do french
12:34and welcome to sanary oh that's so kind i'm so excited to be here so i want to know all about
12:40the writers that came here why did they come who came i mean i'm i couldn't i want to know everything
12:46and now you can perhaps you already you start to understand a little bit
12:50because when you see this lovely day when you see the blue sky the sunshine then you can imagine
12:58that those people when they have had problems in germany yeah it was from 1933 when hitler took the
13:06power certain writers the one that was against hitler they have had to leave germany because even some of
13:15them lost their nationality wow all their goods all their money has been blocked their houses has been
13:24confiscated so i understand why they left but why here why this is why sanary there's one important
13:31reason sanary was not expensive you see now look all of the yachts in this nobody changed today it's not
13:39anymore the same and so sanary became the capital of german literature it was a kind of must to come
13:51to the hotel to give you an example bertrand brecht famous the stripping opera yeah absolutely and
13:59bertrand brecht for instance he came from 1933 several times he came with his mistress yeah i mean
14:11officially he was his collaborator she was a young communist because brecht was a communist
14:17and uh they stood a couple of weeks in the hotel yeah and during this time he was writing the opera
14:26three penny opera yes during his stay here while enjoying the company of said mistress brecht wrote
14:35to his wife one gets bored on the mediterranean i don't know how he had time so i'm trying to imagine
14:42this life right i'm trying to imagine there's all these writers and so what are they they must be
14:46sitting in the cafes and drinking and enjoying their lives absolutely if not together hello for instance you
14:51have the cafes on the other side there yeah it was called she and is this this right here it's the one
15:00but we have just on the other side i want to imagine that i'm a writer here and you're going to ask me
15:05in german for a drink please yes so we say just let's do it okay let's do it so let's pretend we're german
15:16intellectuals and sit for a drink or if i get to choose it'll always be an ice cream i'm trying to
15:23think if i was in exile yeah with other people i would want to come to a cafe i think you'd seem
15:30like a way of believing that life continues yeah to go in the cafe was as well the opportunity to talk
15:39with other writers they made a circle of you say literature yeah circle of literature but only the
15:49elite came right okay and of course with elitism comes rivalry behind the cheerful cafe scenes
15:58simmered intellectual tension aldous huxley wasn't thrilled by the influx of german writers in sanaray
16:05he reportedly found them arrogant and full of themselves but this of course did not inhibit the
16:12germans bertolprecht he was singing satiric songs on goebbels and hitler he was playing on his guitar
16:24i'm listening to all these wonderful stories that you're telling me but i can't get over as we're
16:28sitting pretty much in the exact spot where they would have sat inventing stories so he's very famous
16:35bertolprecht now but somebody sat in this cafe and went hey bertol give us a song i love that oh yes it was
16:42you could say they have had a life a little bit like ex exiled in paradise but those days of happy
16:52exile were short-lived in 1940 france fell under german occupation sanary was no longer a safe haven for
16:59the exiled writers who became persecuted by the collaborating french authorities french authority
17:06would deliver him through the nazis so to to auschwitz or somewhere yeah right okay
17:13some like thomas mann and bertolprecht managed to escape to america but many other writers were arrested
17:20and deported to the death camps is that a history that the french have been able to confront about
17:29themselves they start now to confront it um very long time they didn't want to see into or to hear
17:39anything on this but now as we have younger people they want to know
17:54surrounded by such beauty it's hard to imagine that this idyllic peaceful place
17:59once witnessed some of history's darkest chapters
18:02yet despite the scars left behind this town rose from the ashes and blossomed once again soon after the war
18:16it's time for me to say goodbye to sanary and its fascinating history and continue my journey
18:37only 15 minutes away by train heading back towards marseille is the seaside town of la siota
18:44and i've been told its station holds a rather fascinating claim to fame i'm going to be honest
18:51with you we have made a slight detour but it's 100 worth it because this is the exact spot of the
18:57birthplace of cinema in 1895 the lumiere brothers shot the arrival of a train along the platform it's a
19:04very short piece of footage but from here the whole of cinema explodes and france went on to become
19:10one of the greatest makers of film in the whole history of cinema
19:16while spending their summer in the family holiday home in la siota louis and august lumiere began filming
19:23scenes of daily life this footage of the train arriving in la siota was shown to the public in december
19:301895. it was one of the first times moving images were shown in a theater and people were shocked
19:37some reportedly ran away from the large screen to celebrate this great heritage the train station
19:44at la siota 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
20:00of the early equipment look at this they would hand crank not just to shoot the thing but to show it
20:07they 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 center of la siota 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
20:43i'm traveling along the glorious french riviera and after some quality time in la siota and sanary
20:56sumer i'm approaching my next stop the city of hier nestled between the hills and the sea hier enjoys a
21:03front row seat to the mediterranean it was this prime location that lured in british aristocrats in the
21:1218th century transforming the town into the riviera's very first resort
21:16here 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
21:32to question all my life choices oh look at this look this is for rent right and in another life
21:39i rent this and i sit here and i write i become the mad old hag of yeah i mean i haven't got time but
21:45i love the idea guiding me around the city is american writer and riviera expert
21:53lanie goodman lanie oh i'm sandy i brought you ice cream thank you so much of course
22:00oh this is nice this is very nice i can't quite believe we're sitting in the shadow of a 12th
22:05century tower this town yeah is really properly old isn't it it is and i think that most people
22:12don't even realize all of the history behind it it feels lived in well i would agree because
22:18i find it very laid back um i think a lot of people ignore that this is the coat azure a different
22:25coat azure lanie's not the only american i know to appreciate the laid-back charms of a year new york-born
22:33writer edith wharton lived here between the two world wars and her house and gardens still exist
22:39well i have felt all my life that not enough people are in love with the american author edith
22:44wharton i am in love with her i have always wanted to see her garden are you going to show it to me
22:50yes absolutely do you know what this is one of the best days of my life let's take our ice cream
22:54brothers come on okay
23:07i am so excited because edith wharton really important author to me but i'm always surprised
23:12how many people don't know her how do you introduce her to people well i would say that she's she's part
23:18of a media from new york old money that's sort of turn of the century having grown up in high society
23:27edith wharton became one of its sharpest critics in novels like the house of mirth and the age of
23:32innocence it took a director like martin scorsese to adapt uh the age of innocence one of her greatest
23:40novels for people to start understanding who she was then people went back and read the novel
23:46there are a lot of people who are trying now to adapt some of her stories so little by little
23:51like jane austen you know people are coming hollywood and rediscovering yes rediscovering her and
23:56reworking her because some of the themes i think will be around forever oh i feel the book still read
24:03is fresh exactly and modern uh and of course we mustn't forget first woman to win the pulitzer prize
24:08for fiction so let's go enjoy her garden shall we yes
24:15so
24:20fleeing an unhappy marriage and the strict confines of her social world edith moved to france in 1910
24:26and settled in paris then in 1919 at the age of 57 she discovered this hilltop haven
24:35the house of saint claire built into the walls of a medieval castle and she turned it into her
24:40winter retreat today her perched garden is a free public park
24:49wow it's high up it's very high
24:53both the views and the climb up here are breathtaking
24:57she must have been fit living up here she was and she even in her 60s and 70s she went tramping all
25:04around the gardens with her guests in fact she obliged them after lunch some people complained they
25:10couldn't have their nap and the garden's her creation as much as the books are her creation
25:14absolutely the money that she got for the pulitzer prize which was at the time considerable what
25:20did she do with it she poured it into her gardens oh it's here yeah it's right here she said i'm
25:25thrilled to the spine with her passion for gardening wharton threw herself into this horticultural
25:31adventure cultivating mediterranean plants that were entirely new to her she turned a tangled hillside
25:38wilderness into this glorious terraced garden imagine owning this this is unbelievable isn't it
25:47the house was a wreck when she found it is that right it was a ruin a ruin okay that's never good
25:51they don't put that on the particulars when you buy something it's a ruin um why here why did she
25:56settle here she saw the ruin and she fell in love with it she talked about being torn away shrieking
26:04from yer sometimes when she had to go back to paris so she she really did love it and she loved the
26:08view oh i wish she was here we could have tea but maybe she maybe she wouldn't like us i don't know
26:18edith ended up spending all her winters in this house until her death in 1937 writing entertaining
26:24in style and tending lovingly to her beloved garden a true slice of paradise which she captured beautifully
26:33in this poem mistral in the maquis by edith wharton roofed in with creaking pines we lie and see the
26:43waters burn and whiten the wild seas race the racing sky the tossing landscape gloom and lighten
26:54here's to you edith
27:03the next stop on my riviera adventure is arguably the most famous holiday spot in the world the
27:21fabulous and ultra glamorous saint tropez do i need jeans covered in sequence i'm discussing it with
27:30myself for the train nerds out there there is actually no train station in saint tropez the
27:39nearest is in san rafael just under 25 miles away and like me you'll have to rely on the kindness of
27:45strangers to get here i'm told that if you want to see the real saint tropez you have to get down to
27:53the beach early so i've come to the legendary pompelone beach a three mile stretch of white sands
28:00and turquoise water just south of saint tropez's old town i've just arrived at pamplone beach i i mean
28:07i think strictly speaking i should be coming out of the water in some sexy way uh it was in 1956 that
28:12brigitte bardo made this beach famous in a film called and god created woman and it kind of started
28:19that whole tanned sexual revolution once hailed as the most beautiful woman in the world bardo put
28:27saint tropez on the map transforming a sleepy fishing village into the beating heart of 1960s bohemian
28:34life i prefer saint tropez for the beach for the young people and all the funny evenings we spend
28:42it was on this very beach that bikini shrank tops vanished and a new era of sexual freedom began
28:52today with its exclusive beach clubs pompelone has become a playground for the rich and famous
28:58word has it that it's the perfect place for a bit of celebrity spotting let's see if i can see one or two
29:05it's a little bit early so we haven't got the maximum number of people living their best life but oh
29:13look 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 on
29:30the beach two let's go and investigate
29:36the beach with hundreds of thousands of tourists visiting pompelone every year keeping the beach clean
29:57is a challenge but the local council has come up with a genius and environmentally friendly solution
30:06every morning princess and justin roam the sands of pompelone and help pick up litter left by
30:11holiday makers 30 000 items a day on average
30:18oh princess you do such a good job is friendly yes yes hi hello beautiful bye princess bye justin
30:31what a great idea huh donkeys and rubbish i mean what a great job you guys are doing saving the planet
30:42as 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 frederick mausch has written
30:55a book on epi plage one of the trendiest beach clubs on pompelone and he's invited me for a private tour
31:02frederick hello okay 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 undressed as soon
31:16as we meet i apologize i don't need any shoes to get it don't need any shoes i just want to take
31:19them off then okay this is perfect here we go all right oh you do the same this is see we're friends
31:24already love it oh do the socks have to come off no i'm gonna keep socks on there's a line for the
31:31british i think it's socks okay let's go in yeah thank you sweetie frederick's parents used to own
31:39epiplage so he knows all its stories and secrets here's the oasis oh my i was not expecting that
31:50yeah that's refreshing isn't it it's like a movie oh my it looks like hollywood yeah but it's and that's
31:58so appropriate isn't it because the sunshine feels like california doesn't it totally and actually the
32:02constructions here are inspired by like the american-like construction from the 50s
32:07and was built actually in the 50s right so was i so was i yeah oh late 50s yeah me too so as i feel
32:12right at home i think it's my it's my oh with its restaurants and nine bungalows tucked behind the
32:20sand dunes epiplage is the ultimate private club you can stay the night enjoy a leisurely lunch lounge by
32:27the pool or even all three perfect perfect perfect so you you grew up here yeah kind of i mean this was
32:41our like summer house so i was like one year old when i first came here yeah i mean i can't even
32:47imagine the life so when you're a boy do you get you get used to it you just think oh it's the pool it's
32:51the beach it's all you know well first of all it wasn't as like fancy as it is right now it was
32:56much more bohemian yeah actually here it was really like a center for like um music creativity like
33:03starting in the late 50s a lot of artists came here intellectuals like uh alan ginsberg for example was
33:09here um marlon brando uh there was like this melting pot of these like superstars uh then you had like
33:16people who were like a little bit more in the gray zone um uh painters um bourgeois bohème as we call
33:23them you know people who are not doing much you know i have to mention your book uh bridget bardo
33:30is that here on the beach it's actually right here where we're sitting exactly here this place
33:35and bridget bardo in the middle which everybody knows on the right if you're from the uk maybe you
33:40you don't know johnny holliday which is like the french superstar absolutely people came here to be
33:45forgotten like so you had like the billionaire talking to the worker or the agricultural i always
33:51think there's something about uh when you come to the beach and people strip off their shoes it sort
33:55of levels people out um in this place i can tell you in the 70s people were not just taking off their
34:00shoes okay right but it was a different time yeah no i and you know that's fine too i think that sounds
34:06good maybe i would have been fine with my socks off after all and does it feel weird to be back now
34:14because you've not been here for a while actually um it has changed a lot um which is fine you know
34:20i think it's more in line with today you know the high-end luxury the the expectation of the market
34:27right now is very different it has kept it's like robinson crusoe spirit which i like you know and
34:34they've stayed faithful like to the constructions it feels uh very relaxed to me at the moment i was
34:41expecting many more people but we're not in the high season i mean the high season the real high
34:46season where you don't want to be here is very short it's basically between uh the 14th of july
34:52which is the french national day till the 30th of august then it's absolutely crazy you can't really
34:57drive around move around but beyond that it's really nice all year long yeah because paris is closed in
35:04august completely france is closed i think that's a very sensible thing that we should all do i like
35:11that if only that was an option for me but alas i'll have to keep exploring this fabulous town
35:18and seeing what other delights modern-day saint-tropez has in store
35:33i'm in glitzy saint-tropez a name that's synonymous with the french riviera after receiving the vip
35:40treatment on pompelon beach i've made my way to the bustling old town where the harbor is packed with
35:46jaw-dropping yachts judging by the crowds watching the super yachts has become a tourist attraction
35:52in its own right but i have a more pressing priority i never ever take for granted that i
35:59can travel and i love it and i know how privileged i am but i miss my children uh and now i have four
36:06grandchildren so the way i get over that is i find them a postcard that i think will amuse
36:11okay uh wow okay that's that is this one not for the grandchildren this is definitely not uh
36:26i mean that's very annoying because they've they've used my picture in the that's very
36:29irritating that that one is annoying um something i think something less naughty oh here we go oh
36:36in danish uh we say mormon mother mother and 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
36:52in search of a quiet corner to write my postcards but first i need a little pick-me-up
36:58a little pick-me-up uh tartes tropesien petite
37:06yes three petite we mercy this shop is dedicated to the local delicacy the tropesien tart it's a
37:16halved brioche generously filled with a mix of thick buttercream and topped with pearl sugar
37:21I'm just going to put that diet on hold for today.
37:26Here is la tarte troupézienne.
37:31I mean, it looks like a mini-burger.
37:37Mmm.
37:41I mean, it's a lot of sugar content.
37:45That, that, that.
37:46Wow.
37:47OK.
37:48I maybe eat that slowly.
37:50Right.
37:52Watch this one.
37:54There we go.
37:57Mormor is working so hard and having a nightmare time.
38:09I don't want them to think it's too easy.
38:13Just a short stroll from the hustle of the port,
38:16this laid-back square, Place de Lis,
38:18feels quintessentially French.
38:20The kind of place that makes you want to try a bit of Parlez-Francais
38:24and strike up a conversation with the locals.
38:26Oh, look, uh, est-ce que je dis bonjour au chien?
38:31Oh, we know you.
38:32We're, we're English.
38:33Oh, fine.
38:34That was me.
38:35My best friend.
38:36Sandy.
38:37Can I tell?
38:38I am Sandy.
38:39How do you know me?
38:41From, from QI.
38:42Ah, from QI.
38:43Yes.
38:44Sue and Sue.
38:45Sue?
38:46And Richard.
38:47Sue and Richard.
38:48Oh.
38:49This 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.
38:55Where from?
38:56Down front.
38:57We live in Yorkshire near Bradford.
38:59Note to self.
39:00Not everyone you meet on holiday is a local.
39:03So, would you like a QI fact about Saint-Cropez?
39:06Yes, please.
39:07Do you know why it's called Saint-Cropez?
39:09No.
39:10Okay.
39:11So I love this.
39:12This 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.
39:28So 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-Cropez.
39:37And he landed on the coast just here.
39:39And people thought it was a sign.
39:41And so they named it after him.
39:43And the dog and the rooster pushed off and each founded their own village nearby.
39:47Which I don't think is kind to just leave the beheaded guy.
39:50To leave him?
39:51Yeah.
39:52Right.
39:53We've learnt something new.
39:54It's not quite as romantic as the place itself then.
39:56It's a good QI story though.
39:57It tastes excellent.
39:58You like that one?
39:59Yeah.
40:00I do.
40:01The joy of holidays is that they're made of lovely encounters like this.
40:04Now, I don't want to stereotype, but these men over here surely can only be French.
40:14The origin of boules, or pétanque, dates back to ancient Greece.
40:19But the current version of the game was invented in the early 20th century in La Siota.
40:25Yes, the very same town where cinema was born.
40:29And, of course, the Lumière brothers filmed it.
40:32Yes?
40:33Yes?
40:34Yes?
40:35Yes, yes?
40:36Yes, yes.
40:37Yes, yes, yes?
40:38Yes, yes.
40:39Yes, yes.
40:40Yes, yes, yes.
40:41Yes, yes.
40:42Denmark, Denmark, Denmark, Denmark.
40:43Yes, yes, yes.
40:44The boule.
40:45Yes, yes.
40:46These days, pétanque is as popular as ever.
40:49Played in squares like this one, right across France.
40:52And as it turns out, I'm not too bad at it.
41:06Oh, he's not as good as me.
41:11After that extremely energetic workout, I need a drink.
41:25So I'm heading for the hills above Saint-Rupé in search of refreshment.
41:30This region is renowned for its rosé wine, and I can't think of a better way of wrapping up my time in Saint-Rupé than visiting a vineyard.
41:40So I'm meeting winemaker Gwendolyn Berger for a tour and tasting.
41:47This is going to seem incredible to you, but I don't think I've ever seen grapes growing in real life.
41:53On television? Yes, really.
41:55So show me, show me how many would you have on a plant like this?
41:58So there is the grapes, so we can count it.
42:01Bunches of grapes, okay. Now, it's falling over.
42:05Yes, it's falling over because for the moment there is no palissage.
42:11Like a stick?
42:12It's just a stick and a line in steel.
42:15Yes.
42:16So what we can do to take them straight, you can just join them.
42:22I show you in the little piece.
42:24Okay.
42:25You turn like that.
42:26Oh, okay.
42:27But then, as they are far, you can just take these two pieces and...
42:32And wind them around?
42:33And wind them around.
42:34Oh, so they look after each other.
42:36I show you?
42:37Yes.
42:38And then it's your turn.
42:39Okay.
42:40Oh, no.
42:41Okay.
42:42Honestly, I think I'm working too hard on this trip.
42:45So tell me about how you look after it.
42:48Tell me about the soil and what you do to look after it.
42:51I am working since the beginning in an organic way and I am not using pesticide and nothing.
43:01Only infusion.
43:02Right.
43:03Infusion to get stronger the vines.
43:06That works in two years.
43:08Wow.
43:09The plants say just thank you.
43:11Yeah.
43:12They look so healthy.
43:13Gwendolyn 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.
43:27When did you first decide I want to make wine?
43:32Do you remember how old you were?
43:33My first memory is when I was 12.
43:36We just moved from another country to the south of France with my parents
43:40and I asked them if I could make the harvest and they said okay and so I did it.
43:46And the end of October of September when there were some grapes still at the end,
43:54I just took it, I pressed it and I put that in the big bottle, five litres,
43:59and without knowing I was doing my first Blondeau Noir because that was Grenache Noir.
44:04Then I make a white wine so that was my first Blondeau Noir.
44:08Wow.
44:09Twelve years old.
44:10Yes.
44:11This magnificent view.
44:12Yes.
44:13Do you ever get tired of it?
44:14No.
44:15No, no.
44:16Not yet.
44:17No.
44:18I don't think.
44:19No.
44:20I will never.
44:21No.
44:22But you can feel the breeze from the sea.
44:23Does it make a difference?
44:24Yes.
44:25That makes a difference because the wind which is coming from the sea is bringing freshness,
44:28is bringing in salt.
44:29Salt?
44:30Yes.
44:31Oh, okay.
44:32You will find that in your mouth when you will taste it.
44:36That you can taste it.
44:39Shall we go and try the wine?
44:41Okay, with pleasure.
44:42All right.
44:43I loved walking here.
44:45Look at these so pretty.
44:49Gwendolyn shares her passion with her husband who has joined her in this wonderful wine making
44:55adventure.
44:56Okay.
44:57Ah, here is the wine.
44:58Is your husband?
44:59Yes.
45:00Ah, bonjour.
45:01There is Jean-Jacques.
45:02Jean-Jacques.
45:03Let me introduce you to Jean-Jacques.
45:04How are you doing, Sandy?
45:05I'm fine.
45:06Nice to meet you.
45:07Nice to meet you.
45:09Oh, no, no.
45:10Please, please, please.
45:11Oh, okay.
45:13So, what is the name of the wine?
45:15The name is Le Rosé because actually we only have one rosé.
45:20And Clou des B is the name of the vineyard?
45:22Clou des B is the name of the vineyard.
45:24Why?
45:25Why?
45:26Why?
45:27Because Jean-Jacques' last name is Branger and my last name is Berger.
45:31Okay.
45:32Okay.
45:33So then we decided to name it Clou des B as we start together.
45:38I like that.
45:39Okay.
45:40That's our aventure.
45:41The new aventure.
45:42Cheers.
45:43Cheers.
45:44Cheers.
45:45Cheers.
45:46Oh, my goodness.
45:49It's very fresh.
45:50It's totally natural.
45:51There is no sulfate in.
45:53It's delicious.
45:56It's so good.
45:57It's nice.
45:58We've come to be pink as the same as the rosé now.
46:01Oh, 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.
46:07It's got beautiful flavor.
46:09What a way to toast a new friendship.
46:12Yeah.
46:13To the sea.
46:14To the sea.
46:15What do we say in France?
46:24Cheers.
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, almost good enough to eat this week.
46:47New game of wool, Britain's Best Knitter, continues tomorrow night at 8.
46:51Next, mulled cider.
46:52Tis the season after all.
46:53Devon and Cornwall at Christmas is on the way.
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