- 4 hours ago
Sandi's Great Riviera Rail Trip - Season 1 Episode 1 -
Marseille to Saint-Tropez
Marseille to Saint-Tropez
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FunTranscript
00:00Riviera, playground of the rich and famous, and one of the world's great dream destinations.
00:06This is paradise.
00:07And by taking a simple rail trip of just over 100 miles from end to end,
00:12you can see all its sun-drenched glories.
00:16And that's what I'm doing.
00:18Wow.
00:18It's luxury beyond all measure, and I've got the best seat in the house.
00:24As well as the rather nice sea, sand, and sun, I want to explore the region's rich past.
00:31We're sitting pretty much in the exact spot.
00:34And vibrant present.
00:35What a way to toast a new French home.
00:37I'll discover the famous characters that made the Riviera glitter.
00:41You could say that they invented the Cotezio in the summertime.
00:45And I'll visit the places and meet the people that keep it shimmering today.
00:50Oh, I love this.
00:51What's not to like about my great Riviera rail trip?
01:05Look at that.
01:07Marseille, the oldest city in France.
01:10And the very beginning of the French Riviera,
01:13a shimmering coastline that goes all the way from Marseille in the west
01:16to Montau at the Italian border.
01:18And I'm going to do all of it.
01:21I mean, you know, by train.
01:22I'm not going to walk the whole way because it's too far.
01:28But first, I have to conquer the station's mighty staircase.
01:32It's an art deco feast.
01:34And with 104 steps, it'll be enough exercise for the whole journey.
01:38That grand staircase which connects the city with the train station
01:44is decorated with glorious statues.
01:47This one says,
01:48Le soleil et la mer.
01:50The sun and the sea.
01:51And for generations, that is why people have come to the Riviera.
01:54But there is also bucket loads of history and art and literature,
01:58not to mention incredible food and wine.
02:01I mean, it's going to be hell.
02:03With more than 300 days of sunshine a year and skies as blue as the sea,
02:10the Riviera was a ribbon of sleepy fishing villages
02:13until the English upper classes started coming here
02:16in search of a cure-all climate in the 1700s.
02:20The arrival of the train from Paris in the 19th century
02:23transformed the region into the glamorous holiday destination we know today.
02:28Since then, generations of artists and free thinkers from all over the world
02:34have flocked to this slice of paradise.
02:37As a writer myself, I can't wait to follow in their footsteps.
02:41Oh, look.
02:43There's my train.
02:4410.36.
02:44I'm off.
02:50I love this.
02:51It says, don't forget me.
02:52But, I mean, if you had a case that size, how would...
02:55I've only got this.
02:56But, you'd be amazed how much I can get in here.
02:58It's fabulous.
03:05And the train's actually on time.
03:08Wow.
03:09Double-decker.
03:10The French don't mess around.
03:17That's it.
03:18We're off.
03:19I didn't bring a lot of things because I've got a theory that France has got shops.
03:31I mean, prove me wrong, but that's my theory.
03:36From Marseille, the line goes all the way to Ventimiglia in Italy,
03:40and it stops in so many legendary towns.
03:43Cane, Nice, Monaco, Montaigne.
03:46And I'm going to visit them all.
03:56I love everything about train travel.
03:58It just seems to be from another era.
04:01I like checking the timetable.
04:03I like having an empty seat in case I might make a friend.
04:06I like the sound of it, the rumble.
04:09Although, of course, there was a time when it was thought dangerous for women to take the train.
04:13There was a wonderful article in the New England Medical Journal in 1870
04:16in which the doctor advised against women enjoying the vibrations of a train
04:21because it might cause uterine dislocation.
04:24I mean, I'm willing to take the risk, it's fine.
04:30And so, with a great sense of jeopardy, I'm approaching my first stop,
04:34the seaside town of Saint-Araix-sur-Mer, only 45 minutes away from Marseille.
04:42And that's the 105th step of the day.
04:45With its pastel facades and picture-perfect port,
04:54Saint-Araix-sur-Mer harks back to that time
04:57when the Riviera was more about fishing than tourism.
05:01The sun is shining, the pace is a gentle dawdle, and I love it.
05:06I feel a new novel coming on.
05:12Let's check out the view.
05:15I mean, sometimes you have a thought in your head
05:28what the view is going to be like.
05:31This is better.
05:32This is...
05:34This is paradise.
05:37Hello.
05:39I'm a writer.
05:41Writing very important work.
05:43Very busy.
05:44Very busy writing.
05:44In case anybody was impressed.
05:49Oh, I could sit at the desk and write.
05:51That would be good.
05:51I could pretend I'm writing here.
05:53I want to live here now.
05:54What makes Saint-Araix's harbour view so special
06:03is the fleet of traditional pointy boats,
06:06or pointy ones, if you're feeling literal.
06:08With their bright colours and wooden bows,
06:11there are a glimpse of life here
06:12before the invasion of the rich and famous.
06:14Since I love sailing,
06:16and it would be rude not to approach the Riviera by sea,
06:19the Plantus Association of Saint-Araix
06:21have offered to take me for a spin.
06:24How could I say no?
06:25Cherie.
06:28Hello, Sandy.
06:29Bonjour.
06:30Bonjour.
06:31How nice to meet you.
06:32Nice to meet you, too.
06:33I'm so excited.
06:34So, is this the boat that we're going on?
06:36Absolutely.
06:36Our boat is Tranquilou.
06:38Tranquilou.
06:38Cool.
06:40That's us.
06:40We will be cool.
06:41Okay.
06:42Okay.
06:42And this is great day.
06:43It's sunny days and so on.
06:45How lucky are we?
06:46Perfect to sail.
06:48Okay.
06:49Tell me how to get on board.
06:49Yes.
06:50I will welcome you on board.
06:52Okay?
06:53Okay.
06:53We're good.
06:55And off we go.
06:59You have an association, don't you, of the boats?
07:02Yes.
07:03Yeah.
07:03How many boats?
07:04The association, we have 100 boats,
07:07our own 100 boats,
07:09and 200 people in this association.
07:12Wow.
07:13We have to maintain the boat each year.
07:16Sure.
07:16So, this is wood,
07:18all the boats,
07:21so between, I would say,
07:2350 to 100 years.
07:26Our oldest boat is 120 years.
07:29Wow.
07:29It could be destroyed with the time.
07:32Right.
07:32If you don't look after it.
07:33Yes.
07:33If you don't take care of it.
07:35Yeah.
07:35And they're all different bright colors,
07:38the boats.
07:38Yes.
07:38Is that just the choice of the owner?
07:40Exactly.
07:41The same feeling that if you have an old car,
07:44you have to take care.
07:45Yeah.
07:45Yeah, yeah.
07:46This is the same feeling.
07:47Yes.
07:48Thanks to all the great work from the Pointeux Association,
07:52Sanary proudly boasts the biggest collection of Pointeux in the Riviera.
07:56It must be important for the tourists, I think,
08:01to the way the town looks.
08:03Yeah, yeah.
08:04This is still a small place.
08:06Yes.
08:07Like, I would say, a fisherman village.
08:11Yeah.
08:12Yeah, it still has a feeling about it.
08:14Yeah, yeah.
08:15Well, I am never happier than when I'm at sea.
08:18Yeah.
08:18Because I'm from Denmark, I am a Viking.
08:20I like the boats.
08:21I think the boats are very important.
08:22Personally, also, so.
08:24Feel good.
08:25Yeah, yeah.
08:25Now, I have a burning question to ask Thierry.
08:31I have a big favour.
08:32Yeah?
08:33Could I have a go at steering?
08:34You want to?
08:35Please?
08:35Yeah.
08:36OK.
08:36Yes, my pleasure.
08:37Is it all right?
08:38My pleasure.
08:41OK.
08:44OK.
08:46I love this.
08:48This is so wonderful.
08:49My pleasure.
08:50Oh, I love boats.
08:50Our pleasure.
08:52I can't believe a Frenchman is trusting a Viking
08:55with their boat.
08:57Olivier, we're going to go to England now.
09:01Oh, is that way?
09:03Is that way?
09:03OK.
09:04Is that way?
09:04OK.
09:05OK.
09:06Oh, this is magnificent.
09:10Actually, I'm not quite ready to head home just yet,
09:13especially as the dramatic craggy coastline begins to unravel before our eyes.
09:22It's a visual feast and a powerful reminder that the Riviera's roots lie in the sea and those fishing traditions.
09:29That heritage still lingers in the region's most iconic dish, the bouillabaisse.
09:37This is the soup where you are cooking the fish and with potatoes and...
09:45And garlic.
09:46And garlic.
09:47French.
09:47Yeah, yeah, yeah.
09:49It has to have garlic in it.
09:50Yeah, yeah.
09:51So, but it's very good taste.
09:54And where in town would I get the best bouillabaisse?
09:56It's the best and, I would say, with a good reputation is Hotel de la Tour.
10:03Well, that's handy.
10:05That's my hotel.
10:06It makes tonight's choice for dinner nice and easy.
10:13Bonsoir.
10:14Bonsoir.
10:16It's the first time?
10:17Yes.
10:18In Hotel de la Tour, first time bouillabaisse?
10:20Very excited, yes.
10:21Ah.
10:21Both.
10:23Ah, so the bib?
10:24Ah, yes.
10:25OK.
10:26Oh, isn't that lovely?
10:32Loveless.
10:33I mean, I'm a spiller.
10:34This is perfect.
10:38The bouillabaisse began as a poor man's dish.
10:41The fishermen of Marseille using bony fish that nobody else wanted.
10:45And what sets the bouillabaisse apart from other fish stews is that it's served in two parts.
10:51Et voici, madame, la bouillabaisse.
10:54First, you get a rich saffron-infused broth served with garlicky bread and some fish, followed
11:03by a second plate of potatoes and more fish.
11:05Wow, merci, Mathis.
11:10That is incredible.
11:18That is...
11:20Oh, my.
11:22I'm in the charming port of Salary-sur-Mer, the first stop on my Riviera adventure.
11:46Salary may look like a tranquil seaside town, but back in the 1930s, it was the beating heart
11:52of European intellectual life.
11:54It all began with British author Aldous Huxley, who moved here in 1930 and wrote what became
12:01his most famous novel, Brave New World.
12:04Before long, some of the greatest German writers followed, including Thomas Mann and Berthold
12:10Brecht.
12:11I'm told a few of them even stayed at my hotel.
12:14To find out more about Salary's fascinating literary past, I'm meeting up with Ina Barato,
12:20a German-born local guide.
12:23Ina.
12:24Hello, Sandy.
12:25I'm Sandy.
12:26Shall we do French?
12:27Bonjour.
12:28Bonjour.
12:29And welcome to Salary.
12:31Oh, that's so kind.
12:32I'm so excited to be here.
12:34So I want to know all about the writers that came here.
12:36Why did they come?
12:37Who came?
12:38I mean, I couldn't...
12:40I want to know everything.
12:41And now you can perhaps...
12:43Already you start to understand a little bit, because when you see this lovely day, when
12:48you see the blue sky, the sunshine, then you can imagine that those people, when they
12:55have had problems in Germany, it was from 1933, when Hitler took the power, certain writers,
13:03the one that was against Hitler, they have had to leave Germany, because even some of them
13:11lost their nationality.
13:13Wow.
13:14All their goods, all their money has been blocked, their houses has been confiscated.
13:20So I understand why they left, but why here, why this spot?
13:24Why Sanary?
13:26There's one important reason.
13:27Sanary was not expensive.
13:29See now, look, all of the yachts in there.
13:32Yeah, but it changed today.
13:34It's not anymore the same.
13:38And so Sanary became the capital of German literature.
13:43It was a kind of must to come to the hotel.
13:47To give you an example, Bertolt Brecht, famous...
13:52The Strippening Opera.
13:53Yeah, absolutely.
13:54And Bertolt Brecht, for instance, he came from 1933, several times he came with his mistress.
14:04Yeah, I mean, officially he was his collaborator.
14:08She was a young communist, because Brecht was a communist, and they stood a couple of
14:15six weeks in the hotel, and during this time, he was writing the opera, the Trippening Opera.
14:21The Trippening Opera, yeah.
14:22Now this.
14:23Yes.
14:26During his stay here, while enjoying the company of said mistress, Brecht wrote to his wife,
14:31one gets bored on the Mediterranean.
14:33I don't know how he had time.
14:36So I'm trying to imagine this life, right?
14:38I'm trying to imagine there's all these writers and so on.
14:40What are they, they must be sitting in the cafes and drinking and enjoying their lives?
14:44Yes, absolutely.
14:45I mean, if not together?
14:46Hello, for instance, you have the cafes on the other side there.
14:49Yeah?
14:49It was called...
14:51And is this this right here?
14:54It's the one that we have just on the other side.
14:57I want to imagine that I'm a writer here, and you're going to ask me in German for a drink,
15:01please.
15:02Yes.
15:03So we say just...
15:04Lasst uns einen trinken.
15:06Ja, bitte.
15:07Good.
15:07Okay, let's do it.
15:10So let's pretend we're German intellectuals and sit for a drink.
15:14Or if I get to choose.
15:16It'll always be an ice cream.
15:18I'm trying to think, if I was in exile...
15:19Yeah.
15:21...with other people, I would want to come to a cafe.
15:23I think it would seem like a way of believing that life continues.
15:27Yeah, to go in the cafe was as well the opportunity to talk with other writers.
15:36They made a circle of, do you say, literature?
15:41Yeah.
15:41A circle of literature, but only the elite came.
15:45Right, okay.
15:47And, of course, with elitism comes rivalry.
15:51Behind the cheerful cafe scenes simmered intellectual tension.
15:55Aldous Huxley wasn't thrilled by the influx of German writers in Saint-Henry.
16:00He reportedly found them arrogant and full of themselves.
16:04But this, of course, did not inhibit the Germans.
16:08Bertolt Brecht, he was singing satiric songs on Goebbels and Hitler.
16:16He was playing on his guitar.
16:19I'm listening to all these wonderful stories that you're telling me.
16:21But what I can't get over is we're sitting pretty much in the exact spot
16:26where they would have sat inventing stories.
16:29So he's very famous, Bertolt Brecht, now.
16:31But somebody sat in this cafe and went,
16:32Hey, Bertolt, give us a song.
16:34I love that.
16:35Oh, yes, it was.
16:35You could say they have had a life a little bit like exile in paradise.
16:45But those days of happy exile were short-lived.
16:49In 1940, France fell under German occupation.
16:52Saint-Henry was no longer a safe haven for the exiled writers
16:55who became persecuted by the collaborating French authorities.
16:59French authorities would deliver him to the Nazis.
17:04So to Auschwitz or somewhere?
17:06Yeah.
17:06Right, OK.
17:08Some, like Thomas Mann and Bertolt Brecht, managed to escape to America.
17:13But many other writers were arrested and deported to the death camps.
17:20Is that a history that the French have been able to confront about themselves?
17:25They start now to confront it.
17:29A very long time, they didn't want to see or to hear anything on this.
17:37But now, as we have younger people, they want to know.
17:49Surrounded by such beauty, it's hard to imagine that this idyllic, peaceful place,
17:54peaceful place, once witnessed some of history's darkest chapters.
18:00Yet, despite the scars left behind, this town rose from the ashes
18:04and blossomed once again, soon after the war.
18:07It's time for me to say goodbye to Saint-Henry and its fascinating history and continue my journey.
18:29Only 15 minutes away by train, heading back towards Marseille, is the seaside town of La Ciota.
18:39And I've been told, its station holds a rather fascinating claim to fame.
18:45I'm going to be honest with you, we have made a slight detour, but it's 100% worth it,
18:50because this is the exact spot of the birthplace of cinema.
18:53In 1895, the Lumiere brothers shot the arrival of a train along the platform.
18:58It's a very short piece of footage, but from here, the whole of cinema explodes.
19:03And France went on to become one of the greatest makers of film in the whole history of cinema.
19:11While spending their summer in the family holiday home in La Ciota,
19:16Louis and Auguste Lumiere began filming scenes of daily life.
19:19This footage of the train arriving in La Ciota was shown to the public in December 1895.
19:26It was one of the first times moving images were shown in a theatre, and people were shocked.
19:32Some, reportedly, ran away from the large screen.
19:36To celebrate this great heritage, the train station at La Ciota has been turned into a mini-museum.
19:43There's a most wonderful quote up on the wall here by one of the Lumiere brothers,
19:47saying basically that he thought that moving pictures were always going to be a scientific curiosity,
19:51but they didn't really have a future.
19:54And there's great photographs of the early equipment.
19:56Look at this.
19:57They would hand crank, not just to shoot the thing, but to show it.
20:02They projected their films using this exact device in a local cinema called The Eden.
20:08And guess what?
20:09It still exists today in the town centre of La Ciota,
20:12proudly claiming the title of the oldest cinema in the world.
20:17But with skies like these, it's not a day for the cinema, and my train is arriving.
20:23Let's hop back on and make some movie magic of my own.
20:27I'm travelling along the glorious French Riviera,
20:48and after some quality time in La Ciota and Saint-Neris-sur-Mer,
20:52I'm approaching my next stop, the city of Yerre.
20:55Nestled between the hills and the sea, Yerre enjoys a front-row seat to the Mediterranean.
21:01It was this prime location that lured in British aristocrats in the 18th century,
21:08transforming the town into the Riviera's very first resort.
21:14Yerre is a tale of two cities,
21:16a modern town with majestic palm-lined avenues,
21:19and a medieval heart with winding lanes and charmingly crumbling facades.
21:24But it's idyllic, and frankly, I'm starting to question all my life choices.
21:30Oh, look at this. Look.
21:32This is for rent, right?
21:33And in another life, I rent this, and I sit here and I write,
21:36I become the mad old hag of Yerre.
21:39I mean, I haven't got time, but I love the idea.
21:41Guiding me around the city is American writer and Riviera expert, Lainey Goodman.
21:50Lainey?
21:50Oh.
21:51I'm Sandy. I brought you ice cream.
21:52Thank you so much, of course.
21:55Oh, this is nice.
21:56This is very nice.
21:57I can't quite believe we're sitting in the shadow of a 12th century tower.
22:02This town, yeah, is really properly old, isn't it?
22:05It is, and I think that most people don't even realise all of the history behind it.
22:09It feels lived in.
22:12Well, I would agree, because I find it very laid back.
22:16I think a lot of people ignore that this is the Cote d'Azur, a different Cote d'Azur.
22:22Lainey's not the only American I know to appreciate the laid back charms of Yerre.
22:27New York-born writer Edith Wharton lived here between the two world wars,
22:31and her house and gardens still exist.
22:34Well, I have felt all my life that not enough people are in love with the American author Edith Wharton.
22:40I am in love with her.
22:42I have always wanted to see her garden.
22:44Are you going to show it to me?
22:45Yes, absolutely.
22:46Do you know what?
22:47This is one of the best days of my life.
22:48Let's take our ice cream, brothers.
22:50Come on.
22:50I am so excited, because Edith Wharton is a really important author to me.
23:07But I'm always surprised how many people don't know her.
23:09How do you introduce her to people?
23:11Well, I would say that she's part of a media from New York, old money, that's sort of turn of the century.
23:20Having grown up in high society, Edith Wharton became one of its sharpest critics in novels like The House of Mirth and The Age of Innocence.
23:28It took a director like Martin Scorsese to adapt The Age of Innocence, one of her greatest novels, for people to start understanding who she was.
23:38Then people went back and read the novel.
23:41There are a lot of people who are trying now to adapt some of her stories.
23:45So, little by little, like Jane Austen, you know, people are coming, Hollywood and...
23:49Rediscovering.
23:50Yes, rediscovering her and reworking her, because some of the themes, I think, will be around forever.
23:56Oh, I feel the book's still read as fresh and modern.
24:01And, of course, we mustn't forget, first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
24:04So, let's go enjoy her garden, shall we?
24:07Yes.
24:15Fleeing an unhappy marriage in the strict confines of her social world, Edith moved to France in 1910 and settled in Paris.
24:22Then in 1919, at the age of 57, she discovered this hilltop haven, the House of St. Clair, built into the walls of a medieval castle, and she turned it into her winter retreat.
24:38Today, her perched garden is a free public park.
24:41Wow, it's high up.
24:46It's very high.
24:48Both the views and the climb up here are breathtaking.
24:54She must have been fit, living up here.
24:56She was, and she, even in her 60s and 70s, she went tramping all around the gardens with her guests.
25:02In fact, she obliged them after lunch.
25:04Some people complained they couldn't have their nap.
25:06And the garden's her creation, as much as the books are her creation, aren't they?
25:10Absolutely.
25:11The money that she got for the Pulitzer Prize, which was, at the time, considerable, what did she do with it?
25:16She poured it into her gardens.
25:18Oh, it's here?
25:18Yeah.
25:18It's right here.
25:20She said, I'm thrilled to the spine.
25:22With her passion for gardening, Wharton threw herself into this horticultural adventure, cultivating Mediterranean plants that were entirely new to her.
25:31She turned a tangled hillside wilderness into this glorious terraced garden.
25:37Imagine owning this.
25:38It's unbelievable, isn't it?
25:42The house was a wreck when she found it, is that right?
25:44It was a ruin.
25:45A ruin.
25:45Okay, that's never a good...
25:46They don't put that on the particulars when you buy something.
25:49It's a ruin.
25:50Why here?
25:51Why did she settle here?
25:52She saw the ruin and she fell in love with it.
25:55She talked about being torn away, shrieking from Yer sometimes when she had to go back to Paris.
26:01So she really did love it and she loved the view.
26:05Oh, I wish she was here.
26:06We could have tea.
26:07But maybe she wouldn't like us.
26:09I don't know.
26:09Edith ended up spending all her winters in this house until her death in 1937, writing, entertaining
26:19in style and tending lovingly to her beloved garden.
26:23A true slice of paradise, which she captured beautifully in this poem.
26:31Mistral in the Marquis by Edith Wharton.
26:34Roofed in with creaking pines we lie and see the waters burn and whiten.
26:41The wild seas race the racing sky, the tossing landscape gloom and lighten.
26:49Here's to you, Edith.
26:50Edith Wharton.
27:04The next stop on my Riviera adventure is arguably the most famous holiday spot in the world.
27:16The fabulous and ultra-glamorous Saint-Tropez.
27:22Do I need jeans covered in sequins?
27:24I'm discussing it with myself.
27:25For the train nerds out there, there is actually no train station in Saint-Tropez.
27:34The nearest is in Saint-Raphael, just under 25 miles away.
27:38And like me, you'll have to rely on the kindness of strangers to get here.
27:42I'm told that if you want to see the real Saint-Tropez, you have to get down to the beach early.
27:49So I've come to the legendary Pampelone Beach, a three-mile stretch of white sands and turquoise water just south of Saint-Tropez's old town.
28:00I've just arrived at Pampelone Beach.
28:02I mean, I think, strictly speaking, I should be coming out of the water in some sexy way.
28:05It was in 1956 that Brigitte Bardot made this beach famous in a film called And God Created Woman.
28:13And it kind of started that whole tanned sexual revolution.
28:17Once hailed as the most beautiful woman in the world, Bardot put Saint-Tropez on the map,
28:24transforming a sleepy fishing village into the beating heart of 1960s bohemian life.
28:30I prefer Saint-Tropez for the beach, for the young people and all the fun evenings we spend.
28:37It was on this very beach that bikinis shrank, tops vanished and a new era of sexual freedom began.
28:47Today, with its exclusive beach clubs, Pampelone has become a playground for the rich and famous.
28:53Word has it that it's the perfect place for a bit of celebrity spotting.
28:57Let's see if I can see one or two.
29:02It's a little bit early, so we haven't got the maximum number of people living their best life,
29:07but, oh, look at all that, look at, wow, look at all that donkey, look, yep.
29:16Okay, there are donkeys on the beach.
29:19This is not quite the Saint-Tropez glamour I was expecting.
29:24You know sometimes you see a big ass on the beach.
29:27Two.
29:30Let's go and investigate.
29:32Bonjour, bonjour.
29:34Bonjour.
29:34Je m'appelle Sandy.
29:35Je m'appelle William.
29:36William.
29:36William.
29:37Bonjour, Laurent.
29:38Bonjour.
29:40Il s'appelle...
29:41Princesse.
29:42Elle s'appelle Princesse.
29:44Oui, okay.
29:45Et Justin.
29:45Justin.
29:46With hundreds of thousands of tourists visiting Pompelon every year, keeping the beach clean
29:52is a challenge, but the local council has come up with a genius and environmentally friendly
29:58solution.
30:01Every morning, Princesse and Justin roam the sands of Pompelon and help pick up litter left
30:06by holiday makers.
30:0930,000 items a day on average.
30:15Oh, Princesse, you do such a good job.
30:18Is it friendly?
30:18Yes, yes, yes.
30:20Hi.
30:21Hello.
30:22Beautiful.
30:22Bye, Princesse.
30:24Bye, Justin.
30:24What a great idea, huh?
30:28Donkeys and rubbish.
30:29I mean, what a great job you guys are doing.
30:31Saving the planet.
30:37As much as I enjoy the company of donkeys, the reason I'm in Saint-Tropez is to experience
30:42some of the glitz and glamour.
30:45And my next date promises exactly that.
30:47Frédéric Mausch has written a book on Epi Plage, one of the trendiest beach clubs
30:54on Pompelon, and he's invited me for a private tour.
30:58Frédéric.
30:59Hello.
31:00Hi.
31:01Okay, so I can tell you this.
31:02I've just been on the beach, and I have so much sand in my shoe that I think I have
31:06taken part of the beach with me.
31:09Sorry, but I'm so sorry to get undressed as soon as we meet.
31:12I apologize.
31:12Don't need any shoes to get in.
31:13Don't need any shoes?
31:14I'm just going to take them off then.
31:15Okay, this is perfect.
31:16Here we go.
31:17All right.
31:17I'll do the same.
31:17Oh, you'll do the same?
31:18See?
31:19We're friends already.
31:20Love it.
31:21Oh, do the socks have to come off?
31:23No.
31:23I'm going to keep socks on.
31:25There's a line for the British.
31:27I think it's socks.
31:28Okay, let's go in.
31:28Yep.
31:31Thank you, sweetie.
31:33Frédéric's parents used to own Epi Plage, so he knows all its stories and secrets.
31:39Here's the oasis.
31:40Oh, my.
31:41I was not expecting that.
31:44Oh, look at that.
31:46That's refreshing, isn't it?
31:47It's like a movie.
31:49Oh, my.
31:50It looks like Hollywood.
31:51Yeah, but it's, and that's so appropriate, isn't it?
31:54Because the sunshine feels like California, doesn't it?
31:56Totally.
31:56And actually, the constructions here are inspired by, like, the American, like, constructions
32:00from the 50s, and was built, actually, in the 50s.
32:04Right.
32:04Late 50s.
32:05So was I.
32:05Yeah.
32:05Oh, late 50s.
32:06Yeah, me too.
32:07So, I feel right at home.
32:08I think it's my, it's my, oh.
32:10Oopah.
32:10With its restaurants and nine bungalows tucked behind the sand dunes, Epi Plage is the ultimate
32:18private club.
32:19You can stay the night, enjoy a leisurely lunch, lounge by the pool, or even all three.
32:24Perfect, perfect, perfect.
32:31So, you, you grew up here?
32:34Yeah, kind of.
32:35I mean, this was our, like, summer house.
32:38So I was, like, one year old when I first came here.
32:40Yeah.
32:41I mean, I can't even imagine the life.
32:43So when you're a boy, do you get, you get used to it?
32:45You just think, oh, it's the pool, it's the beach, it's all, you know?
32:48Well, first of all, it wasn't as, like, fancy as it is right now.
32:51It was much more bohemian.
32:52Yeah.
32:53Actually, here, it was really, like, a center for, like, music, creativity, like, starting
32:58in the late 50s.
33:00A lot of artists came here, intellectuals, like, Allen Ginsberg, for example, was here.
33:06Marlon Brando.
33:07There was, like, this melting pot of these, like, superstars.
33:11Then, like, you had, like, people who were, like, a little bit more in the gray zone, painters,
33:17bourgeois bohème, as we call them.
33:19You know, people who were not doing much, you know?
33:21I have to mention your book.
33:24Brigitte Bardot, is that here on the beach?
33:27It's actually right here where we're sitting, exactly here, this place.
33:30And Brigitte Bardot in the middle, which everybody knows.
33:33On the right, if you're from the UK, maybe you don't know Johnny Holiday, which is, like,
33:37the French superstar.
33:38Absolutely.
33:39People came here to be forgotten, like, so you had, like, the billionaire talking to the
33:43worker or the agriculturer.
33:46I always think there's something about when you come to the beach and people strip off their
33:49shoes.
33:50It sort of levels people out.
33:52In this place, I can tell you, in the 70s, people were not just taking off their shoes.
33:56Okay, right.
33:57But it was a different time.
33:58Yeah.
33:59No, and, you know, that's fine, too.
34:01I think that sounds good.
34:02Maybe I would have been fine with my socks off after all.
34:07And does it feel weird to be back now because you've not been here for a while?
34:10Actually, it has changed a lot, which is fine.
34:15You know, I think it's more in line with today.
34:18You know, the high-end luxury, the expectation of the market right now is very different.
34:24It has kept its, like, Robinson Crusoe spirit, which I like, you know, and they've stayed
34:30faithful, like, to the constructions.
34:32It feels very relaxed to me at the moment.
34:36I was expecting many more people, but we're not in the high season.
34:40I mean, the high season, the real high season, where you don't want to be here, is very short.
34:44It's basically between the 14th of July, which is the French National Day, till the 30th
34:49of August.
34:50And it's absolutely crazy.
34:52You can't really drive around, move around.
34:54But beyond that, it's really nice all year long.
34:58Yeah.
34:58Because Paris is closed in August completely.
35:00France is closed.
35:02France is closed in August.
35:03I think that's a very sensible thing that we should all do.
35:06I like that.
35:07If only that was an option for me.
35:09But alas, I'll have to keep exploring this fabulous town and seeing what other delights
35:14modern-day Saint-Tropez has in store.
35:28I'm in glitzy Saint-Tropez.
35:30A name that's synonymous with the French Riviera.
35:33After receiving the VIP treatment on Pompelon Beach, I've made my way to the bustling old
35:39town, where the harbour is packed with jaw-dropping yachts.
35:43Judging by the crowds, watching the super yachts has become a tourist attraction in its own
35:48right.
35:48But I have a more pressing priority.
35:51I never, ever take for granted that I can travel, and I love it, and I know how privileged
35:56I am.
35:57But I miss my children.
36:00And now I have four grandchildren.
36:02So the way I get over that is I find them a postcard that I think will amuse.
36:06Okay.
36:07Wow.
36:08Okay.
36:11This one, not for the grandchildren.
36:17This is definitely not, I mean, that's very annoying because they've used my picture in
36:24the, that's very irritating.
36:25That one is annoying.
36:27Something, I think something less naughty.
36:30Oh, here we go.
36:30Oh, in Danish, we say mormon, mother, mother.
36:35And all of these are from mormon.
36:43The port's a little too busy for my liking, so I'm heading deeper into the old town in search
36:48of a quiet corner to write my postcards.
36:51But first, I need a little pick-me-up.
36:55Bonjour.
36:57Tarte trapezienne, petite.
37:00Oui, trois, petite.
37:03Oui, merci.
37:05This shop is dedicated to the local delicacy, the trapezienne tart.
37:10It's a halved brioche generously filled with a mix of thick buttercream and topped with
37:16pearl sugar.
37:17Just going to put that diet on hold for today.
37:21Here is la tarte trapezienne.
37:25I mean, it looks like a mini burger.
37:30I mean, it's a lot of sugar content.
37:40That, that, that, wow.
37:42Okay.
37:42I maybe eat that slowly.
37:45Right.
37:47Watch this one.
37:49There we go.
37:51More, more is working so hard and having a nightmare time.
38:04I don't want them to think it's too easy.
38:05Just a short stroll from the hustle of the port, this laid-back square, Place des Lys, feels
38:14quintessentially French.
38:15The kind of place that makes you want to try a bit of parler français and strike up a
38:20conversation with the locals.
38:21Oh, look, uh, est-ce que je dis bonjour au champ?
38:28Oh, we know you, we're, we're English.
38:30Oh, fine, that was me, my best friend.
38:32Sandy, can I tell you, I am Sandy.
38:34How do you know me?
38:36From, from QI.
38:37Ah, from QI.
38:38QI, which I am.
38:39Sue and Sue.
38:40Sue?
38:40And Richard.
38:41Sue and Richard.
38:42Oh, this sounds very silly, but it sounds nice to be able to just speak fluently.
38:47What are you doing here, obviously on holiday?
38:49Yes, we're on holiday.
38:50We brought our caravan.
38:51Where from?
38:52Down front.
38:52We live in Yorkshire, near Bradford.
38:54Note to self, not everyone you meet on holiday is a local.
38:58So, would you like a QI fact about Saint-Tropez?
39:02Yes, please.
39:03Do you know why it's called Saint-Tropez?
39:05No.
39:06Okay, so I love this.
39:07This is one of my favourite stories.
39:09So, there was a knight about 2,000 years ago in the time of Nero, okay, and he converted
39:14to Christianity, and Nero did not think this was a good idea, so he beheaded him, which
39:18is not nice, and then people started to worship the body of the knight without his head
39:23on, so they put the knight without his head in a rotting boat with a dog and a rooster
39:28and set it out to sea, okay, and this guy is Saint-Tropez, and he landed on the coast
39:34just here, and people thought it was a sign, and so they named it after him, and the dog
39:40and the rooster pushed off and each founded their own village nearby, which I don't think
39:44is kind, to just leave the beheaded guy.
39:46Oh, not to leave him.
39:47Yeah.
39:47Right.
39:48We've learned something new.
39:49It's not quite as romantic as the place itself, then.
39:52It's a good QI story, though.
39:53It is.
39:53It's excellent.
39:54You like that one?
39:55Yeah, I do.
39:55Yeah?
39:56Yeah.
39:56The joy of holidays is that they're made of lovely encounters like this.
40:01Now, I don't want to stereotype, but these men over here surely can only be French.
40:11The origin of boule, or pétanque, dates back to ancient Greece, but the current version
40:16of the game was invented in the early 20th century in La Sciota.
40:21Yes, the very same town where cinema was born.
40:25And, of course, the Lumiere brothers filmed it.
40:28Here, to see?
40:32Here, to see?
40:33Mark the boule.
40:34Mark the boule.
40:35Boulet.
40:36Boulet, OK.
40:37And the bouillon.
40:38The bouillon.
40:39These days, pétanque is as popular as ever, played in squares like this one right across
40:47France.
40:48And as it turns out, I'm not too bad at it.
40:54Oh, he's not as good as me.
41:13After that extremely energetic workout, I need a drink.
41:20So I'm heading for the hills above Saint-Tropez in search of refreshment.
41:25This region is renowned for its rosé wine, and I can't think of a better way of wrapping
41:30up my time in Saint-Tropez than visiting a vineyard.
41:35So I'm meeting winemaker Gwendolyn Berger for a tour and tasting.
41:43This is going to seem incredible to you, but I don't think I've ever seen grapes growing
41:48in real life, on television.
41:50Yes, really.
41:51So show me, show me how many would you have on a plant like this.
41:53So, there is the grapes.
41:55Yes.
41:56So we can count eight.
41:57Punches of grapes.
41:58Yes, absolutely.
41:59Now, it's falling over.
42:00Yes, it's falling over because for the moment there is no palissage.
42:06Like a stick?
42:07So it's just a stick and a line in steel.
42:11Yes.
42:12So what we can do to take them straight, you can just join them.
42:18I show you in the little piece.
42:20Okay.
42:21You turn like that.
42:22Oh, okay.
42:23But then, as they are far, you can just take these two pieces and…
42:28And wind them around.
42:29And wind them around.
42:30Oh, so they look after each other.
42:32I show you?
42:33Yes.
42:34And then it's your turn.
42:35Okay.
42:36Honestly, I think I'm working too hard on this trip.
42:40So tell me about how you look after it.
42:43Tell me about the soil and what you do to look after it.
42:46So I am working since the beginning in an organic way and I am not using pesticide and nothing.
42:57Only infusion.
42:58Right.
42:59Infusion to get stronger the vines.
43:02That works in two years.
43:04Yes.
43:05The plants say just thank you.
43:07Yeah.
43:08They look so healthy.
43:11Gwendolyn also follows the principles of biodynamic farming, which takes a holistic view of the vineyard.
43:17She treats it as a living ecosystem, which gives it a beautiful wild look.
43:24When did you first decide I want to make wine? Do you remember how old you were?
43:29My first memory is when I was 12.
43:32We just moved from another country to the south of France with my parents.
43:36And I asked them if I could make the harvest.
43:39And they said, okay.
43:40And so I did it.
43:42And 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.
43:55And without knowing I was doing my first Blanc de Noir because that was Grenache Noir.
44:00Then I make a white wine.
44:02So that was my first Blanc de Noir.
44:03Wow.
44:04Twelve years old.
44:05Yes.
44:07This magnificent view.
44:08Yes.
44:09Do you ever get tired of it?
44:10No.
44:11No, no.
44:12Not yet.
44:13No.
44:14I don't think.
44:15I will never.
44:16No.
44:17No.
44:18Does it make a difference?
44:19Yes.
44:20That makes a difference because the wind which is coming from the sea is bringing freshness, is bringing salt.
44:24Salt?
44:25Yes.
44:26Oh, okay.
44:27And this, you will find that in your mouth when you will taste it.
44:32That you can taste it.
44:35Shall we go and try the wine?
44:36Okay, with pleasure.
44:38I loved walking here.
44:40This is, look at these so pretty.
44:45Gwendolyn shares her passion with her husband who has joined her in this wonderful wine making adventure.
44:53Okay.
44:54Ah, here is the wine.
44:55Is your husband?
44:56Here is your, yes.
44:57Ah, bonjour.
44:58There is Jean-Jacques.
44:59Jean-Jacques.
45:00Let me introduce you to Jean-Jacques.
45:01How you doing, Sandy?
45:02I'm fine.
45:03Nice to meet you.
45:04Nice to meet you.
45:06Oh no, no, please, please, please.
45:07Okay, thank you.
45:08So, what is the name of the wine?
45:10The name is Le Rosé, because actually we only have one rosé.
45:16And Cloudebé is the name of the vineyard?
45:17Cloudebé is the name of the vineyard.
45:19Why?
45:20Why?
45:21Why?
45:22Because Jean-Jacques, his last name is Branger, and my last name is Berger.
45:27Okay.
45:28Okay.
45:29So then we decided to name it Cloudebé, as we start together.
45:33I like that.
45:34That's...
45:35Okay.
45:36That's our aventure.
45:37The new aventure.
45:38Cheers.
45:39Cheers.
45:40Cheers.
45:41Cheers.
45:43Oh my goodness.
45:44It's very fresh.
45:45It's totally natural.
45:47There is no sulfate in.
45:49It's delicious.
45:52It's so good.
45:53It's become to be pink.
45:54It's the same as the rosé now.
45:56Oh, congratulations.
45:57It's a dream.
45:58It's a dream.
45:59We make a dream.
46:00It's fantastic.
46:01And it stays with you.
46:03It's got beautiful flavour.
46:05What a way to toast a new friendship.
46:08To the sea.
46:09To the sea.
46:10What do we say in France?
46:11To the sea.
46:12To the sea.
46:13To the sea.
46:14To the sea.
46:15To the sea.
46:16To the sea.
46:17To the sea.
46:19Cheers.
46:20Cheers.
46:21Cheers.
46:32And Sandy continues her journey onto Cannes next Saturday at 5 past 8.
46:37Looking for ultra-realistic textures.
46:39Almost good enough to eat this week.
46:41New game of wool, Britain's best knitter, continues tomorrow night at 8.
46:45Next, mulled cider.
46:47Tis the season after all.
46:48Bevan and Cormo at Christmas.
46:50He's on the way.
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