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Sandi's Great Riviera Rail Trip Season 1 Episode 1
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00:00The era, 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 friendship.
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,
01:12a 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.
01:24It'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,
01:45is decorated with glorious statues.
01:47This one says,
01:48Le soleil et la mer, the 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,
01:57not to mention incredible food and wine.
02:00I mean, it's going to be hell.
02:05With 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.
02:19The arrival of the train from Paris in the 19th century
02:23transformed the region into the glamorous holiday destination we know today.
02:29Since then, generations of artists and freethinkers
02:32from all over the world have 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.
02:49I 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.
03:43Cannes, Nice, Monaco, Montaigne.
03:46And I'm going to visit them all.
03:49I 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 in which the doctor advised against women enjoying the vibrations of a train because it might cause uterine dislocation.
04:24So, I mean, I'm willing to take the risk, it's fine.
04:28And so, with a great sense of jeopardy, I'm approaching my first stop, the seaside town of Saneret-sur-Mer, only 45 minutes away from Marseille.
04:41And that's the 105th step of the day.
04:50With its pastel facades and picture-perfect port, Saneret-sur-Mer harks back to that time when the Riviera was more about fishing than tourism.
05:00The 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.
05:23I mean, sometimes you have a thought in your head what the view is going to be like.
05:31This is better.
05:32This is...
05:33This is paradise.
05:37Hello.
05:39I'm a writer.
05:41Writing very important work.
05:43Very busy.
05:44Very busy writing.
05:46In 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.
06:00What makes Saneret's harbour view so special is the fleet of traditional pointu boats, or pointy ones, if you're feeling literal.
06:08With their bright colours and wooden bows, they're a glimpse of life here before the invasion of the rich and famous.
06:14Since I love sailing, and it would be rude not to approach the Riviera by sea, the Pointus Association of Saneret have offered to take me for a spin.
06:23How could I say no?
06:28Cherry.
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?
06:36Yes, absolutely.
06:36Our boat is tranquillou.
06:38Tranquillou.
06:39Cool.
06:40That's us.
06:40We will be cool.
06:41Okay, yes.
06:42Okay.
06:42And this is great day, with sunny days and so on.
06:45How lucky are we?
06:46Perfect to sail.
06:48Okay, tell me how to get on board.
06:49Yes, I will welcome you on board.
06:52Okay?
06:53Okay, we're good.
06:55And off we go.
06:59You have an association, don't you, of the boats?
07:02Yes.
07:03Yeah, how many boats?
07:04The association, we have 100 boats, our own 100 boats, and 200 people in this association.
07:12Wow.
07:13We have to maintain the boat each year.
07:16Sure.
07:16This is wood, all the boats, so between, I would say, 50 to 100 years.
07:26Our oldest boat is 120 years.
07:29Wow.
07:29It could be destroyed with the time.
07:32Right, if you don't look after it.
07:33Yes, if you don't take care of it.
07:35Yeah.
07:35And they're all different, bright colors, the 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 and you have to take care.
07:45This is the same feeling.
07:47Yes.
07:48Thanks to all the great work from the Pointeux Association, Sanary proudly boasts the biggest
07:53collection of Pointeux in the Riviera.
07:56It must be important for the tourists, I think, to 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.
08:14Yeah.
08:14Well, 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.
08:27Now I have a burning question to ask Thierry.
08:30I have a big favor.
08:32Yeah.
08:33Could I have a go at steering?
08:34You want to?
08:35Please.
08:35Yeah.
08:36Okay.
08:36Yes, my pleasure.
08:37Is it all right?
08:38My pleasure.
08:39Oh, I love boats.
08:50Our pleasure.
08:52I can't believe a Frenchman is trusting a Viking with their boat.
08:57Olivier, we're going to go to England now.
09:02Oh, is that way?
09:03Is that way?
09:03Okay.
09:04Okay.
09:06Oh, this is magnificent.
09:09Actually, I'm not quite ready to head home just yet,
09:14especially 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
09:28and those fishing traditions.
09:32That 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.
09:48Yeah, yeah.
09:49It has to have garlic in it.
09:50Yeah, yeah.
09:51True.
09:52But it's very good taste.
09:54And where in town would I get the best bouillabaisse?
09:56The 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.
10:09It's the first time?
10:17Yes.
10:17You know Hotel de la Tour, first time bouillabaisse?
10:20Very excited, yes.
10:21Both.
10:23Ah, so the bib.
10:24Yes.
10:25Okay.
10:27Oh, isn't that lovely?
10:32Loveless.
10:32I mean, I'm a spiller.
10:34This is perfect.
10:38The bouillabaisse began as a poor man's dish, the fishermen of Marseille using bony fish
10:43that nobody else wanted.
10:45And what sets the bouillabaisse apart from other fish stews is that it's served in two
10:50parts.
10:51Et voici, madame.
10:52Oh, wow.
10:53La bouillabaisse.
10:54First, you get a rich, saffron-infused broth, served with garlicky bread and some fish,
11:03followed by a second plate of potatoes and more fish.
11:07Wow, merci, Mathis.
11:14That is incredible.
11:19That is, oh, my.
11:24I'm in the charming port of Salary-sur-Mer, the first stop on my Riviera adventure.
11:47Salary may look like a tranquil seaside town, but back in the 1930s, it was the beating heart
11:52of European intellectual life.
11:55It all began with British author Aldous Huxley, who moved here in 1930 and wrote what became
12:01his most famous novel, Brave New World.
12:05Before long, some of the greatest German writers followed, including Thomas Mann and Bertolt Brecht.
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,
12:19a 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, who came?
12:38I mean, I couldn't, I want to know everything.
12:41And now you can perhaps, already you start to understand a little bit, because when you
12:46see this lovely day, when you see the blue sky, the sunshine, then you can imagine that
12:53those people, when they have had problems in Germany, it was from 1933, when Hitler took the
13:01power, certain writers, the one that was against Hitler, they have had to leave Germany, because
13:09even some of them lost 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?
13:24Why this spot?
13:24Why Salary?
13:26There's one important reason.
13:27Salary was not expensive.
13:29So you know, look, all of the yachts in there are so expensive.
13:32Nobody changed today.
13:34It's not anymore the same.
13:35And so Salary 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 stripping opera.
13:53Yeah, absolutely.
13:54And Bertolt Brecht, for instance, he came from 1933, several times he came with his mistress.
14:03Yeah, I mean, officially he was his collaborator.
14:08She was a young communist, because Brecht was a communist, and they stood a couple of
14:15weeks in the hotel.
14:16Yeah.
14:16And during this time, he was writing the opera, the three penny opera.
14:21The three penny opera, yeah.
14:22You know this.
14:23Yes.
14:23During his stay here, while enjoying the company of said mistress, Brecht wrote to
14:30his wife, one 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?
14:41They must be sitting in the cafes and drinking and enjoying their lives.
14:44Absolutely.
14:45If not together.
14:45Hello, for instance, you have the cafes on the other side there.
14:49Yeah.
14:49It was called Schäschwurm.
14:53And 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, lasst uns einen trinken.
15:06Ja, bitte.
15:07Good.
15:07Okay, let's do it.
15:09So 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.
15:17I'm trying to think, if I was in exile 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.
15:28Yeah.
15:28To go in the cafe was as well the opportunity to talk with other writers.
15:36They made a circle of, did you say, literature?
15:41Yeah.
15:41Circle of literature.
15:42But only the elite came.
15:45Right.
15:45And, of course, with elitism comes rivalry.
15:51Behind the cheerful cafe scenes simmered intellectual tension.
15:56Aldous Huxley wasn't thrilled by the influx of German writers in Saneray.
16:00He reportedly found them arrogant and full of themselves.
16:04But this, of course, did not inhibit the Germans.
16:07Bertolt Brecht, he was singing satiric songs on Goebbels and Hitler.
16:16He was playing on his guitar.
16:19So I'm listening to all these wonderful stories that you're telling me.
16:22But I can't get over it.
16:23We're sitting pretty much in the exact spot where they would have sat inventing stories.
16:29So he's very famous, Bertolt Brecht, now.
16:31But somebody sat in this cafe and went, hey, Bertolt, give us a song.
16:34I love that.
16:34But those days of happy exile were short-lived.
16:48In 1940, France fell under German occupation.
16:52Saneray was no longer a safe haven for the exiled writers, who became persecuted by the collaborating French authorities.
16:59French authorities would deliver him to the Nazis.
17:03So to Auschwitz or somewhere?
17:05Yeah.
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.
17:19Is that a history that the French have been able to confront about themselves?
17:25They start now to confront it.
17:27For a very long time, they didn't want to see or to hear anything on this.
17:36But 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 once witnessed some of history's darkest chapters.
17:57Yet, despite the scars left behind, this town rose from the ashes and blossomed once again, soon after the war.
18:07It's time for me to say goodbye to Saneray 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 Ciotta.
18:39And I've been told, its station holds a rather fascinating claim to fame.
18:44I'm going to be honest with you, we have made a slight detour, but it's 100% worth it, because this is the exact spot of the birthplace of cinema.
18:54In 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.
19:02And 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 Ciotta, Louis and Auguste Lumiere began filming scenes of daily life.
19:19This footage of the train arriving in La Ciotta 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 Ciotta 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.
19:53And there's great photographs of the early equipment.
19:56Look at this. They would hand crank, not just to shoot the thing, but to show it.
20:01They projected their films using this exact device in a local cinema called The Eden.
20:08And guess what? It still exists today in the town centre of La Ciotta,
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 Ciotta and Saint-Neris-sur-Mer,
20:52I'm approaching my next stop, the city of Yers.
20:55Nestled between the hills and the sea, Yers enjoys a front-row seat to the Mediterranean.
21:02It was this prime location that lured in British aristocrats in the 18th century,
21:08transforming the town into the Riviera's very first resort.
21:11Yers is a tale of two cities, a 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 Yers.
21:38I mean, I haven't got time, but I love the idea.
21:44Guiding 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?
22:04It is, and I think that most people don't even realise all of the history behind it.
22:10It 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 Côte d'Azur, a different Côte d'Azur.
22:22Lainey's not the only American I know to appreciate the laid-back charms of Yers.
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.
22:43Are 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.
22:50Okay.
23:02I'm 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 still read as fresh.
23:59Exactly.
23:59And modern.
24:00And, 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?
24:06Yes.
24:07Fleeing an unhappy marriage and the strict confines of her social world, Edith moved to France in 1910 and settled in Paris.
24:23Then in 1919, at the age of 57, she discovered this hilltop haven.
24:30The House of Sinclair, built into the walls of a medieval castle.
24:34And she turned it into her winter retreat.
24:38Today, her perched garden is a free public park.
24:44Wow, 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.
25:01In fact, she obliged them after lunch.
25:04Some people complained they couldn't have their nap.
25:07And 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?
25:18It's here.
25:19It'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.
25:36Imagine owning this.
25:38This is unbelievable, isn't it?
25:42The house was a wreck when she found it, is that right?
25:44It was a ruin.
25:44A 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.
26:13Edith ended up spending all her winters in this house until her death in 1937, writing, entertaining in style, and tending lovingly to her beloved garden.
26:22A true slice of paradise, which she captured beautifully in this poem.
26:31Mistral in the Marquis by Edith Wharton.
26:35Roofed 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.
26:52The 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.
27:59I'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.
28:06It 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.
28:16Once 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 funny evenings we spend.
28:37It was on this very beach that bikinis shrank, tops vanished and a new era of sexual freedom began.
28:46Today, 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.
28:58Let'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, but...
29:07Oh, look at all that...
29:09Look at...
29:10Wow, look at all that donkey...
29:13Yep.
29:14OK, 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.
29:31Hello.
29:32Hello.
29:33Hello.
29:34Hello.
29:35Hello.
29:36Hello.
29:37Hello.
29:38I'm Sandy.
29:39My name's William.
29:40William.
29:41Hello.
29:42Hello.
29:43Hello.
29:44Hello.
29:45Hello.
29:46He's called Princess.
29:47She's called Princess.
29:48Yes, okay.
29:49And Justin.
29:50every year, keeping the beach clean is a challenge but the local council has come
29:55up with a genius and environmentally friendly solution. Every morning, Princesse
30:02and Justin roam the sands of Pompelonne and help pick up litter left by
30:07holidaymakers. 30,000 items a day on average.
30:15Oh, Princess, you do such a good job. Is it friendly? Yes, yes, yes. Hi. Hello. Beautiful. Bye, Princess. Bye, Justine. What a great idea. Huh? Donkeys and rubbish. I mean, what a great job you guys are doing. Saving the planet.
30:37As much as I enjoy the company of donkeys, the reason I'm in Saint-Tropez is to experience some of the glitz and glamour.
30:45And my next date promises exactly that.
30:49Frederick Mausch has written a book on Epi Plage, one of the trendiest beach clubs on Pompelonne.
30:54And he's invited me for a private tour.
30:58Frederick. Hello. Hi.
31:01OK, so I can tell you this. I've just been on the beach and I have so much sand in my shoe that I think I have taken part of the beach with me.
31:09Sorry, but I'm so sorry to get undressed as soon as we meet. I apologize.
31:12Don't need any shoes to get in. Don't need any shoes? I just want to take them off then. OK, this is perfect. Here we go.
31:17All right. I'll do the same. Oh, you'll do the same. See? We're friends already. Love it.
31:21Oh, do the socks have to come off? No, you can keep them. I'm going to keep socks on.
31:25There's a line for the British. I think it's socks. OK, let's go in.
31:28Yep.
31:31Thank you, sweetie.
31:32Frederick's parents used to own Epiplage, so he knows all its stories and secrets.
31:39Here's the oasis.
31:40Oh, my. I was not expecting that.
31:44Oh, look at that.
31:45Yeah, that's refreshing, isn't it?
31:47It's like a movie.
31:49Oh, my.
31:50It looks like Hollywood.
31:51Yeah, but it's...
31:52And 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 from the 50s.
32:02Wow.
32:02And was built, actually, in the 50s.
32:04Right. So was I.
32:05So was I. Yeah.
32:05Oh, late 50s. Yeah, me too.
32:07So I feel right at home.
32:08I think it's my...
32:09It's my...
32:09Oh!
32:10Oopah!
32:10With its restaurants and nine bungalows tucked behind the sand dunes, Epiplage is the ultimate private club.
32:19You can stay the night, enjoy a leisurely lunch, lounge by the pool, or even all three.
32:26Perfect, perfect, perfect.
32:30So, you grew up here?
32:34Yeah, kind of.
32:35I mean, this was our, like, summer house.
32:37So 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 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.
32:58Like, starting in the late 50s, a 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 are, like, a little bit more in the gray zone, painters, bourgeois bohème, as we call them.
33:19You know, people who are not doing much, you know?
33:22I 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, the French superstar.
33:38Oh, yeah. Absolutely.
33:38People came here to be forgotten, like, so you had, like, the billionaire talking to the worker or the agriculturer.
33:46I always think there's something about when you come to the beach and people strip off their shoes.
33:50It sort of levels people out.
33:51In 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, I, and, you know, that's fine, too.
34:01I think that sounds good.
34:04Maybe I would have been fine with my socks off after all.
34:07And does it feel weird to be back now?
34:09Because you've not been here for a while.
34:11Actually, it has changed a lot, which is fine, you know?
34:15I think it's more in line with today, you 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 faithful, like, to the constructions.
34:33It feels very relaxed to me at the moment.
34:36I was expecting many more people, but we're not in the high season.
34:39I 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 of August.
34:50Then 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.
35:01France 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 modern-day Saint-Tropez has in store.
35:16I'm in glitzy Saint-Tropez, a 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 town, where the harbour is packed with jaw-dropping yachts.
35:42Judging by the crowds, watching the super yachts has become a tourist attraction in its own right.
35:49But I have a more pressing priority.
35:52I never, ever take for granted that I can travel, and I love it, and I know how privileged I 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.
36:12Wow.
36:13Okay.
36:14That's, that is, this one, not for the grandchildren.
36:17This is definitely not, uh, I mean, that's very annoying, because they've, they've used my picture in the, that's very irritating.
36:25That, that one is annoying.
36:26Um, something, I think something less naughty.
36:30Oh, here we go.
36:30Oh, in Danish, uh, we say mormo, mother, mother.
36:35And all of these are from mormo.
36:43The 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.
36:51But first, I need a little pick-me-up.
36:53This shop is dedicated to the local delicacy, the tropezienne tart.
37:10It's a halved brioche, generously filled with a mix of thick buttercream and topped with pearl sugar.
37:17Just going to put that diet on hold for today.
37:21Here is la tarte tropezienne.
37:23I mean, it looks like a mini-burger.
37:32Mm, mm, mm.
37:35I mean, it's a lot of sugar content.
37:40That, that, that, wow.
37:42Okay, I maybe eat that slowly.
37:45Right.
37:47What's this one?
37:49Ha, ha, ha.
37:50There we go.
37:52Mormo.
37:53Mormo is working so hard and having a nightmare time.
38:02I don't want them to think it's too easy.
38:08Just a short stroll from the hustle of the port, this laid-back square, Place Delice, feels quintessentially French.
38:15The kind of place that makes you want to try a bit of parler français and strike up a conversation with the locals.
38:21Oh, look.
38:22Oh, look.
38:24Oh, we know you, we're English.
38:30Oh, fine.
38:31That was my best friend.
38:32Sandy.
38:33Sounds like I am Sandy.
38:34Sandy.
38:35How do you know me?
38:36From, from QI.
38:37Ah, from QI.
38:38QI.
38:39What's your name?
38:40I'm Sue.
38:41Sue?
38:42And Richard.
38:43Oh, this sounds very silly, but it sounds nice to be able to just speak fluent.
38:46What are you doing here?
38:47What are you doing here?
38:48Obviously on holiday.
38:49Yes, we're on holiday.
38:50We brought our caravan.
38:51Where from?
38:52Down front.
38:53We live in Yorkshire near Bradford.
38:54Note to self.
38:55Not everyone you meet on holiday is a local.
38:58So would you like a QI fact about Saint-Tropez?
39:01Yes, please.
39:02Do you know why it's called Saint-Tropez?
39:05No.
39:06OK, so I love this.
39:07This is one of my favourite stories.
39:08So there was a knight about 2,000 years ago in the time of Nero, OK?
39:13And he converted to Christianity and Nero did not think this was a good idea.
39:16So he beheaded him, which is not nice.
39:18And then people started to worship the body of the knight without his head on.
39:23So they put the knight without his head in a rotting boat with a dog and a rooster and set it out to sea, OK?
39:30And this guy is Saint-Tropez.
39:32And he landed on the coast just here.
39:35And people thought it was a sign.
39:36And so they named it after him.
39:38And the dog and the rooster pushed off and each founded their own village nearby,
39:43which I don't think is kind to just leave the beheaded guy.
39:46To leave him.
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. It's excellent.
39:54You like that one?
39:55Yeah, I do.
39:56The joy of holidays is that they're made of lovely encounters like this.
40:03Now, 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.
40:15But the current version of the game was invented in the early 20th century in La Ciota.
40:20Yes, the very same town where cinema was born.
40:24And, of course, the Lumiere brothers filmed it.
40:28It's a good show.
40:29It's a good show.
40:30Yes?
40:31Can you see?
40:32Yes, please.
40:33Turn the boule.
40:34Turn the boule.
40:35The bouletten.
40:36OK.
40:37The boule.
40:38The boule.
40:39The boule.
40:40These days, pétanque is as popular as ever.
40:45Played in squares like this one, right across France.
40:49And as it turns out, I'm not too bad at it.
41:01Merci, monsieur. Au revoir.
41:05Oh, he's not as good as me.
41:07After that extremely energetic workout, I need a drink.
41:21So I'm heading for the hills above Saint-Tropez in search of refreshment.
41:25This region is renowned for its rosé wine,
41:28and I can't think of a better way of wrapping up my time in Saint-Tropez than visiting a vineyard.
41:33So I'm meeting winemaker Gwendolyn Berger for a tour and tasting.
41:43This is going to seem incredible to you,
41:45but I don't think I've ever seen grapes growing in real life.
41:49On television?
41:50Yes, really.
41:51So show me, show me how many would you have on a plant like this?
41:53So there is a grape, so we can count it.
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.
42:07Like a stick?
42:08It's just a stick and a line in steel.
42:11Yes.
42:11So what we can do to take them straight, you can just dry them.
42:18I show you in the little piece.
42:20Okay.
42:20You turn like that.
42:22Okay.
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.
42:33I show you?
42:34Yes.
42:34And then it's your turn.
42:35Okay, oh no, wow, okay.
42:37Honestly, I think I'm working too hard on this trip.
42:39So tell me about how you look after it.
42:43Tell me about the soil and what you do to look after it.
42:47So I am working since the beginning in an organic way.
42:51And I am not using pesticide and nothing, only infusion.
42:58Right.
42:58Infusion to get stronger the vines.
43:02That works in two years.
43:04The plants say just thank you.
43:07Yeah, they look so healthy.
43:08Gwendolyn also follows the principles of biodynamic farming,
43:14which 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?
43:28Do 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.
43:41And the end of October of September, when there were some grapes still at the end,
43:49I just took it, I pressed it, and I put that in the big bottle, five litres.
43:55And without knowing, I was doing my first Blanc de Noir, because that was Grenache Noir.
43:59Then I make a white wine, so that was my first Blanc de Noir.
44:04Wow.
44:0412 years old.
44:05Yes.
44:07This magnificent view.
44:09Yes.
44:09Do you ever get tired of it?
44:10No.
44:10No, no.
44:11Not yet.
44:11No.
44:12I don't think.
44:13No.
44:13I will never.
44:14No.
44:14But you can feel the breeze from the sea.
44:17Does it make a difference?
44:18That makes a difference, because the wind which is coming from the sea is bringing freshness,
44:23is bringing salt.
44:25Salt?
44:25Yes.
44:25Oh, okay.
44:26And this, you will find that in your mouth when you will taste it.
44:32You can taste it.
44:35Shall we go and try the wine?
44:37Okay, with pleasure.
44:38I loved walking here.
44:40Look at these, so pretty.
44:44Gwendolyn shares her passion with her husband, who has joined her in this wonderful winemaking
44:50adventure.
44:53Okay.
44:54Ah, here is mine.
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 are you doing, Sandy?
45:02I'm fine.
45:03Good to meet you.
45:03Nice to meet you.
45:05Oh, no, no.
45:06Please, please, please.
45:07Oh, okay.
45:08So, what is the name of the wine?
45:10The name is Le Rosé, because actually we only have a wine.
45:14And Clou des Bays is the name of the vineyard?
45:18Clou des Bays is the name of the vineyard.
45:19Why?
45:20We, why, why?
45:21Because Jean-Jacques, his last name is Branger, and my last name is Berger.
45:27Oh, okay.
45:28So, then we decided to name it Clou des Bays, as we start together.
45:33I like that.
45:34That's, uh, okay.
45:36That's our aventure.
45:37The new aventure.
45:39Cheers.
45:39Cheers.
45:40Cheers.
45:41Oh, my goodness.
45:45It's very fresh.
45:46It's totally natural.
45:47There is no sulfate in.
45:49It's delicious.
45:52It's so good.
45:53It's nice.
45:54It's nice to be pink, as 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.
46:02And it stays with you.
46:03It's got beautiful flavor.
46:05What a way to toast a new friendship.
46:08To the sea.
46:09To the sea.
46:09To the sea.
46:10What do we say in France?
46:12À la mer.
46:12Santé à la mer, Méditerranée.
46:14Santé à la mer, Méditerranée.
46:16Marine Strom.
46:18Merci.
46:19Cheers.
46:21Cheers.
46:32And Sandy continues her journey on to Cannes next Saturday at five past eight.
46:37Looking for ultra-realistic textures.
46:40Almost good enough to eat this week.
46:42New game of wool, Britain's best knitter, continues tomorrow night at eight.
46:46Next, mulled cider.
46:47Tis the season after all.
46:48Bevan and Cornwall at Christmas is on the way.
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