Provence from Fayence: Provence Guide

St Tropez

I came across this rather sad excerpt about St Tropez in the Telegraph:

"These days, in the summer months, a colossal din fills the air, day and night. There are the comings and goings of noisy vehicles and throbbing yachts; the dishevelled throng filling the rowdy nightclubs, the chains of restaurants and the gulag-style campsites. The cicadas have fallen silent. The little fishing smacks have gone. Provencal market gardens have given way to shopping malls and parking meters stand where fig trees once grew. Petrol fumes have chased away those garrigue aromas of thyme and marjoram. The fishing nets that used to dry at La Ponche have vanished forever."

In the spirit of research, I tried to Google the book it came from "In the spirit of St. Tropez" and tracked it down. It's out of stock, but I remain piqued and want one. The forward is by Ms. Bardot and the images look interesting.

Herbes de Provence

Marvellous headline re. herbes de Provence from Florida:

"Herbs from France Enliven Chicken"

Poultry viagra?
Cure for cowardice?
Taken dead or alive?

Les tablettes de chocolat

I am grateful to "Why travel to France" for the amusing linguistic revelation that the French for "six pack" (a.k.a ripped abdominal muscles) is "tablettes de chocolat".  My chocolate bars have more ripples than a six pack, which says a lot (or not) about the Australians who invented the beer-can analogy.

For the record, you can see quite a few on the beaches of the French Riviera (if you're challenging the link with Provence).

Beckhams in Nice

Sad that the Beckhams have that nice villa in Bargemon, but prefer hanging out at Elton's pad in Nice. If you like Beckham photos, check out Hello.