Category Archives: travel

If you make the trip to St. Tropez (as we discussed last week) and forgo taking the ferry over to Port Grimaud, then you just wasted half the fun you could have had on your visit to this area of the Côte d’Azur (aka, French Riviera).  Indeed, Ursula was insistent that this was a must-see side trip when our home for fifty-four days last year, Holland America’s MS Prinsendam, anchored just outside St. Tropez’s sheltered harbor.  And she was quite right.

Port Grimaud is built around an intricate network of canals.  But think not of Venice, for Grimaud is far more modern.  Imagine instead of South Beach meets Venice—expensive cars, expensive homes, expensive yachts, and expensive shops surrounded by architecture far more modern than St. Tropez, yet with a similar character and feel.

Grimaud is also a walker’s paradise.  Foot bridges are everywhere, arching elegantly over countless canals.  The streets and sidewalks are exceptionally pedestrian-friendly, and thrilling sights await around nearly every corner.  White sand beaches abut translucent aqua waters dotted with sailing yachts casting tall masts upwards against azure skies.

With all this awaiting you, come prepared.  Bring your camera, or perhaps even two.  Slip extra batteries into your pocket and make sure you have plenty of space left on your memory cards.  Don your most comfortable walking shoes.

Here is a sample of what you’ll see at this wonderful destination:

The French Riviera.  The mere mention brings expectations of wealth, wonder, wondrous women, wondrous women of wealth, and lots of yachts.  And one of the wealthier wonders along this stretch of France’s southern coastline is St. Tropez, home for many years of that quintessential French starlet Brigitte Bardot—another wondrous woman of wealth who probably likes lots of yachts.

St. Tropez exudes a very special charm, from the narrow winding streets lines by tall, colorful apartments to the bright and airy outdoor market.  Cafés punctuate the corners, and restaurants overlook the waters edge.  The marina is an incredible mix of wealth and utility, ranging from multimillion-dollar yachts to small fishing boats and everything in between.

Enjoy the scenery, and let me know if you can spot the photo containing Brigitte Bardot (I only ask because I certainly couldn’t find it):

It’s Kept Promises Week here on the old blog.  This is the week I get caught up on stuff I’ve promised to do but kept putting off because of more pressing writing duties on my latest mystery novel, The Globe.

And today it’s a continuation of my blog on The Outer Banks.  Specifically, the Currituck Beach Light, pictures of which I said I would post in a future blog.

As you’ll recall, I managed to photograph many lighthouses on this particular leg of our trip to D.C. last May, but none were to me as strikingly beautiful as this all-brick example of classic 19^th Century Neo-Gothic architecture.  Unfortunately, the skies worked against me that day, and the structure is a bit lost against the bland, solid overcast background.

You’ll notice that some pictures are actually duplicated, but have been post-processed in Google’s Picasa for black-and-white conversion and, in a couple of cases, special effects to blur out all but the main focus of the photograph.  I simply love showing off what you can do with this free, powerful easy to use photo-editing software.