Day Trips from Aix Part 8 - They Can't All Be Winners

We had a great time in the south of France.  We loved getting out of town and exploring the surroundings.  And it was almost always awesome.  Except for one time.  And because nothing bad actually happened, it was also fun in its own hilarious failure.

On the list of South of France must-dos was visit one of the classic seaside hot spots like Cannes or Saint Tropez.  We thought it might be fun to spend an afternoon soaking up the glamour and the sun at a famous French Riviera beach. Late one day, towards the end of our time in France, we were stuck in the vortex of apathy paired with the gravitational force of screens and an impending sense of time running short. It was on this particular day that we realized it was a now or never scenario, so mid day we rallied the troops and loaded up to road trip to Saint Tropez.  The start of the trip began in a predictable way.  Once the grumbling and fussing of leaving the house was over and done with, and we were all strapped into our little, car moods began to lift as we set off on an adventure.  The drive towards the coast, once we left the freeway, was beautiful, winding our way through hills and forests as we made our way towards the coast.  And then, as the hour inched later in the day and the clouds started rolling in, we started questioning why we were going all this way to a seaside town.  But by then we were just "so close" so we kept going.  Because, "hey, we are so close, we might as well just go and have a look around."  A few minutes later we turned onto the main road leading into (and out of) Saint Tropez and we began to realize with a sinking feeling we had made a mistake.  As we zoomed into town we were confronted with an endless stream of oncoming cars.  The traffic exiting the town was bumper to bumper, snaking its way along the coastline, inching to the road that led inland.  We started to worry, but at this point we still thought "hey, that is okay, we will go wander around, check things out, see the beach and then find a different way to leave town." HA!

We drove into the heart of town and found free parking (a win!) and then got out of the car.  And then got back in.  It was windy.  And cold. And we couldn't decide where to go or what to see.  So we huddled in the car as Leo and I flipped through the guidebook (as an aside, e-readers loaded with guidebooks was a game changer for this trip!).  Now it is sort of funny that we hadn't figured out the "what to do" before we got here, but sometimes not planning your time works out, other times it doesn't.  And if I am being honest I think we just imagined finding a beach and lots of sight seeing in the town.  But the town did not appear so glamorous under grey skies and blustery winds.  So we decided to skip the town and go find the beach.

Yup.  The skies were still cloudy over the beach.  And the winds still blustery.  But hey, it wasn't crowded!  We played on the beach, laughing that here we were at the famous Saint Tropez beach in the cold.  We saw other people walking the beach, bundled up against the wind.  There were some families with their sand toys and gear trudging along.  I was thankful that we were here as a lark and that this was not our one week of vacation.  That would have been a true bummer.

Here is where a merely funny day turned into a bit of a saga.  Now was the time to return home.  We were hungry and cold and done with St Tropez.  "Been there, done that".  Well not really done it justice, but as good as it was going to get on this particular day.  And that is when we realized that there was no easy way to get out.  We were trapped in infamous Saint Tropez traffic.  Google Saint Tropez and traffic and you will see quotes such as "the traffic jams are stuff of legends" or "world class traffic jams".  Think 2 hours to drive 2 kilometers.  And you are trapped.  There are no side roads or alternatives.  And so we sat.  And laughed.  Then cursed.  Then laughed.  Then brooded.  Then cursed some more.  Then got hungry.  Then swore.  Then laughed some more that we were sitting in horrendous traffic as payment for not even a very "good" stop.  Eventually the traffic began to disperse as we neared the main inland roads and our panic began to settle.  By now, a couple of hours since we started the drive out of Saint Tropez, we were seriously hungry and it was still over an hour of highway driving to get back to Aix.  Just then, at an intersection that was going to be our exit point towards the highway and probably away from food options, sitting at the side of the road was McDonald's.  Ahhh, McDonald's in France.  Feels like sacrilege.  But desperate times call for desperate measure.  And plus, we could consider it a cultural foray.  Turns out McDonald's in France has goat cheese croquettes on the snack menu.  Yup, for real.

Our bellies full with McDs we turned on the radio and settled in for the final drive back to our apartment in Aix.  As we drove in the dark we laughed over our day and sang along with a song that was the theme for the day "A hundred bad days made a hundred good stories. A hundred good stories make me interesting at parties" (AJR)  In the grand scheme of things today wasn't a true "bad" day, but it was one that was funnier in the reminiscing than the actual living.  They can't all be winners.