The French Riviera and its Fabulous Naked Beaches.

At this time of the year , when the weather is pretty lousy and we know there’s probably a lot worse to come,  it’s a really feel-good idea to just sit indoors somewhere nice and warm and daydream about ; 

The French Riviera and its fabulous naked beaches.

 

From Ventamiglia in Italy the blue waters of the Mediterranean coast with it’s wide sweeping sheltered bays continues on past Monaco , Nice and Antibes and from Cannes along to St Tropez in the West.   It’s a place of great sophistication and beauty, with magnificent houses and villas , beautiful gardens , opulent casinos and restaurants and  lots of splendid civic architecture and museums housing important works of art.   Everywhere there is an air of excitement, a throbbing pace of life that attracts visitors from all over the world. 

Known internationally as The French Riviera, for the last 100 years or more it has been ( and still is ) the home of the internationally rich and famous.   Kings and Queens, Emperors and Maharajahs, Presidents and politicians, business tycoons and billionaires have homes here and keep their enormous luxury yachts in purpose built moorings nearby.  And not only the wealthy have made their mark in this unique part of the world for over the years they have been joined by the most talented artists , writers and actors including many Hollywood stars who also lived here.

                                                            Le Creuset at Cannes. 

An area that was originally populated by simple peasants and fishermen it was to become famous, as is often the way , by pure accident.   In 1835 the English Chancellor,  Lord Brougham was on his way to Nice when he was stopped en route by a serious cholera epidemic and was forced to rest for several months at Cannes, which was then not much more than a small fishing village on the coast.   He liked the climate so much that he had a house built there to escape from the damp and foggy English weather and spent  the next thirty winters at his French country home. 

 

Brougham invited his aristocratic and artistic friends to join him and many of them liked the life so much that in time they also had houses and villas of their own built in the surrounding countryside.   By the end of the 19^th century the Riviera had already become a popular place to spend the winter months and not just for foreigners, as by then many  French intellectuals – the writer Guy de Maupassant and the poet Frederick Mistral  for instance - had also acquired homes in this by now quite exceptional place.

 

In the 1920’s The Riviera was re-discovered , this time by an American couple ,  the incredibly wealthy and beautiful heiress Sarah Murphy and her husband Gerald,  who turned it then into the all year round international playground that it subsequently became.   All the famous names of the art deco period,  like Cole Porter and Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald were soon joined by equally renown artists of the time – Picasso and Chagal for instance and it soon became the ‘ in place ‘ for the whole world. 

My new Ferrarri - some hopes! 

Sadly over the last fifty years or so the march of progress has finally arrived at this previously unspoilt and unique place. It has recently been described by one very famous writer as “  a solid strip of concrete from St Tropez to Monte Carlo “ and to a degree that is true.      The Riviera is still a very beautiful place and the magic is still there, but is almost impossible nowadays to escape from the hustle and bustle, the constant noise and the traffic fumes. 

Lunchtime on le Creuset  

There are a few places here and there even in this haven of luxury living that are set aside for naturists, but as they are all so close to the rush of textile activities it is not quite the same atmosphere as we are used to.  But there is another part of this area that is ideal for those naturists that like the sophistication of the coastal resorts but also need an occasional break from the highlife and the last time we were staying in Cannes we made three trips into this peaceful hinterland.  Called the Centre Var , it’s regional capital is Brignoles but I’ll tell you about that another time.

 

The French coastal area of the Cote d’Azure takes its name from the brilliant blue of the Mediterranean sea that laps it’s rocky shores and sandy beaches.  It is a spectacular place sometimes described as a garden of earthly delights, where the sea is so blue and the sky so bright it is often difficult to see where one stops and the other begins.

 Although the area around Cannes and Nice is very sophisticated and commercialised,  as you travel a little further west a distinct change takes place.   The little coast road that meanders along from St Tropez down to Bormes les Mimosas , where the French President has his summer island retreat is not a great deal different than it was fifty years ago.   There are no motorways or high rise hotels and apartments on this route , just a nicely made modern road , on one side the sea with spectacular views over the coastal bays and on the other pretty houses and villas bedecked with brightly coloured bougainvillea and huge flowering cacti.

 

The easy winding road passes through dozens of tiny resorts and villages long popular with holidaymakers of all nationalities.   You will not see any English pubs ,  fish and chip shops or bingo halls here , but there are plenty of traditional eating places, small intimate hotels and lots of inexpensive camping and caravan sites - for this is real France.

 

Practically everywhere you go along this coastline you will find the opportunity to bathe au naturel,  indeed the authorities practically encourage it. In fact in some places it has full government approval - at Martigue ( near Marseilles ) for instance - where many years ago the town council gave a large section of the waterfront to the local naturist organisation.   

There are unofficial nudist places on almost every beach along this coast, but others are official, long established and well known throughout the naturist world.  The distance from St Maxime to Hyeres is only about 40 miles but it will take you through some beautiful and unusual seaside places , pretty little harbours and unspoilt beaches.  

Beginning at St Maxime on the N98,  Beauvallon, the official naturist beach is easy to find ( located right opposite the golf course ) but not really my cup of tea.  It’s a bit like Brighton with less stones and more sunshine , but nevertheless  is a very useful place for naturists that live in this quite large town and the many holiday visitors who for one reason or another are unable to go any further a-field.

 

A little further down the coast is St Tropez , which in spite of what the media say about it I don’t think has really changed all that much since my first visit there as a young teenager.   There are three naturist beaches on the long stretch of sands called Pampelone, and if you are feeling particularly well off, Neptune will be the one to choose. 

 

Unusually for a naturist beach, Neptune has every imaginable facility  – shaded parking , toilets,  showers and even a place to tidy yourself up and dress before leaving for home.  You can even order up your chilled wine and sun loungers by phone, so that they will be waiting for you when you arrive.  The restaurant is fabulous and the whole thing seems to go on sometimes well into the long summer evenings.  It’s the kind of place you could really get used to.

 

On leaving St Tropez ,  fork left on to the D559 and just a few kilometres further on is the little village of la Croix Valmer.  I have very  nostalgic memories of this little holiday village as it is where I first discovered naturism with my young family more years ago than I like to remember.   Its just a short drive down to the plage d’embarcation ( where the Americans landed at the end of WW2 ) and the beachside restaurant where my little girls ate their first moules mariniere – a huge bucket full between them.  Walk along the sands for about a kilometre and you will come to the naturist section – still nice but not as wild as it was in those days.  An alternative route is to continue driving along the D559 towards Cavalaire sur mer until you see the remains of the old open air theatre on your left.  Go down the track by the side of the building as far as you can until you reach a space to park then carry on walking the short distance to the beach.

                                                                                        Spectacular Views

 

From Cavalaire it’s only about 12 kilometres along a winding and  twisting road to the tiny resort village of Cavaliere ( confusing isn’t it ) and on the journey some of the most spectacular views of the Mediterranean imaginable.  Here and there are regular stopping places where it’s safe to rest a while and take plenty of photographs for the family album.   It only takes a minute or two to pass right through the resort and go straight ahead at the small roundabout.  After only a few hundred yards you will see an old iron railway bridge and steps on the right hand side  and immediately past this on the left there are parking spaces for fifty cars or more right on the paved kerbside.  There is a very special beach here , which I’ll come back to later on in this feature , but for the moment let us continue on this imaginary journey. 

 

Passing through la Fossette and St Clair with even more superb views across the sea you soon arrive at the small port of le Lavandou. It has its own little beach,  but its much more exciting to leave your car at the port and take the thirty minute high speed boat ride to spend the day at the naturist Island of  Levant.

 

The next port of call on the coast road is Bormes les Mimosas , so called after the profusion of these sweet smelling yellow flowered shrubs which grow everywhere along this stretch of the countryside.   The town of Bormes itself is in the forested hills above the nature reserve of Trapan a vast wilderness of land sticking out into the sea.   The beaches here , lined with palm trees are so like the South Seas that it was chosen to make the famous “ Bounty “ coconut bar advertisement.  

Hyeres. 

At Bormes the D559 rejoins the N98 and continues towards Hyeres,  the last place on my list.  Hyeres became very popular with the British after Queen Victoria spent a few winter holidays there and by the look of their publicity material the town council has never forgotten it.  It has a naturist beach ( les Salins ),  which is easy to find and in spite of it’s rather barren appearance is apparently quite popular with both residents and visitors. 

                                                                     le Layet

And now let us travel back to towards Cavaliere and the naturist beach of le Layet , one of our favourite places and for me is the best fish restaurant in the whole world . 

                                                         Chemin litteral 

The French Government have spent millions of Euro’s on renewing and maintaining the chemin litteral ( the pathways that stretch almost the whole length of this coastline ) and here at Layet is one of the best examples of their hard work.    If you fancy a little stroll before hitting the beach, park as far away from the iron bridge as you can before finding the rocky path that leads through the cooling shade of the pines and green oaks that line it.  

If you have time to spare take a short detour around  cap Negre before returning to the main path and gradually descending to sea level. 

   

Little wisps of blue smoke rising through the trees tell you that you are now approaching the beach,  joined as you get a bit closer by the most amazing aroma of freshly caught fish cooking on the burning coals of an open air  barbecue in the restaurant just below.   This truly heavenly kind of place must surely be naturism at its very best.

 

And if this little lot hasn’t got your imagination going – then nothing will.   

 

copyright m.m. 2013.

OUT AND ABOUT IN LONDON - 2

November 2013

The British Museum and Islington N1.

I had some business to attend to in Islington, but as it was a dingy rainy morning decided to stop off on the way at The British Museum and take in their current exhibition entitled SHUNGA -  Sex and Pleasure in Japanese art . 

                                                                                  Shunga

The easiest approach to the museum is via the aptly named Museum Street which runs roughly south to north almost from Covent Garden to Bloomsbury and takes you right to the main entrance.     Its quite a narrow street with lots of interesting little shops , cafes and galleries – all independents, you’ll find no Starbucks or Bodyshops here -  along the way.     At the Covent Garden end on the corner of Endell Street is The Oasis Sports Centre providing London’s only all year round outdoor heated swimming pool.   Owned and operated by Camden Council it’s been here for more than fifty years and has just undergone an expensive re-fit.  

 

As a 17 year old I worked in the old Billingsgate Market starting  at five in the morning and usually finishing at about 11 a.m., then after a good clean up in a local Turkish baths spending the rest of the day wandering about the West End and Soho with a few of my mates .   We spent  many a summer afternoon by the rooftop pool  at The Oasis ogling the glamorous bikini clad chorus girls – and the occasional star- from nearby theatre-land lying out on the terraces hoping to get a bit of  sun to their bodies.  

On the corner where Museum Street crosses High Holborn is James Smith & Sons , an absolutely unique place commonly known as The Umbrella Shop .  Still a family owned business with it’s original polished wood and glass Victorian shop front , it sells every kind of umbrella, walking stick, mace and cane imaginable.  They also have a highly skilled workforce able to repair broken or damaged items , including old or antique pieces , a service I found quite useful  when we opened our Antique Centre in the 1960’s.  

 

Like the majority of London Museums, entrance to the general exhibits at the British Museum is free  , but they usually make a charge for special events like the Shunga  which probably goes towards the general overheads of running the place.   It’s a bit difficult to find things sometimes in this museum and over the past few years there always seems to be some kind of building work going on, but I was very impressed with the show which as well as having a nice display – some of which was very sexually explicit – also documented the cultural and social history behind this kind of art.  

 

I have quite a collection of this genre,  not original of course but  lots of small prints and pictures that I’ve picked up in little galleries and street markets over the years in the oddest of places ,which surprisingly included much smaller versions of a couple of the exhibits.  

   

Most of the early examples of SHUNGA (meaning reclining postures ) were destroyed by the ravages or war, fire or earthquakes  so the majority of what is available nowadays dates only from the 17^th and 18^th centuries .   Visitors to this fascinating exhibition cannot help but notice that in all these finely detailed illustrations the Japanese penis is always depicted far in excess of its real size. 

 

 Contrary to popular belief this has nothing at all to do with sexual boasting , but simply the veneration of the phallus as the symbol of life and power as expressed in ancient Japanese customs and worship.   Modern writers often make note of this fact without seeming to notice ( or mention ) that this male feature is perfectly balanced by an equal emphasis on the female sex organs which are also represented in a similar kind of magnification.  

Thankfully the rain had stopped by the time I had finished my tour of the exhibition and I was soon on my way by underground to The Angel , Islington , an area named after a coaching inn originally built in the late 15^th century, a more recent version of which still stands at this busy junction.  

There used to be a large and very popular centre for antiques here called The Camden Passage Antique Centre , until this part of the area was redeveloped some years  ago .  Although the covered market has long gone, many of the original shops and outside stalls still remain in the old Camden Passage and little lanes that are adjacent to it.  

In some ways it’s now better than it used to be, with an interesting and varied selection of goods for sale , mostly at affordable prices but also including a fair amount of higher end and specialised objects of art and antiques , amongst them a shop called Japanese Gallery who have a large selection  of antique and modern Japanese prints for sale.    Ask to see their selection of erotic prints and you may well find an excellent  copy of something you have just seen at the British Museum – as I did.

Feeling a bit peckish after my mornings travels I decided to pop into The Breakfast Club just a few doors up from the gallery, for a quick bite to eat and drink before making my last call .  It’s part of a  small,  independently owned chain which began life in 2005 and now has five branches in London , although each one still retains the old fashioned style of personal service. 

 

Although there is one much nearer to me I prefer the Angel Cafe  where a  trio of the most delightful young women provide a perfect combination of good food and a friendly  atmosphere. The groups  amusing advertising slogan – “ everyone loves a big sausage in the morning”   plus a lifesize picture of a smiling Elvis Presley at the door puts  a smile on your face even before you get around to ordering your food. 

After my final call – to a large specialist showroom not far away selling just about every kind of artist’s materials – down came the rain again and I was glad to get back home in the warm.