Inevitably on these adventures we get caught by the fine print. Usually with a transportation issue. This time it was the return train from Cannes. At the train station we could not find our train on the information board, so I inquired with the lovely SNCF information lady what track our train was leaving from. She replied that there was not a train and I said "Au contraire" as I showed her on my schedule. She replied in lovely english with that french accent, "but look down here in the bottom left hand corner. See that "1"? Now turn to page 37 and a half and look down at the bottom and you will see that "1" means this train operates every day except any day that you showed for it." I apologized and went to have a beer and kill the 2 hours until the next train.
The next fine print is the bus schedule. We have been without a car and had planned to hop the local bus to rural towns and locations the last to weeks that we are car less. We checked the fine print and it said that these bus's operate on schedule except during school breaks. The break perfectly covers our last 2 weeks. It is not that you cannot get to the rural areas now, it is just now you only have 2 choices. To ride the bus out and the same bus back or spend 5 to 7 hours in the hills at some goat crossing. 5 hours in a small town would be a challenge, but 5 hours at a goat crossing, in the rain with no shelter.....my wife ain't buying that and quite frankly I would not be thrilled either.
So, as always, we just modify our plan to fit the situation.
We caught the bus to St. Maxine, a town about half way between our home of St. Rahpael and St. Tropez. The mission was to visit the town and attend the "Les Rendez-vous Mediterrraineens de la Gastronome", wine tasting and competition, food competition, exhibits, and free!
We got off the bus at "St. Maxine-office tourism" and looked for the office. There was a sign right there pointing into old town. After about a half hour we asked the Municipal Police and they said we should have gone the other direction from the bus stop. My french is not good enough to ask about the sign so off we went.
The lady at the tourist office was very friendly. With a big smile she said yes to the "gastronomie" you get in your car and follow this road in the direction of A8 (the super highway). When I told her we were walking the expression on her face told me a lot. When you see a sign of bewilderment from a person in the tourist office in a land where walking is second nature, you know something is not right. She recovered and said yes, you walk out this way. It is a few kilometers "out of town." That was the key statement, as to the edge of town was a hike. But, not to be put off from our mission, we struck out down the highway. At some point we came to our senses. It was not to long after the rain had started . We did some figuring and determined this could wind up being one of those goat crossing deals, so we reversed course and headed back in to town.
We explored town and had a great lunch in a small cafe on a back street with the requisite dogs playing in the cafe. Now it really started to rain.
So we moved up our schedule to catch the next bus out of town. After lunch we had about 45 minutes to kill, so we went singing in the rain down to the water front and the bus stop. En route, we saw a boat regatta with 30 to 40 very small boats with very small boaters. Many looked to be in the 6 to 8 age. Though the wind was not strong it was raining with thunder and lightening. In the USA they would have had all these guys out of the water and in hiding. Not here. They where racing and little rain and thunder was not going to stop them.
At the very wet bus stop people starting complaining when the bus was 5 minutes late. At 10 minutes late they started really bitching. At the 15 minute mark we all started checking our schedule for that little "1" down in the left hand corner. Even the people that ride that bus every day where checking. Twenty minutes late, the bus arrived. Seems part of the problem, other than the weather, was there was a driver in training. He had no problem driving. It was that making change for the fare that slowed him way done.
Home by 5pm and a little wet, but all in all, another good day and in time for my nap.
I wanted Vicki to buy my some of the fresh sticks already in the fish shape at the fresh market. She refused.
Ken Wilson
"Certainly, travel is more than seeing of sights, it is a change that goes on deep and permanent, in the ideas of living."
"Certainly, travel is more than seeing of sights, it is a change that goes on deep and permanent, in the ideas of living."
