Back in 2013 I was in Cannes for the Cannes Film Festival. If you weren’t aware I work in Film and Television as well. Acting comes with some nice perks, like going to Cannes. As glamours as it may sound, the festival is long and the days can be grueling and hectic. Sometimes you just need to take a day off from the festival and explore your gorgeous surroundings.
On one such occasion I took a drive along the coast and saw the coastline shift to that of some beautiful red rocks as I made my way to Saint Raphael. In a previous post I spoke about Saint Tropez, and how everyone loves it there, but my heart belongs to Saint Raphael, which is located between Cannes and Saint Tropez. A big part of that choice comes because of Plage de la Tortue. If you’ve forgotten or just haven’t gotten that far in your French lessons (it’s okay, I won’t tell), Plage is French for Beach.
I myself did not get a chance to spend much time at the beach itself before the sun went down but I did enjoy the sadly now closed restaurant by the same name La Tortue, located at the beach. If you could have I would have whole heartily suggested you sat by the beach and got there for sunset. It is a magical experience and probably my favorite part of my 2.5 weeks along the Cote D’Azur. It can get cold so if you find yourself in the area in May bring a sweater or a blanket because trust me over there you want to be outside during sunset; and you don’t want people’s heads blocking your view.
When I was there with my date, a lovely Frenchman who happened to be a police officer who saved me when I was mugged. True story. I was able to grab a bottle of wine and order off of their fantastic menu. I myself got the catch up the day, the sea bass. I asked for them to filet it as I didn’t want it served to me with the head and eyes. As much as I love fish, it’s difficult for me to eat if it’s staring back at me with it’s literal dead eyes. So my fish came sans head. It did however come with a side of rice and veggies. One of my favorite things was the stuffed tomato. Seriously. Besides the headless fish. Yes, tomato. It was followed by a creme brulee and all washed down nicely with that bottle of wine.
If you find yourself anywhere near St. Raphael please do yourself a favor and see if a new spot has opened where the now defunct Plage de la Tortue was located and maybe it too will be a magical journey for your senses as well.
2452 Route de la Corniche,
83700 Saint-Raphaël, France
Weekend Warrior Mama 
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