Our little piece of paradise

Every time we pack up and leave a place I think that we can’t possibly find anywhere nicer and yet each new place is equally lovely and so fabulous. We are so lucky to be making this trip where we don’t have to choose one place over another due to lack of time but can experience such a plethora of wonderful places and fantastic experiences.
We had decided to give ourselves a treat and go 4 star for a visit to the St Tropez region. We tend to stick to 2 and 3 stars since time is on our side and we didn’t want to blow the budget, but after consulting our trusty hotel directories and a number of websites we decided that this region really had to be done in some style. We didn’t go totally mad though and opted for St Maxime, across the gulf from St Tropez itself and picked the most basic room in the Hotel Belle Aurore. We have been absolutely wowed by the place, which was well worth the extravagance, since it is right on the sea, overlooking the bay with the most incredible views. Our room, though small, has terracotta tiled terrace, at least twice the size of the room with a full sea view, loungers and a table and chairs. The car has been left in the car park to rest as it takes just a few minutes to walk into St Maxime and apart from eating and drinking we prefer to chill on our terrace or swim in the infinity pool, immediately above the waves. We have both ventured into the sea below the pool but it’s a bit rocky and decidedly cold (John says it’s freezing but he is exaggerating!)
We have a beautiful Labrador staying next door and I got quite a surprise when I was moving the sun beds into the shade to be greeted by a furry face poking through the divider from next door to see what was going on! Dogs are very much the in thing wherever you go though it makes a change to see one of a regular size which doesn’t need to be carried round in a bag or wheeled in a shopping trolley (both of which I’ve seen in the last 24 hours!)
Truly this is our own piece of paradise – when we walked into the room and saw the view through the window of the terrace and the sea beyond I thought it was a picture on the wall. Tonight we will have dinner in the hotel restaurant which feels like a ship, being curved and having full windows over the sea to add to the treat and the overall sense of being in heaven – what lucky people we are.