They say to travel is to live.
Well, maybe, if a day at the airport doesn't suck the life out of you first.
I mean, where else would you be told to arrive two hours early
only to become dangerously close
to being two hours late?
Still, I think my travels last year were good for me.
They seemed to broaden my outlook.
To a degree.
So now, I'm taking on what is apparently a must-do for any respectable traveler.
I'm doing Europe.
All right. Where are we, exactly?
I'm going all continental...
from the very top to the very bottom.
I'm heading off the beaten track to discover some real hidden gems...
Are you getting this?
...and embrace this budding spirit for adventure.
Look at me. No hands.
They're right here. What is this, the bow?
I'll be educating my taste buds...
Wow, that was so good.
Grapes are ready.
...and trying to live like a local.
Welcome to my village.
This is insane.
I just saved your life. Remember me.
I'm packing any worries in my luggage...
Here they come.
You never know what the body's gonna do when it's in abject terror.
I don't think I've done anything quite like this since I was a kid.
...and I'm about to utter three words
I've never said before.
Ready for takeoff.
So, after Scotland and Sweden,
my European journey brings me to the most visited country in the world.
France.
I'm here in the billionaire's playground of Saint-Tropez.
The getaway spot for the world's most glamorous people.
Hopefully, they'll make an exception for me.
This couldn't be more different from seeing my mom's humble origins in Glasgow.
It really added some unexpected warmth to my stay there.
But in search of new adventures,
I've left the shores of Scotland to travel 1,400 miles to the Mediterranean coast...
and this beautiful harbor.
One of the biggest reasons 90 million tourists visit France every year
is the food.
I mean, I get it. Food is at the top of my priority list, you know,
and France has more Michelin stars than any other country.
I don't know much about high-end French cuisine.
French fries, I think, would be my favorite French dish.
But I'm here to learn,
and who wouldn't want to be in a classroom that looked like this?
Eugene, salut! Eugene, salut!
- Be right there! - Salut, Eugene! Bonjour!
- Eugene. - Welcome. Nice to meet you. I'm Jan.
Local entrepreneur Jan has offered to show me the sights
with a very Saint-Tropez welcome.
We can have a glass of champagne.
- Cheers, Eugene, and... - To you.
- ...welcome to Saint-Tropez. - To Saint-Tropez.
Now this is the kind of thing I had in mind when I set off from Toronto.
It's the stuff of Hollywood movies.
So Brigitte Bardot was the one person, I guess, who put Saint-Tropez on the map.
Indeed, indeed. I think it's since, like, the movie
Et Dieu Créa La Femme.
And God Created Woman.
- Exactly. - That was the big one.
Saint-Tropez really became famous
and attract more and more, like, people but more, like, from the
artistic industry, let's say, you know?
Like, this amazing boat is the boat of Giorgio Armani.
Wow.
Turns out, if you sell suits for a living, you can afford a pretty big boat.
And Armani isn't alone.
George Clooney, Beyoncé and Brad Pitt also holiday here.
I'm assuming they text ahead to prearrange who parks where.
They're megayachts. Can they just park here for free or...
No. It's 3,000 a day,
- you know, to park over there. - 3,000 euros
- to park your boat for a night? - Yeah. Exactly.
That's a steal.
But the mooring costs are just a drop in the ocean.
Chartering a superyacht can cost up to two million dollars a week.
Now, I'm not the quickest at putting pieces together,
but I think that's why they call it Billionaire's Bay.
Okay, Eugene, I think it's time to take you to your hotel, no?
- Full speed ahead, driver. - Yes, let's go.
Unbelievably, the good times are only getting better,
because I'm booked in at the Lily of the Valley,
a hotel that blossoms out of a countryside so breathtaking,
it inspired great artists like Monet, Cézanne and Van Gogh.
I'm not an art connoisseur. Art was a perennial C-plus for me.
But I should be able to impress hotel manager, Stéphane,
with my high school French.
- Bonjour. - Bonjour, Monsieur Levy.
Très bien. Merci.
It's a real pleasure for us to welcome you.
- Sure. - Please.
At just over $6,000 a night, this place isn't cheap,
unless you're staying on one of those megayachts,
in which case, it's a steal.
In any case, I love it.
Merci.
Please. Bienvenue in your full suite, sir.
Oh, my goodness.
The hotel was designed by one of France's top architects,
Philippe Starck, who, it seems, takes a hands-on approach.
Each details are select by Philippe Starck.
In fact, each product,
if we would like to change it, move it, we have to check with him.
He's a man who is detail oriented.
A designer who doesn't like anything in the room moved?
Might be tricky getting into bed.
- Now, your private swimming pool. - Wow.
Well, you wouldn't have to leave your suite.
You don't have to leave.
Good. You'll find me in my room for three days.
And to keep me company, yet more champagne
bottled by Monsieur Starck himself.
Well, this actually is my second glass of champagne of the day.
A tough way to start the day, but I'm doing the best I can.
And thank you to be with us.
Here's to you, sir.
I really don't think right now there's too much I can complain about.
And not that I'm a complaining guy.
Kudos to Philippe.
I'm not gonna be moving anything.
You won't see me moving anything, except perhaps this flute of champagne,
but not touching the table.
Much as I'd love to stay right where I am,
I want to get the lowdown on Saint-Tropez from someone who knows it best.
She's owned a villa here for over 25 years
and is possibly still the most glamorous person in town.
I have an invite from Joan Collins to have dinner in Saint-Tropez.
That's not something I say every day.
She's done movies. She's done television.
Dynasty was a huge show.
We're meeting at a famous local restaurant, La Ponche.
A fashionable hot spot since the 1930s,
it's hosted the likes of Picasso and Sartre.
And right now, I can't help wishing I'd read up on Picasso and Sartre.
Where is he? He's late.
I don't usually wait for men.
Well, to be fair,
this man keeps getting champagne thrust at him by everyone he meets,
thus the delay.
- Hello. - Hello, Joan.
Hello, Eugene. How are you?
- Yes, I am good. - Good.
Welcome to my village.
I did hear that you have a little pad here.
- I do. Yes. - Uh-huh.
I mean, I've been coming to Saint-Tropez practically since I was 16 or 17.
But Saint-Tropez was not the Saint-Tropez then that it is now.
Not at all.
- It was a quiet little fishing village. - Is that right? Really?
Coco Chanel had come here in the '30s with Hemingway and people like that.
So, a lot of people have been coming here for a long time,
but it was basically undiscovered.
Well, let's toast the town. Saint-Tropez.
Saint-Tropez. Absolutely.
This is very good. And I haven't had any breakfast.
- God knows what's going to happen. - Uh-oh.
- Uh-oh. Look out. - Uh-oh.
Oui, chef!
- Hello. - Hello. Bonjour.
- I am Thomas, the head chef of La Ponche. - Thomas.
I want to suggest you some of my specialty.
I can suggest you
heirloom tomatoes collection served with, uh, burrata from les Pouilles.
- Fabulous. I love burrata. - You like it?
- Okay. Perfect. - Yeah. Okay.
And for you, monsieur, I can suggest you the sea bream ceviche.
So it's raw with a citrus vinaigrette.
- Raw? - Yeah.
- I always have a thing about raw fish. - I have a--
Never eat raw fish.
You're the first person that I've talked to
that is basically saying what I've been saying all this time.
If you want, I can suggest you something else.
- Maybe a peas gazpacho. - Sure. Yes.
- That's nice. - Yes.
- That sounds better for you? - Yes, it does.
- Okay. - Yeah.
Thank you, Thomas.
- You know, my tastes are quite simple. - Plebeian?
- You like hamburgers? - Plebeian.
- Yes, when it comes to food. - Hot dogs.
Although that's a good meal,
that's for sure.
The food here is the opposite of fast.
The ingredients are sourced from nearby farms,
like the tomatoes on Joan's salad.
And my gazpacho uses local goat's cheese, brousse de chèvre frais.
Delicious, but not something I would love to say twice.
Voilà.
Isn't this good?
It looks too beautiful to eat.
I'm not crazy about goats, but I love goat cheese.
- This is good. - Burrata's incredible.
Isn't it good?
Saint-Tropez--
I've never seen so many megayachts...
- Yeah, I know. They're horrible. - ...in one harbor before.
I hate that.
I do think there's a lot of showing off with those big yachts.
I prefer the mountains and hills.
Is there any place I should be going that isn't on the kind of
- glam route here in Saint-Tropez? - Yes. Yeah, you should definitely go
to the backstreets of Saint-Tropez,
where you will see all these wonderful artisan shops
that are not Prada and Gucci and all of that.
- Okay. - Yeah, but you have to
- go through the back alleys. - Okay.
The pea gazpacho-- I have to say, it was quite delicious.
Little goat cheese. Things in it I recognized.
- This was a lovely lunch. Thank you. - Thank you. It was very enjoyable.
The surprise is that, according to Joan,
apparently there is another side to Saint-Tropez.
So I think I would take her advice, and you know,
maybe wander through some backstreets.
I think there is maybe more to this town than meets the eye.
Bonjour, Monsieur Levy.
- How are you today? - Bonjour.
- I am-- Yes. Oui. - Ready for your breakfast?
Local fruits, pastries, granola,
local honey and some soft-boiled eggs.
- Enjoy your breakfast. - Merci beaucoup.
I don't usually eat breakfast in courses, but I may make an exception.
The food is exceptionally good and, you know, the view is stunning.
I mean, you can see why this is such a popular place in Europe.
It's absolutely gorgeous. Really.
After my five-course breakfast,
I think I've fully digested the glamorous part of this town.
So, I'm off to explore the other side of Saint-Tropez
that Joan told me is hidden in the backstreets.
My guide is local food and wine expert, Sonia.
Let's do the French kiss. You're in France.
You know?
- Yeah. Hi. Bonjour. - My first triple.
- This is a-- What you do? - This is south of France,
so we do three kisses in south of France. Yes.
Would you like to follow me to discover the village?
- I would love to do that. - Yes?
- Let's go. Ready? - There we are.
- Yeah. - Mais you speak French.
- Bravo. - Yes.
Seems I know more French than I thought,
but the wheels could come off at any moment.
- Look at this little village. Yes. - Yes, and actually,
you are now in the old part of Saint-Tropez, hein?
Of course, like, when the glamorous people come to Saint-Tropez,
they visit it, but they will stay a bit more, you know,
on the main port where the big yachts are.
And-- But yeah, that's also why, you know,
the lot of people loved the place because it felt really like a village.
Here for me is really the true Saint-Tropez.
Those colors. The history of it.
But now I want to show you the port.
This is on the right, the old port you have.
Can you see those little boats? They are called pointus.
- Yes, because, you see, they are pointu. - Pointus.
- Pointu means a bit sharp. - Pointed.
Yeah, like this. Yeah, pointed.
And actually they are old fishing boats from the Mediterranean Sea.
Yeah?
Nothing says old and new Saint-Tropez
- like this vision right here... - Yes.
- ...of the old pointus... - Yes.
...and these giant megayachts...
- Yeah. Uh-huh. - ...sitting right behind them.
But it's a good thing and a bad thing,
- the yachts that are... - Yes.
- ...coming into Saint-Tropez, right? - Yeah.
I mean, they--
They're bringing a lot of people from all around the world.
- That's right. - Most of us,
- we live from tourism, you know? Yeah. - That-- Yes. Right.
You are famous. Maybe you have some friends over there.
- I'm-- Not this famous. - You never know.
You'll find me in a kayak.
Only around 4,000 people actually live in Saint-Tropez.
But in summertime, the town is flooded with 100,000 tourists every day.
I'm guessing none of them arrived by kayak.
- Look at this baby. - So nice, yes.
Hi.
You see, they're saying, "Hi."
- Yes. - They like to be seen.
I don't know, you know?
Something kind-- Something is screaming, "Hey, look at me."
- "Look at me. Look what I got." - I kn--
"Hey, look what I got, everybody."
Aren't you hungry?
- What do you have in mind? - Oh, well, actually,
I've got a very nice place where we could have some seafood.
Would you be up for it?
- Is it cooked? - It's full of vitamin B, you know.
- It's good for your body. - Yeah. Well...
I don't have the heart to tell Sonia
I've only just gotten the taste of Swedish herring out of my mouth.
But she's keen to take me to Chez Madeleine,
her favorite neighborhood haunt.
Unfortunately for me,
the restaurant's specialty is Gillardeau oysters.
They're considered sweeter, meatier and richer than many others,
and are loved by locals and tourists alike.
Until now.
I'm gonna show you. Okay.
- So that's how I do. Okay. Lemon in it. - Okay.
- This. Good. - Yeah.
- Okay. - Come on.
I've never had an oyster before,
but I'm in France and keen for Sonia not to think I'm completely uncultured.
Okay.
I think it's an important thing to be able to try things.
I'm not just saying it. I want to follow through on it.
You can do it.
Wow, that was so good.
I tried it.
I can't describe the texture that was rolling around my tongue
for the longest half second in memory.
- So, well-- - I am sorry about this. I just--
Well, that was brave. You did it.
- Here's to my first oyster. - Bravo! Bravo. You made it.
Tell me what you really love about Saint-Tropez.
You seem to love it so much.
Definitely. Actually, here in Saint-Tropez,
I think I found authenticity.
- And when you say authenticity, you mean... - Yes.
It's a mix of different things, but it's mainly from the--
from the people, from the-- you know, the natural areas we have here,
the coastal line, the forest.
- Simple things, but, you know. - Simple things?
- But simple things for me are the best... - Yeah.
...you know? Simple life is for me the joie de vivre.
What about you?
I try to have a joie de vivre every day,
but something tells me yours is a bit more authentic.
You will tell me at the end of your trip.
- Okay. - Yeah?
I think it's safe to say oysters don't put much joie in my vivre.
But Sonia tells me
there's a whole host of delights to be sampled inland in Provence,
where half the country's food is grown on less than 10% of the land.
Among them is one of the highlights of my breakfast this morning,
Provençal honey. So highly prized,
it has the same protected status as champagne.
Anna is one of the region's most successful beekeepers.
- Anna. - Hello.
Her farm is just an hour inland from Saint-Tropez,
but it's a different world with different rules.
Three?
No. Here it's two.
- Two here? - Yeah.
- I was-- - In other places, three.
- But here in Provence, two. - Okay.
Who knew saying hello could be so complicated?
So we have 400 hives altogether.
So you ready to help me collect some honey?
Sure, we can do that.
Provence has a rich array of wildflowers,
making for happy bees and magnificent honey.
I'm looking forward to tasting it.
I just kind of wish we could skip the collecting part.
I'm not crazy about bees.
They get things done,
but you never know when they're gonna sting you.
I've known accountants like that.
But I think this will be safe enough.
If it's not, then I'll send you a little note as to which hospital I'm in,
and you can decide whether you want to come and visit.
How do I look?
I feel like one of the Backstreet Boys.
- Ready for the fun part? - Okay.
I'll protect you.
So, all the hives that you see here, we cannot move them.
The bees, they have a GPS inside the body that is related to the center of the Earth
and they know exactly where the hives, their home, is.
So when they go out to get the nectar and back,
they will come back always exactly at the same place.
- That's amazing. It is. - It's amazing.
So now I'm gonna show you the most beautiful hive that we have here.
Some people are kind of free and easy with the word "beautiful."
- Are you ready to see honey? - Yeah. Kind of.
- Look at that. - Oh, my.
So, you see around the frame just here? You've got the honey.
Yes.
You know what I'm gonna do now? I'm gonna do that.
Okay. That doesn't seem like a good idea.
- Anna. - And when I do that,
it's coming down. That's honey.
- Uh-huh. - It means they are still working on it.
Yeah. I think they're a little angry.
They are a little bit angry.
- So now I'm gonna take another frame. - Uh-huh.
That's yours. Yes?
Super.
Oh, my God.
Anna?
Oh, boy. I don't think they like me.
Anna? They're coming at me now like MiG fighters. They're on my glove.
Okay.
Honestly, there were some very angry bees
that were just really kind of coming at me.
You know, like pellets.
Okay. Let's go. Come on.
Can you hear that?
Won't leave me alone. This thing's gonna follow me home.
- What a beautiful, beautiful house. - Yeah.
Typical house from the 18th century.
Anna runs the business with husband, Sebastien,
whose family have been beekeeping for generations.
And you cut it.
- See the honey flowing? - Wow.
- Do you want to try? - And-- I will. I will try it.
Perfect. That's perfect.
That is good. This is really crazy. There's a lot of honey in here.
A lot. Are you ready for tasting the honey?
Yes. Let's do that.
Anna's most successful flavors are lavender honey...
- Yeah, that's delicious. - It is.
Very light.
...and thyme.
Much, much stronger taste.
I don't know what it is. Musky or something.
- Yeah, musky. Exactly. - It's great. It is musky?
This is Provence in a jar.
The olive trees. The vineyards. The way of life of Provence, it's here.
Just chill out. Listen to the cicadas, enjoy nature...
- Yeah. - ...and it's fantastic.
It's really fascinating.
Merci. Merci. Merci.
- Merci. - Merci beaucoup.
So, it's pretty clear that Provence knows a thing or two about food,
but it's also home to France's national drink. Champagne?
Nope. Chardonnay? Think again.
Eugene.
- Jan. - Hey.
Jan, my harbor guide from yesterday, has invited me to sample some pastis,
Provence's most beloved aperitif.
Nice to meet you. Welcome.
Pastis is a liqueur made with star anise and licorice.
- It's not, like, strong, is it? - The color.
It depends on the mil. This is a strong one.
- This is a light one. - Yeah.
This is 45 degrees. So you've got to be careful.
- 45 degrees. I'm not sure what-- - Yeah, but you put some water.
Does that mean--
- that means you're like this... - No.
...when you finish drinking it?
- Santé, Eugene. - Yes. Wonderful.
Yeah.
This is just, like, the simple way of life in Saint-Tropez.
Wow, this is a big part of it?
- Yeah. - Yes. This is good.
I'm at about 28 degrees right now.
After sampling the pastis,
local tradition dictates that we play a century-old drinking game called pétanque.
This is the cochonnet.
- You've got to throw the cochonnet... - Cochonnet.
...not too close, not too far.
And then you've got to put the balls the closest you can...
- To the cochonnet? - ...to the cochonnet. Exactly.
- All right. Here we go. Ready? - Yeah.
This is pretty good.
- This is pretty good. - Hey, bravo.
How's that?
And then come.
That's nice.
Super good!
Turns out, I'm a natural athlete.
- This is pretty good. - That's a really nice one.
- Wow. - Super nice.
- See? See that? - I see that.
Pétanque, pastis. P and P, I call it. Loving it.
And I love the simplicity of the game
and how it is really just a social gathering.
- Oh, la, la. - No!
Oh, my goodness!
This, definitely, there is joie de vivre here.
It's not the yachts. It's not the glam. You're not gonna find the glam here.
This is something that is definitely more fun.
Well, here's to you all. This is my first pétanque...
- And your first pastis. - ...and my first pastis.
- Cheers, Eugene. - Here we go.
Cheers.
- Cheers. - Cheers, guys.
There you go. Here's your homemade ice tea.
- Enjoy. - Merci.
It's my final day on the French Riviera.
And while my luxurious hotel certainly has its charms,
it's the authentic side of this place I've really fallen for,
not the yachts.
When you pull into Saint-Tropez in a $600 million yacht,
it's letting people know that you have the money.
Listen, I'm in the entertainment business.
There's a certain degree of "look at me" in that business,
but I didn't go into this to become a celebrity.
I just went in because I, you know, I like acting.
I like kind of, you know-- I like getting some laughs.
And someone who has been laughing with me,
admittedly for all the wrong reasons since my oyster debacle, is Sonia.
Hey, Eugene. Bonjour!
She's promised me the most simple of days in the most joyful of vehicles.
Sonia.
- You see what I've got for you today? - Look.
This is my French 2CV. Her name is Paulette.
- Okay. - And she was born in 1977.
She's older than me.
- Oh, my goodness. This is terrific. - Oui.
C'est parti!
Where are we headed?
So, Eugene, you know, one of my favorite things to do
is to have a picnic on the beach,
and that's what I want to take you tonight.
Well, that sounds terrific.
Sonia's 1977 Citroën 2CV may be 30 years younger than me,
but I'm a little worried about its abilities off-road.
Are we still in France?
We're gonna go to my friend Yann and pick up some vegetables
for the picnic on the beach.
- This is a major farm here. - Yes.
When they started this car--
Well, actually it was designed for two farmers and a sack of potatoes.
So it's the best place to be here now.
I mean, you know you're in Europe when a car was designed
for two farmers and a sack of potatoes.
Here we go. Here we are.
So, this is Yann over there.
- Hello, Sonia. How are you? - Yann.
- Yann, this is Eugene. - Oui.
Yann's 50-acre farm
supplies many of the high-end hotels and restaurants in Saint-Tropez,
but his approach is pleasingly down-to-earth.
I notice you're not wearing shoes.
Most of the year, I walk barefoot like this.
I am in contact with nature.
I will feel that through you I think, right?
Well, I think we've come to the right place.
- You see? I told you. It's the best. - Right? We have to pick up some tomatoes.
- Yes, some nice tomatoes-- - Sure, for starters.
Yeah. And then we try to use things that I think
you have never tried before.
- Trust him like you trusted me. - Well, here we go again.
Yeah, that sounds awfully exciting.
All right. Let's do it.
The French have a concept called "terroir",
the flavor given to food and drink by high-quality land.
And Yann's terroir is renowned throughout Provence.
Merci.
- Good. - Not too bad, huh?
Wow. These are good.
- We can try this, no? - Radish? No.
No. It is fresh ginger.
- That's really refreshing, huh? - It is.
- It is. Yeah, it's very hot. - Pungent.
- Oh, yeah. - Yeah.
It has a bit of the lemon taste and--
I can't taste anything because my tongue is burning right now.
But it's-- Definitely tastes like ginger.
So shall we start to pick up some tomatoes?
Oh, mama.
- Bien. Thank you. - Here we go.
- So, this is good.
We've got great tomatoes.
Yann's approach isn't just organic, it's also historic.
He favors farming traditions that date back to Roman times.
Would you like to try the plow?
Well, you know, that would be good. It's always been on my bucket list...
- Take the risk? - ...but--
I'm gonna be right behind you.
What you just have to do is just when you want to go left,
you pull right, and when you want to go right, you pull left.
- And also, you have to say "Ooh." - Yes.
Ooh.
Bravo! Doing great!
You see?
Here's the thing about the plow.
When you wanna go left, you gotta move it right.
And when you wanna go right, you gotta move it left.
Left, left, left.
And, you know, my little mind
just couldn't make that transition quick enough.
Left, left.
Watch your feet. Uh-oh.
Well done!
- Yeah. - Hey, you're good, huh?
- Wow. How was it? - It-- Well--
- Take a look. - Yes.
It's a bit...
Yeah. No good for planting?
- You got to go back over and fix it up? - Yeah. We could fix it.
- All right. We got the basket here? - So should we-- Perfect.
- Here, let me carry this for you. - Yes, okay. Thank you very much.
Come on, you just plowed a whole row.
All right. Here we go.
- Merci, Yann. - Merci, Eugene.
- Merci, Sonia. Ta-ta, bye-bye. - Bye-bye. Au revoir. Are you okay?
- Yes, I'm okay. - Yeah?
- Are you sure you don't want a hand? - No.
I need no applause.
Before I arrived in Saint-Tropez, I was expecting complicated cooking.
But what I've discovered is
the best French food is seasonal, local and simple.
I'm looking forward to this, Sonia.
Just the best time of the day to come.
- Look at that. - Good.
- It is so nice. - Let me just see.
To your beautiful day.
Here's to you.
Thank you.
So I was telling you about my joie de vivre.
You know, like simple pleasure. What about yours?
Did you find now your definition of joie de vivre?
I think my joie de vivre is just kind of discovering...
a France that I hadn't quite discovered before.
Yeah.
I really have taken to the south of France.
My wife Deb and I have talked about spending, you know,
an extended period of time in places in Europe.
I think I'll be really pressing the point
that Saint-Tropez is a great place to spend time.
My impression of Saint-Tropez was total glamour.
So the beauty of the place is something I've discovered.
Simple pleasures are what I essentially am about.
I've learned a lot more about France and a little more about myself.
But most of all, I've learned to politely decline
the next time somebody offers me an oyster.
So merci and bon voyage as I journey on.
Next time...
Germany. What I definitely was not expecting was this.
It's kind of ominous to know that the first thing you're gonna do
when you check into this hotel is see the doctor.
Here is a panic button.
Why would somebody need a panic button?
Oh, my God.
- There's 600 sheep behind me. - Don't.
I may be losing control here.
Oh, my-- Yeah.
I feel alive.