Friday 23 August 2013

Cheap at half the price.


                            

Just under 2000 years ago, during the reign of Nero, a certain 'martyr' named Saint Torpes was beheaded in Italy's Pisa.

His body was placed in a rotten boat along with a Cockerel and a Dog (don't ask me why), and pushed out to sea. His remains were eventually washed-up on a beach on the southern coast of France.

That spot eventually became the small Provençal town that we now know as St Tropez.

I suppose that most people associate St Tropez with Brigitte Bardot, nudist beaches, and outrageous prices.

Back in the late 80's, someone I know extremely well (I won't mention his name for fear of his being arrested) was working just behind St Trop as the 'work experience' part of his university course.

One weekend he visited the infamous town and settled down outside a small attractive café overlooking the bay. He ordered a beer and was stunned to receive a bill of something like £12 (a fortune for a penniless student).

He thought about it for a while, drank his beer, then ordered a second. As soon as the waiter's back was turned, he 'did a runner' (I must say that I thoroughly approved of this action).

I was reminded of this story after reading that 4 Italian tourists were recently charged €120 for 4 coffees, at a café in St Mark's Square, Venice.

Something rotten landed at St Tropez all those years ago; it just surprises me that the headless Saint Torpes wasn't pushed into the sea from Venice! It seems to suit the town's style much more than Pisa's.


12 comments:

  1. Many years ago my first husband and I had coffee at Florian's in St Mark's Square in Venice. The price was phenomenal but I have to say that we did it largely to annoy some friends we met there by accident (we each didn't know that the other was going) and who were terribly stingy and always moaning. We did succeed as they did pass as we sat there - but at a price!

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    Replies
    1. A little 'over the odds' is OK, but some people take imaginative pricing too far.

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  2. I feel sorry for the cockerel and the dog.

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  3. That is the sort of information snippet that I love.

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  4. I was once invited by a client to stay in his villa right on the beach at Carqueiranne. We decided to go in my souped up van towing a trailer with two Ducatis on it, the intention being we would ride from Carqueiranne to Monaco for the Grand Prix (in which Mansell, btw, after yet another piss poor performance by his pit crew, lost his lead and came second to Senna) and also dive the old U Boat pens and the wreckage of a crashed Beaufighter out by the peninsular.

    Axel and I, on our last night visited a restaurante on the peninsular. This was my shout. I was on the Cote d'Azur and fancied fruits of the sea.

    When the bill came I did a quick mental conversion; 450 quid give or take a few Francs. For two plates of fish and chips!

    Fortunately Axel spoke fluente French and went nuts on my behalf (I was still catatonic with shock) and the manager revised the bill to 45 quid.

    Aah, ze old misplaced decimal point ploy, I thought.

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    Replies
    1. We know someone who actually paid a huge restaurant bill and walked out in disgust; leaving the money on the table. When I explained to her later that she had misread the sum, she became even more irate, and almost imploded. I kept saying to her 'it's obvious it wouldn't be 500 quid for two people, etc"

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  5. I always check the menu and the prices on the Internet before trying out a new restaurant. Having sticker shock after I have consumed the meal is a stomach turner. It is even worse if the meal was not even that good.

    I have to tell you that the restaurants around here that serve French food are the most expensive.

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  6. When i saw the photo, i thought perhaps you had gone and bought yourself a boat.

    I hadn't heard the story of how St Tropez got its name, so now i know.

    If ever i'm there, i'll be sure to ask for a menu before i order anything. If there are no prices listed on it, i shan't stay.

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    Replies
    1. Lovely boat, isn't it. I bet it had a lovely price on it too!

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  7. Hey cro, I guess I'll just keep my stingy self home and make my own French food like French fries and French toast etc. :0)

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