Montpellier

All we wanted was to relax, and that’s what this easy Mediterranean city has to offer. It was perfect.

One easy train ride, and an easier walk to the hotel later, and we were in the enchanting city of Montpellier. Here, the twisted corridors of the old town are separated by an ancient wall from the new developments. The cold coastal waters are a short tram ride away. And we were in the middle of it all!

We started the same way as we always seem to do, find a good place to eat to calm our hungry post travel stomachs. We found a well recommended empanada joint, which was a welcome change from French food. The casprese one was our favorite. They got devoured quickly, and then we continued our adventure.

By this point, touring every French city has become pretty routine, and we’ve become efficient with our limited time. We headed to the local old town cathedral and checked it out first. This one surprised us, as someone was playing the church organ the whole time. The power of the instrument coupled with the massive ornate designs of the interior made it pretty easy to deduce how religion spread throughout the middle ages and later. The power of the audio/visual combination all is immense. After that journey, we checked out the famed palace promenade, which had a lovely view of the city and surrounding hills. There was an aqueduct as well!

Ty had an itching for a new summer outfit, so we went to the inner city to go shopping! Montpellier has redeveloped their old town very well, with a major arterial walking shopping street, and small branches lined with boutiques coming off of the main strip. We had a lot of fun trying on different outfits, even if two of us can’t really carry anything new. It was a good change of pace from the standard French sightseeing. Ty got some new shorts and some shirts. I (Graham) got a yellow hat and Camryn got a new dress because one she had brought ripped.

For dinner, we had a standard safe meal in the plaza. Ty indulged and had a pina colada (again) and some mussels. I got a roast salmon even though I wanted the poke bowl but forgot I wanted the poke bowl when I ordered and Cam got a truffle pasta. Lots of police officers were deployed during the evening, still a consequence of the riots but no riots in this city.

The second day was a BEACH DAY!!!!!! Just a day to chill out. We took the tram and bus to Palavas, a small town on the coast, and hung out for five hours. The water was cold but refreshing on the 31 degree day. But it was very windy and the sand is very fine so sand was blowing everywhere which made laying on the beach a little unpleasant. It was a very shallow walkout as well. Graham had a beach nap, Cam and Ty hung out in the water, and by the end of it all, everyone was way more burnt then they should have been. We put on sunscreen mom but not enough.

We enjoyed a lovey Italian dinner that evening. Ty ordered two pizzas and pasta, which he shared with Cam, and a cheese cake for dessert. I ordered a pizza as well. It was delicious.

Montpellier is a lovely city, and the one we would most likely return to in France. I don’t feel like we actually got to experience the city. We instead used it as a vessel to relax and recharge, which in itself isn’t a bad thing.

That’s it for France though! It’s defenatly not as advertised. Its not the romantic paradise that is so often displayed in media. Its gritty and honest with itself, even if the rest of the world has its ears plugged. But we’re off to Spain now! See you there!