To the Canal and farther

On Friday, I took the train from Montpellier to Agde to pick up the rental car I will be keeping for  15 days.  That was four stops and 36 miles for a $9 ticket.  Using the GPS in the car, I headed off to Carcassonne.

My idea for Carcassonne was to bicycle along the Canal du Midi.   It is formed by the Garonne River coming from the Atlantic up to Carcassonne where it joins a canal going back down through locks to the Mediterannean that completed in 1680.   It was a short route (150 miles) to transport goods, avoiding going around Spain.   Now it is preserved for recreation where people walk and bicycle along it and boats, mostly live-aboard barges. travel along it.

I rented the above bike and biked the 6 miles to Trebes.

I have seen red poppies everywhere since I came to France.  I saw these along that bike ride.

This is one of the locks, filled, about ready to be released.

I stopped, along with others, to see if these big boats would be able to get through that little

hole under the bridge.   They did!!!

I learned later that the barge dwellers are mostly from Great Britain.  It's really inexpensive and pleasant way of life, once they buy a barge.  They can take it slowly along the network of canals in Europe as it suits them.   There is no charge for "parking" a barge.  You just find something to tie onto or put out your own stakes and you stay there as long as you like for free.

The other main attraction in Carcassonne is the old walled city, largest in France.    Built over time, it has examples of architecture from many periods.  In Carcassone itself, there are remnants from humans living here since 3500 BC.



Naturally, I had to go in and walk around the inner walls.   This is what I saw.

From Carcassone I headed toward Albi where I am to go on a bicycle ride along the Tarn River over 7 days.    But I was distracted from the route when I saw a sign to a village Lautrec just a few kilometers off the road.  Lautrec turned out to be the village from which painter Toulouse-Lautrec's family came.  It is considered one of the most beautiful villages in France; I could see why.

In Albi, the first and biggest thing one sees is this church, apparently the largest brick-built building in the world.

So plain on the outside, it is truly colorful and ornate on the inside.

At dinner last night, I had to have the escargot, just for memories sake.   We used to serve them to first class passengers when I was a stewardess with TWA "way-back-when" so I got pretty used to having them myself.

I am staying in a Airbnb bedroom in Albi for a day before moving over the first hotel on my bicycle tour.  This is the view out my window down toward the owner's outdoor space in town.

I will leave my computer in the car and not post again until after the tours so,  later . . . . . .

In and around Montpelllier

You can't say the food isn't beautiful here.  It is always beautiful.   This is what I had for dinner last night at a little outside garden area:  a fruit salad with some thinly sliced Serrano ham.  (I have taken to having salads for dinner after buying a pair of narrow slinky black jeans that everyone was wearing when I got here and finding that I am one of the largest sizes they offer!)

I haven't got to wear the jeans yet because it turned off hot the last few days.  Tomorrow should return to a week or two of "in the 70s" days.

More on the "food is pretty" theme:   I asked for one scoop of coffee ice cream and this is what I got.    I asked, "C'est une fleur?" and she said "Oui."

I keep finding myself in the big area, Place de la Comedie, that everyone hangs out in and walks through on the way to anywhere.  Above is a promenade off that place.

Some of the noble buildings surrounding the Place de la Comedie.

I have walked nearly every street now, either looking for clothes, little summer dresses, or restaurants.   I can't help noticing my surroundings though as I wander from plaza to plaza.  The upper parts of this church are dramatic.

I promised a picture of the 4th tram,  my favorite.  Don't you agree it looks like a huggable toy?

On the map, this same tram goes the farthest north, up toward the hills.   So yesterday I rode it up to the end and got off.   I walked through a neighborhood of small modern houses.  This was a view north from the main village street.   There I also found  and walked a greenway path with signs explaining the plants and habitat.   Most places just outside Montpellier include walkable natural greenspaces, I have found.

On Tuesday, I was allowed to attend the 25th anniversary of the American Womens Group luncheon.  I had met a  couple of them earlier when I attended a morning coffee and then a Quiz Night sponsored by a similar Canadian group.   I learned that many of them have lived overseas for many years and eventually retired to Montpellier after their various posts elsewhere.   Many others are younger and working here.   They have a walking group, book group, cooking sessions and make several special occasions for themselves and others throughout the year.   They seem to be all capable interesting women and would make great friends if I were ever here for awhile.

This turns out to be my favorite place in Montpellier.  It is just a up some stairs from my apartment along a small park.  Serving these tables are a "Café" and a little farther on, a restaurant.  One just comes here bringing a book, (or these days, a phone), orders a drink and sits enjoying what's around you.   Each time, I got to talk with people near me, they mostly in French and I mostly in English.

The third time there, I decided to order a traditional drink that I knew about but had never tried.  It's a clear liquor that turns this color when added to water and it tastes like licorice.   I never see young people ordering it.  In fact many there were having other refreshing-looking drinks that had not alcohol.

Then as I go back toward the end of the park toward the steps down, I see this view.  That's a bit of a hill in the distance.

I saved the best for last.  I have walked by this window several times.  I finally got the nerve to take this picture.   I'm wondering if anyone back home wants me to bring them a pair.    I'll only charge the price plus 25 euros for going into the store and purchasing them.

Tomorrow I ride a train to d'Agde on the Mediterranean to pick up the rental car I'll need for the next several days.  I plan to drive to Carcassonne.    With luck, there'll be something fun to do and see there.  I may get around to explaining why I have to go somewhere else to get a rental car.   Suffice it to say that not everything works out exactly as you expect!

Seeing Montpellier

It's been years since I posted here, but, again, I want to save images and memories from this month-long trip to France so they will be easily available to share and see again.

I am spending the month (May 14 - June 14, 2017) around Montpellier, France.  I got the idea for this trip when looking for places to which to move after the last election. I had always liked the idea of spending some time in one place in France rather than bits here and there as I have in the past.  So this trip could be the beginning of a new phase in life or, more likely,  just another adventure.  Either way is fine with me! 

I should explain that the Two in Tumbleweed Two is Tom, mentioned at the beginning of the blog.  We are still together, but apart sometimes to do our own things.   He didn't want to come to France and he doesn't like spending so much time in a plane so he's in Arizona, supporting his son as he hikes the Arizona Trail.

Montpellier is a university town of about 500,000 in the southeast of France.  It is 6 miles from the Mediterranean and 2 hours from the Atlantic and pretty near Spain. 

Below is the entrance courtyard to my apartment which is three flights up (apparently pretty common for France). 

I love my little refrigerator which has a special rack for keeping wine cool.

Views of other rooms in apartment follow.

View from my living room window/balcony.

I live in the historic center of town, mostly old buildings, some dating from 1300.  It is closed to motor traffic, except for drop off and pickup with special ticket.  Many streets are way too narrow for cars.   We walk or bicycle everywhere in this area.  Notice the colored lines around and going away from this area.   Those are the four tramways that you can hop on for about $2.00 and go fast to anywhere you want in the rest of the city.  They connect to buses on same ticket to go farther away.

No matter whether you need to ride them or not, it's so fun to see the trams coming and going.  At the train station, you can see a minuet of several at one time as they come in from different to weave their ways to their train station stops

They have, according to the line, four decoration themes:  spring, summer, winter and fall.

To me, these trams are so cuddly and cute, I just want to wrap my arms around one and hug it to me.   Actually I apparently  haven't taken a photo of one of the cutest.  It'll be in the next blog, for sure.

Isn't this a fun sculpture - four men standing under a fountain  in the water just enough to get our attention?

This fountain, with the water flowing over the lower levels had such a tactile - makes me want to touch it - quality.

I don't remember which church this is.  There are many large glorious ones, including one just a block from my bedroom window that starts ringing the hours beginning at 8 in the morning.  That's a big help - otherwise I'd have no idea of the time.   Not .   .   . !

An example of one of the many narrow streets.   I love the mixture of dwelling and businesses (restaurants, clothing shops food shops, every category).  They all close up at night and you can't tell what will be there until you walk by at a time they're open.

I was walking back along Rue Foch, a main street, from this town's Arc de Triumphe.   I heard a strange banging from back at the Arc.  Then along came this contraption with the most fun cacophony of sounds.   Later, as I walked through a plaza of outdoor bars and restaurants, there it (they) was, making us all smile.  (Jimmie, would these pictures be sufficient for you to build one of these?)  Stuart, the guy with the hat and sunglasses in first picture, was that you?

Yesterday, I bicycled the six miles along the Riviere Lez from Montpellier to a beach on the Mediterranean (Palavas des Flots). Along the way, I saw the beginning of a paddleboat race.

My bicycle was a Velomagg.  There are 75 locations around the area, including the beach and in the surrounding suburbs.  You punch in your credit card, get a number, and are charged about $.60 for every hour you use the bike during the next 7 days.  Just park it at one of the locking stations when you don't need it and pick up another when you are ready to bike again

A scene on the way to the beach.

 Another scene.  Apparently, these black and white ducks (shelducks) are the most common duck in this area.

 At last, the beach.  I did buy a mat and catch some sun.  It was cool when the clouds came over and warm with the sun out.   Notice, my photo emphasizes all those sailboat masts in the background.  (I have a sailboat at home that I haven't sailed much lately.   This picture is for my sailing friends.)

On the way back, I stopped to get a picture of these men carefully rigged for fishing in the river.  There poles were so long they could reach much of the way across.  I thought John and Tom might like seeing these serious strategists.

Remember that first picture on this blog post - the one with the girl in the red dress in the empty courtyard where I am staying?    Well this is that same courtyard this last Saturday night!  A couple of bands, maybe more (I left for a while to have dinner) played from sometime in the afternoon (I was at the beach) until about 2 p.m.  My landlord had warned me it would be happening.  It turned out it was fun to be right in the middle of a happening, able to stay down there with them for a bit and then watch, and sometimes dance along, from above.

Today is Sunday.  Businesses and shops area closed giving me impetus to do something less harried than stalk the streets.  I took a tram out to a natural area and walked.  Later, when I got off at a station, I asked these two girls where there might be a restaurant.  They told me nowhere there.  They then took me in hand, along to a different tram stop where we caught a different line back into Montpellier.  Along the way, we, neither speaking the others' language very well, got to know each other a little.  The one on the left is from Morocco and the one on the right is from Algeria.  They said they were best friends and had met in school.  They pointed out their school and toward one off their homes

as we passed.  When we got to Montpellier they took me to what they considered a suitable restaurant and told the waiter that I wanted to have lunch there.  (I do just fine in this situation actually, but it was fun to be looked out for.)   Then they went off to meet friends to eat "fast food" as they originally intended.

This is what I had:  A kir and  Mussels and French fries.   All very good.

Pat,  This qualifies as a Sunday reflection, yes?