Going to the beach!

At about 1pm on Friday, I boarded the train to Montpellier.  When I arrived, I immediately fell in love with the city. It had big open spaces and lots of little cobblestone streets with shops and cafes.  The energy in the town was great and oh, the warm temperatures and sunny skies didn't hurt either!

It was about 3:30 and I was on my own until Aurelien arrived later that evening (he was originally supposed to get there around 8 pm, but that turned into about 10pm - but, thanks to some great sangria, that wasn't a problem).

So, my first stop was the tourist center to get a map and hopefully find somewhere to stash my backpack for the afternoon (it was pretty heavy considering it had 5 days worth of stuff in it).  On the map, I scored. The woman at the tourist center even highlighted a walking route for me and suggested a few areas to find good cafes. On the backpack storage, I failed. There was nowhere to leave it, so I had to trek around with it all afternoon. At first, no biggie. By the end, my shoulders and neck were killing me, but oh well. It was worth it to walk around because it was beautiful.

I spent about 4 hours walking the suggested route and seeing things like Montpellier's arch, cute streets and shops, more churches (of course), the botanical gardens, and the medical school...

A beautiful street lamp - colored glass!

A sundial on the wall of the medical school

Umm, yep. Bikes coming out of buildings, cool!

As if one wasn't enough...

Finally, I had to give in to my aching back and I found a cafe where I enjoyed a glass of wine and read on my Kindle.  Then, I walked around a bit more, found a happy hour, and had a beer. It was great to sit and people-watch (sorry, but I do enjoy this nosy past time).  Aurelien said he'd meet me around 9 at Place de la Comedie when I talked with him earlier and seeing as it was almost 9, I headed back to that area. Since it was dark and slightly chilly, I opted to find another place to settle while I waited and that place ended up being a Spanish bar/tapas place.

It was great. I ordered a cheap glass of sangria 1,90 Euros and just enjoyed the coziness of the place.  I struck up conversation with a couple of guys also in the bar (and scored another glass of sangria that I didn't have to pay for), which made the time pass relatively quickly. It was pretty funny because one of them was Spanish and didn't really speak English or French - but, somehow we managed to converse for like 10 minutes or so.  Realizing my awesome (insert sarcasm here) cell phone didn't have service inside, I stepped outside to see if I had any missed calls/texts. And, just then, Aurelien called to say he arrived, so I grabbed my huge-ass backpack and hustled to meet him.  Good think I figured he'd be late and found somewhere to pass the time because by now it was about 10 pm.

Place de la Comedie

We dropped my backpack off in his car and then decided we needed to eat. Since it was late and a lot of places stopped serving food at 10, we opted for McDonald's, yum! But, it was fine. When were done, Aurelien's cousin Benjamin and his girlfriend met up with us and we went out for a beer...

Then, we headed to the beach!
Yes, that's right. The Nanquettes have an apartment in Palavas-les-Flots, a town near Montpellier that is right on the beach. So, though it was late, we arrived, turned on the electricity (and water - oops, the toilet didn't flush) and Aurelien enjoyed a nightcap. Our "early night" turned into about 4 am, but oh well.

On Saturday, Aurelien planned for us to go hiking at Pic Saint Loup.  Now, if you know me, you know that hiking is not something I do regularly, but hey, it was a beautiful day and there weren't many bugs, plus, I'm in pretty good shape, so I figured what the heck.  I didn't tell Aurelien that I'm not usually a hiker until about 20 minutes in to our 1 hour climb, but I actually enjoyed myself. 

Unfortunately, we did get a bit lost on the way there, but as I always say, we just "took the scenic route" (when you're perpetually lost, you need to approach it with a sense of humor).  But, as we drove up, in my head I was like, "There's no way I am climbing THAT!" But, I did it, I had fun, and I only got one small bruise from running into a branch.  The views were amazing (though I got a bit dizzy looking down) and I was pretty proud of myself at the end of the climb!

Yep, we were climbing that...

View from the top

We made it to the top

This was the terrain the whole way. I even had to use my hands a few times (Aurelien took my water bottle, since the only other space to store it was in my sports bra between my boobs and that didn't work out too well, haha)

As if 2 hours hiking wasn't enough, Aurelien went for a run when we got back to Palavas. Not knowing how my legs would react to the hiking (since it isn't a usual motion), I passed and opted for a shower instead (my legs were fine the next day). We decided to go out for a nice dinner in Montpellier and then meet up with Benjamin and his girlfriend and some other friends later on.

No offense to Aurelien, but little did I know getting ready would be like a 2 hour affair, for him.  Me, I was ready pretty quickly and enjoyed a 30 minute nap while he shaved, took a shower (which ended up being cold because he had used all the hot water while shaving, though he tried to blame it on my 10 minute shower more than an hour earlier, haha), and then did who knows what else while I snoozed.

Dinner was great! We found a cozy little place and enjoyed a bottle of wine. Then, we went to a bar that specializes in rum drinks (funny that I've now been to two rum bars in France and I don't even really like rum) and I had something really good.  However, by the time we finished dinner it was quite late and last call at the bar was 12:30 am, so we only had time for one drink.  But, in the end, it was better that we didn't have a wild and crazy night since Aurelien had driven.  So, back to the beach we went. And, again, our "early" night turned into about 4 am (this time it was really 3 am, but we had to change the clocks, so it ended up being about 4 when we finally went to sleep).

Our big plans for Sunday to eat on the beach and then explore Montpellier before my evening train were shot when we slept until noon. So, I made the executive decision to just stay at the beach all day.  We walked, enjoyed the sun, I had mussels and ice cream, and we even tried to nap on the beach. I say tried because you know that I love kids, but somehow, I managed to pick a spot between not one, but two families with obnoxiously loud children.  But, c'est la vie!  It was still nice to be able to relax on the beach in March.

It was actually crowded...in March

Ophelie told me I had to get ice cream on the beach, so I did. Nobody has to tell me that twice!

After our lazy day, Aurelien brought me to the train station and he headed back to Toulouse. I boarded the train back to Paris and settled in for what I thought would be a nice ride. And, it would have been if the lovely lady sitting next to me hadn't decided to polish her nails halfway through the journey. Mmmm....nail polish fumes...just what I was wishing for on a Sunday evening.

But, what I can say was awesome is that even though my train was late, Philippe was there at the platform waiting for me so I wouldn't have to take the RER and the bus home.  I can't say it enough, but I have been so lucky to be living with this fantastic family that treats me like I am one of their own.  (As I write this, I only have one day here left and I am truly sad to be leaving because I have really come to love them - luckily I'll be seeing Marie-Christine and Philippe in New York in about a month.)

I was sad this trip had come to an end. I fell in love with Montpellier and cannot wait to go back and visit again. Hey, maybe I'll even be able to spend some time on the beach (Ophelie is going in August with some friends and I've joked that I might just show up there if I don't have a job yet).