Montpellier and over to Provence

We almost change our plans as we find this fastest growing town in France has a great charm and really feels alive, to stay and extra day, but instead we get up really early and hit the streets before virtually anyone else.

We visit the beautifully restored Cathedral de St. Pierre and as it is Sunday normal visits are not allowed. Somehow, maybe because we are early or maybe because we make a good impression, the lady directing the practicing choir lets us in and allows us to sit through a session of classical singing by the choir to the sound of a violin  and piano. This making for a moving experience due to the acoustics of the cathedral.

As we move through the circuitous streets of the old city we come across the first and oldest Faculty of Medicine in France. I feel a little pose and photo at the entrance is appropriate due to my history:)

The city has some more modern architecture including an Arc de Triomphe modeled on the one in Paris. Most places are closed today being Sunday of a long weekend but we manage to exit the old city by mistake and come upon …..of course a Boulangerie. We are set for lunch all we need is a little Patisserie as well !

We finally find where all the tourists have been: in the Place de la Comedie, as the circumference of the place is filled with little cafe’s and a lot of the tables are filled with non French speakers.

Time to start our journey to Provence where thanks to the generosity of friends from Denmark we will have a lovely base from which to explore the area. We arrive in time to do a little visit and find  Carces full of charm and some great murals. A late dinner and off to the apartment to enjoy a cup of tea on the terasse. We find that a family of very small birds have moved in under one of the roof clay tiles and the Mum keeps on flying in and out being greeted by a rather raucous hungry set of mouths waiting to be fed. Although she is a bit reluctant to fly by us initially she figures  that we are the lesser evil then the noisy new generation.