Saturday is market day in Sommieres, a medieval town close by so we were on the road by 8am in order to get parked. It’s a really good market with lots of fresh produce. I was delighted to see fresh peas and broad beans Jim was delighted to see cocos (borlotti beans) so that I could be persuaded to do my version of cassoulet. So all the ingredients were bought! Aside from food, the clothes appeared to be of a better quality than we have usually seen at markets. We spent several hours in Sommieres but we intend to return on a no market day to have a real look at the town.
We lunched at home on fresh salad bought at the market and fromage de tete (one of Jim’s favourites - a terrine made of bits of meat from the head of a pig). The morning had exhausted me so I adopted the French sieste for an hour or two. Then, having found the Mediatheque (I had been looking for the library - bibliotheque!) we took advantage of an hour or so of wifi to catch up on emails etc. It won’t be open again until Tuesday so I will have to do without. I cannot believe how dependent we are on such technology.
Sunday May 15th
Sunday is market day in Calvisson but our expectations were low after Sommieres. However, it’s a really good market too. We got the makings of dinner and enough to cover bank holiday Monday. And, the plus side was that all we had to do was walk down Grand’rue and we were there!
It was only 10am when we finished in the market so, rather than waste a day, we went to Montpellier because cities are often best done on a Sunday when parking is much easier to find! It worked out fine for us as we got parking close to Place de la Comedie, an oval shaped plaza, one of the largest pedestrianised areas in Europe. We went immediately to the Office de Tourisme where we gathered information and maps. Coffee was had to the strains of some jazz musicians.
The 3 Graces Fountain - this is one of the emblems of Montpellier)
A must see was the Arc de Triomphe so off we went.
We passed this static gentleman en route
L’Arc de Triomphe
the mounted statue of Louis XIV in the Place Royale Du Peyrou
The Water Tower
The St. Clement Aqueduct - its engineer drew inspiration from the Pont du Gard (which we will visit tomorrow) for this aqueduct which supplied drinking water to the city from the springs in the town of Saint Clement.
La Chapelle Saint Charles - the Chapel of the General hospital created in 1678 on the order of Louis XIV
The faculty of medecine
Cathedrale Saint Pierre
As the Cathedral didn’t open till 2,30, we spent some time in the Jardin des Plantes. It is the oldest botanical garden in France.
When we got back to the Cathedral a crowd had gathered - rather a big crowd. However, when the doors did open the progress into the Cathedral was so slow that we hadn’t the patience to wait and we continued our tour of the city.
We saw this fountain and these two Irish pubs.
Back home again and off to the pub to bosoir the locals who seem to be getting used to us now. Even la Grandmere nods or waves at us!
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