Montpellier

We’re down near the Mediterranean in Montpellier for a month. Our rental is quite the change from an Umbrian hillside. We’re in a residential neighborhood near the historic city center and can walk to everything we need. A good bakery is a mere eight minutes away, the grocery store is 15-20. We still see beautiful sunrises and interesting clouds, but now they have a foreground of houses and palm trees.

On the down side, there’s a whole lot more noise. We had expected the construction to be similar to the apartments we had in Germany, where you hear virtually nothing from your neighbors. Here, we hear everything – the dog upstairs barking, the toddler next door crying, the guitarist singing Bob Dylanesque songs on the other side, people talking, doors slamming, and power tools in the apartment downstairs that is being renovated. Sigh. Why didn’t the reviews mention this? Maybe that’s what the reviewers expected, since they were mostly French…

On the plus side, we’re enjoying exploring Monpellier on foot. Despite it being November, there are still quite a few flowers blooming, a welcome contrast to the autumn leaves swirling down the street in the wind.

And even desiccated plants can be interesting. The little parasols made by lotus seedpods in the city’s botanical garden particularly enchanted me. They’re a reminder of childhood, too – a wreath my mom made, which included lotus pods, hung over the fireplace every Christmas.

Some parts of town are very reminiscent of Paris, with fancy buildings from the nineteenth century. Other parts look a lot older. There’s a large university in town, so we see hordes of young people and there are a wide range of tattoo shops, marijuana stores, and street food restaurants. Tacos seem to be a particular favorite. We need to try some to see how they compare to ones at home. Old El Paso has cornered the market in grocery stores – with that as the yard stick (meter stick?), I’m not expecting a flavor bonanza.

Churches? Of course.

Public art? Bien sûr.

Some things, however, were unexpected:

I’d never seen a building in flames before… It gave our walk home that day an apocalyptic vibe…

On a happier note, we celebrated M’s birthday here.

M’s birthday lunch came from an aptly named restaurant, though he lived it up with fries instead of ratatouille. It was a beautifully sunny day so we were able to sit outside and enjoy the weather and the food. His three-chocolates birthday cake came from our local patisserie. Yum!