Two of the runners that I run with recommended a visit to Montpellier as it was a beautiful and interesting city. It is about a 2 hour train ride from Toulouse so I decided to go and spend a night in Montpellier and check it out.

The train ride was easy and simple. It was a direct train using the Intercities train which is one step below the TGV which are the fast trains. There were only three (Carcassonne, Narbonne and Bezier) stops between Toulouse and Montpellier – the train continued on to Marseilles. The train heads south from Toulouse and then follows along the Mediterranean coast until Montpellier. Montpellier is not on the coast but about 10 miles from the Mediterranean.

Montpellier has a rich history from the Medieval period until the 18th Century. It was a seat of power for both he church and the government so it has many churches, “hotels” (city mansions) and monumental architecture. The center of the city is a pedestrian zone as many of the streets are so narrow you could never drive a car through them but motorcycles, scooters, bicycles and pedestrians all use them.

I walked the Main Street up from the train station to a park that had monuments and beautiful views in it. There was an old Roman aqueduct that runs from the end of the part further out of the city. It is impressive to see the Mediterranean from one side and mountains on the other.

The cathedral of St. Pierre was very interesting. The arched gate at one entrance was not something I had really seen before and was very impressive. Montpellier is very hill and the cathedral was build down one side of the hill so is surrounded by other buildings.

After wandering around and looking at the city, I had lunch in one of the plaza. It had started out with reasonable weather so I decided to sit outside. Well, unfortunately, the weather changed and it got windy and scattered rain. The proprietor came out and moved me inside so I could eat without getting wet. The funny part of lunch is a saw a group of people eating Moules et Frittes (mussels and French fries) which is one of my favorite meals. I thought I had chosen the patio for that restaurant but had not. By the time I figured it out, it was too late to change. It might have been a good thing as I had a very health lunch at the Cantine. The meal was healthy except for the dessert. They generally have a dessert called Cafe Gourmand and I usually skip it as I am not a coffee drinker but they were out of the other dessert so I had it. It surprised me and I will probably order it more as it was four little pastries and a small cup of coffee. It was a great dessert. The main meal was a fruit gazpacho with avocado toast.

After lunch, I wandered around some more. I came across a Dominican Church. It was very austere from the outside and very small. I decided to go in a look and was amazed at what found. It was austere on the inside as well but with some amazing modern abstract paintings and stained glass windows. The treat of the visit was the organist was playing so I got about a 15 minute organ recital to myself in a beautiful church.

I headed back to the hotel to check in. They did not have check in until 3:00 pm and because it was just one night, I had packed very lightly and only had a day pack as luggage so it did not affect my wandering around. The hotel – Eklo – was very funky. It had brightly colored walls, the main lobby area seemed to be a place where people hung out and worked. The room was about the size of an American walk-in closet but was all I needed for one night.

After checking in and doing my weekly FaceTime call with a friend, I headed out to have dinner and a little cocktail hour. I found a wine bar that served local biodynamic and natural wine. Had a nice glass of red wine from the region. It was called Class of 92. Also had some olives. The bar was doing good business and everyone seemed to enjoy the place and the wine.

I made up for my mistake at lunch and had dinner at Chez Regis which is the restaurant I had wanted to have lunch at so I did get my moules et frites. They were a huge portion of 1 KG. That is about 2.2 pounds of mussels. The proprietor told me the mussels had been in the sat that morning. Nothing like good fresh food! I had local white wine with the mussels. I indulged i a very good dessert.

The second morning, I got up and had breakfast at the hotel. It was included with the room.

I went wandering again. I had seen on the map that there was an area called Antigone that was a little way from the center of the old city and had a plaza that went down to the river. I decided to go find it and see what it was like. It was an amazing set of building with a central plaza. It was almost as if they were trying to create ancient Athens in a modern setting. The buildings were all the same height and style of architecture which I was would say was Greco-Roman with arches, pediments and other classical design. Scattered along the path were statutes and fountains surrounded by trees. It was very pleasant walk and interesting. I walked all the way down to the river which has nice esplanade and pedestrian bridges. Not sure why they built it but was definitely interesting.

I headed back to the old city and wandered the narrow alleys and streets. I found a place where I could sit outside on an alley and have some tea. I chose it as there was a three piece band playing jazz and swing music at the corner. They were busking. It was a nice interlude to listen as I drank tea.

For lunch, I headed Chez Lolo et Gege, a restaurant I had seen while wandering. It was a seafood restaurant and had a nice area to eat outside. The proprietor was very funny and entertaining. He had asked me where I was from and when I said Washington, DC, he shouted Vive la Washington and bowed to me. At one point he was asking me about which water did I want and I did not know how to say just regular. There were two ladies next to me and one said to him tap water (explained it) and the rest of the time he kept repeating tap water. The lady who explained it was French, raised in Switzerland, married a Brit and lived in London for 30 years and then they had retired to Montpellier. She reminded me of my friend Amelie Cagle.

Lunch was fantastic. After lunch when I was paying, the proprietor required that I have a shot of some liqueur with him before I left with another Vive la Washington.

I had always thought the Camino de Santiago, the pilgrimage route to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain which runs from Puente la Reina to Santiago de Compostela. But in reality there are many routes that lead to the most famous part in Spain. One of the routes runs along Southern France from Arles to Puente la Reina. This route passes through Montpellier and Toulouse. In Montpellier, there are brass plaques in the street with seashells that market the route. I had not see markings for the route in Toulouse but just learned there are markings on sign posts which I am now going to have to look for in my wanderings.

I caught the train back to Toulouse and made it in time for the run group. I was not sure I was going to make it as the train was 30 minutes late getting back to Toulouse so I had to be quick to get back to the apartment and change and then make it to the run.