Lattes (Locaboat Marina): 43°34’21.2″N 3°53’57.9″E
Hotel d’Aragon in Montpellier: 43°36’30.1″N 3°52’54.9″E
(10 Rue Baudin, 34000 Montpellier, France)
We were up at 7 o’clock this morning because we had to return the boat to Locaboat at 9 AM. After breakfast the crew gathered up all of our belongings and did one last final inspection to make sure there was nothing left behind. We arranged for a taxi to take us to our hotel in Montpelier.
We were sad to say adieu to our little boat named “Roubia” but glad that we had the Canal du Midi adventure on her and were now looking forward to the next phase of our trip.
On our way to the hotel I noticed that the taxi driver often just slowed down for “STOP” signs & then proceeded to drive through the intersection if it was safe. It is surprising that all STOP signs in France say “STOP” instead of “ARRET” like they do in Quebec.
PHOTO ABOVE – FRANCE “STOP” SIGN
Our taxi driver did not speak much English so I used Google Translate to ask him why he was not stopping at the STOP signs. I also explained to him that in Quebec, Canada the STOP signs say “ARRET” instead of STOP and that drivers must stop at all STOP signs. He smiled & replied that here in France a STOP sign is only a suggestion! I’ll have to be sure to remember that over the next few weeks!
Our hotel in Montpellier is only a 5 minute walk from Esplanade Charles de Gaulle which is in the center of the old city. Our hotel is very clean & comfortable but the room is small. The Esplanade is a very vibrant place with beautiful architecture, lots of shops and restaurants, and also very close to the main train station serving the city.
PHOTO ABOVE – HOTEL D’ARGON (COPIED FROM INTERNET)
PHOTO ABOVE – ESPLANADE CHARLES DE GAULLE
We had arranged to pick up a rental car at the Montpellier train station & we would use it for the next couple of weeks to explore other parts of France. We had to wait a few hours to pick up the car so Cath & I went looking for a place to grab a bite to eat. We found a nice cafe on a side street from the Esplanade & had the most amazing smoked salmon with goat cheese on focaccia bread. Wow, if I lived in Montpelier I would be eating at this place at least once a week!
PHOTO ABOVE – OUR LUNCH IN MONTPELLIER
When it was time to pick up our rental car we were given a nice little Fiat 500 – just the right size for driving down all the narrow roads & streets we were going to encounter.
PHOTO ABOVE – OUR FIAT 500 THAT WE HAVE NICKNAMED “FIFI” FOR THIS ADVENTURE
Five minutes after picking up the car we found ourselves lost & I took a wrong turn that landed us on a roadway that was intended only for city tram/trains. I’ll blame that mistake on our GPS being slow to update our location because of the narrow streets & buildings blocking the GPS satellite signals. Thankfully traffic was light & a local pedestrian took pity & helped us get turned around & headed in the right direction. A few minutes later we were safely parked in the garage for the night. Time for a stiff drink to celebrate our arrival!
Later in the afternoon we caught up with Barb & Bruce & we went for a walkabout to see some more city sights & to have a light dinner.
PHOTO ABOVE ESPLANDE CHARLES DE GAULLE
PHOTO ABOVE – OUR FINE DINING ESTABLISHMENT ON THE ESPLANADE
The food at our restaurant was surprisingly good & very reasonably priced.
Tomorrow we hit the road to Avignon!
Cheers!