Cette Sète, C'est Etonnant! (1)

As the train pulled into Sète, I decided this was going to be a good couple of days. It looked beautiful! I remembered talking to a lady in a shoe shop at home before I left, and she said she'd lived in this town, and found the South of France to be the most HB-like. So, when I was planning my holiday, this kinda encouraged me to pick Sète.

Got out my trusty itinerary with printed map and set off to the youth hostel. Loved the centre of town, with the canal running through, and the tall, colourful buildings on either side.

Was quite enjoying a relaxing wander through the old streets, but then my directions started leading me uphill. The last stretch was really a pinch! Then I got to the gates of the hostel and was faced with steps. I literally was thinking "is this a joke or what?"

Anywho, onwards and upwards... the girl on reception was really nice and, though she couldn't let me into the room since it was being cleaned, let me leave my suitcase locked in the office for the afternoon. Also, beautiful view from the hostel. The only gutting thing about this was that my camera battery had run out, and now I was gonna have an arvo where I couldn't take pix. OMG! How to cope?!

Another advantage of my uphill trek: I'd passed a resto with a ten euro set menu. So, I retraced my steps and had lunch in a mini-Thailand! It was a really cute restaurant, with nice decor and calming music. Happy, tranquil times!

Then off to the tourist office... it took me a while to find, as some of the signs seemed to be sending me conflicting messages. I think this could have been because they were designed for drivers, and there were far more direct ways to go if you were on foot! Oh well. I made it in the end, and bought a City Pass, which entitled me to:

• an audioguided walking tour
• a museum pass
• a free 'welcome drink' with a meal purchased at selected restaurants
• a 'typical gift', which turned out to be navettes cettoises (biscuits)

As I had the afternoon to fill in, I decided to take the museum option, and set off to the Paul Valéry museum. Quite nice views just walking there! Spent an afternoon trying to look at art intelligently. Quite enjoyed it, but can only do it for so long. And I'm definitely more into the landscape/portrait-style art (note my lack of proper terminology!) than the impressionist/modernist stuff. It never ceases to amaze me, the way that artists can (for example) make a tree out of several dabs of different-coloured paint and a few brushstrokes. If I tried, it'd just be a blob.

After checking out town, decided to check in (isn't English weird sometimes?!) at the hostel, and then go out in search of dinner. This hostel had a kitchen, so microwave meals it was.

When I came back to eat, got into a convo with the girl from reception and her boyfriend, as they were kinda considering a trip to either Oz or NZ in the future. Of course, I said they should pick NZ. Apparently, they're interested in hiking, so perfect, right?! Ended up having a good long chat with them, as they were both really nice.

Then it was off to bed. Only one other person in my 6-person room, so pretty good deal!