Game, Sète, Match (2)

That's right, I'm loving all of the puns you can make with this town's name. ;p

As I had the city pass, today was the day to use my 'audio guided tour' voucher. There were multiple routes to choose from, but I picked the Quartier Haut, which was pretty much Old Sète and the Cimitière Marin... which I reckon was a good one.

Took me past several things, including:

Décanale de Saint Louis: Major church of the town. Note the huge statue of the Virgin Mary on top. Apparently, it used to be gold, but time has worn it down!
Another interesting fact: every year during the festival of 'The Great Pardoning of Saint Pierre,' (in July), they have a kind of procession in which they take the statue of the patron saint of fishermen from the chapelle des Pénitents to this church.

Nice views down towards the port, and lots of nice, little houses. The 'Quartier Haut' was

also often called 'Little Naples,' as it was full of Italian fishermen who had come to ply their trade in the town.

Checked out the marine cemetery, made famous by a poem by Settois poet Paul Valery, and which I've talked about in another post (with panorama!).

Did a bit of a cruise around that area before heading down to the Mole Saint Louis: a long promontory built in 1666. There's also a panoramic view from here in another post. ;p

Had been planning a cheapo lunch, but then walked past one of the restaurants where I could

use my free apéritif voucher at and got tempted. But that's another story (blog post)...

After my huge lunch, I went and sat on the canal side writing a letter to Mum and Dad, and

fighting the (very strong) urge to fall asleep in the sun.

Knew I had to get moving to get up Mont St Clair (ie the mountain - or, at least, it felt like it) before the sun disappeared. Highest point measures 182 metres! This sight-seeing activity had been recommended to me by one of the guys who works in the youth hostel. He was right; amazing views!

That night, I decided I hadn't seen enough of Sète before leaving, so went on a massive wander

around town and tried out the twilight setting on my camera.

Back up to the hostel for dinner, where I got into a big conversation with the hostel worker about travel, and chocolate as an antidote for stress.

When I got back to my dorm room, I had to check that the view was still there... it was.

Day 3 was very short as, by the time I'd had brekky, it was time to head to the station. However, I managed to take a few pix along the way.

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!

Montpellier

Montpellier is a nice place. :) It's kinda the image I had in my mind of non-Parisian France, I think. Old buildings, narrow streets, fairly nice weather (still winter, though!).

Also really awesome to see lots of young people, as it's a student town.

Was there with Sabrina, who had lived there for a while when she was studying, so she was up with all the important sights, and played the tour guide for me. I admit that I've actually forgotten which day it was that we did what, so I've kinda randomly grouped stuff...

Impressive big cathedral



Our hotel was quite near the Peyrou Gardens, which offered a pretty decent view over the city.



However, prize for the best (freely-accessible) view definitely goes to the Corum, which was not too far from the Xmas market (another favourite place).



Sabrina wasn't too well one day, so I left her to rest and took off on a walking tour of the old town centre. Even though I had wandered about quite a lot with Sabrina, it was still good to hear the extra stuff that the tourguide said, and there were a few places that I hadn't seen. Including a medieval Jewish 'purification bath'... I'm really not sure what to call this, but it said mikve on the sign, so there you go.

Highlight of the tour: going up the top of the Arc de Triomphe (you can only do this on a tour, ie not open to public)



Sabrina and I haunted the movies in Montpellier. We saw 5 while we were there. So, if anyone would like to know my opinion on: Les Emotifs Anonymes, The Tourist, De Vrais Mensonges, Mon Beau-Pere et Nous (The latest Meet the Fockers movie, whatever it's called in Eng) or Un Balcon sur la Mer; let me know!

Also made a trip to Palavas-les-Flots, a beachy town. Really enjoyed going there, as I think it was the place that most reminded me of Napier. Just because there was sea and a little um, darn, what's it called? harbour? Where the boats were moored...
Then again, it wasn't really much like Napier, but it was a very cute seaside place.



I went on a transcanal thingee (can't explain, so here's a photo...)



Saw it and just couldn't resist. Must have been 'be a big kid' day.

Enjoyed tapas in a resto with a cheeky waiter. I commented to Sabrina at the start that he was quite nice-looking and I almost wonder now if he overheard, 'cos he soon worked out I was English-speaking and started being chatty in English. Then he offered me a 'French kiss' as we left the restaurant!

One day we also did a big walk by the Lez river. It was really pretty! Sabrina likes walking, so she knows all the good spots.



One day, we also caught a free concert in the main square. It was in solidarity for the French hostages in Afghanistan, since that day marked a year since they were taken hostage. There was a real variety of music, some old and some new, and the band right at the end was really awesome. Kinda funk style, I guess, with a couple of guitarists, bass, vocalist, keyboard player, sax/flutist, percussion and kit.

Our hotel was also near the Jardin des Plantes. I've always found this name funny, as it - if translated extremely literally - means garden of plants. As opposed to? However, Sab tells me that it's the equivalent of botanic gardens.
So, had a walk around these gardens, too, which I really liked. Green spaces are always good, and this one had a few sculptures, tunnels, raised pathways, bridges... and this "message tree." If I had more imagination, I'd make a book out of this!