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| On board our train to Montpellier |
We entered France an hour or so after leaving Barcelona, travelling along the Mediterranean through some small towns until arriving in Montpellier. We would be staying here for two nights before moving on east to Marseilles, taking a break from a long train trip to see a bit of the area. Montpellier is the capital of the Languedoc-Roussilon region of France and the 8th largest city in the country. Our train arrived in the main station in St Roch and we walked a few blocks to our studio apartment in the centre of the town, close by to everything and in an ancient building with steps so worn by feet over the years they were rounded and hard to climb up to our fourth floor.
What a surprise Montpellier was! Full of people friendly broad avenues - the largest promenade in all of Europe - full of strolling lovers, families and tourists, and the occasional beggar. The weather was gorgeous, the people friendly and all in all a very interesting stop on our travels. I was delighted to find at the Pavillon Populaire, a building near the main square dedicated to photography in the city, showcasing the first retrospective in all of France of the work of photographer Linda McCartney! Full of pictures of her life with Paul, other famous musicians of the sixties, her time with Wings and many of her experimental photographs that she did (handcrafted prints based on old photographic processes in honour of pioneers such as Daguerre and Talbot).
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| near our apartment |
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| Place de la Comedie |
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| me admiring a double tiered carousel |
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| outside the Linda McCartney Retrospective |
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| Marie and Magnolia trees - Esplanade Charles de Gaulle |
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| Arc de Triomphe in honour of Louis XIV |
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| view of Montpeller from Château D Eau |
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| `Château D Eau and aqueduc Saint-Clément |
Montpellier was full of beautiful buildings and monuments and to see them all we took the Petit Train de Montpellier, a small train that trundled slowly through the narrow steets and along the wider esplanades. It had a commentary in 6 languages that explained the importance and history of the historical centre of the city. We visited a small art exhibition by Andre Blondel, a local artist, and later we toured the Musée Fabre, named after another more famous local French painter. I was thrilled to find some memorable paintings by Gustav Courbet I had studied in art school and knew well. We spent two hours in this excellent museum and recommend it highly to any lover of the French arts. Our time in Montpellier was soon up and we had to head back to the train station and board our coach to Marseille. gws
