Olé, olé, olé- A trip to Montpellier!

After a fabulous seven months in Nancy, what better way to soften the blow than a cheeky trip down south to Montpellier! After just one hour of sleep (don't ask...) I met Rhiann, Ellie and Fabi at the train station at 6h15 ready for our epic TGV ride south.

Mandatory train photo...

So, after a 4 and a bit hour TGV from Nancy to Lyon and a 2 hour train from Lyon to Montpellier, we finally arrived at our destination. And like the expert travellers we are we spent our first afternoon in Montpellier having une petite sieste! Definitely needed.

After a panini and classy can of Orangina (when in France....), Rhiann gave us a tour of the town (she was first an assistant in Montpellier). It's a great little place, nice atmosphere, you can easily see why it's one of France's main student towns. I think anyone who worked as an assistant down in Montpellier will have had a completely different Year Abroad experience- without meaning to sound pretentious the vibe is completely different. More relaxed- I blame the weather. We ended up meeting up with Sophie, a friend of Rhiann's she had met during her stay in Montpellier and her boyfriend Christopher for some demi pêche-s. Good chat, chilling outside with a beer. So far Montpellier had met my expectations...

Our second day in Montpellier got off to a slow start due to the Royal Wedding, which we watched from the comfort of our Hotel/Apartment room! Can't believe the hysteria that surrounded the day back home, personally I prefer this.

Anyway after oohing and aahing for a bit at the wedding, we headed to the beach! Caught a bus, reapplied suncream every 20 minutes (I'm a little paranoid) and avoided crabs in the Med (ooh-er).

Our evening was spent with Rhiann's 'French family' who were lovely. They drove us to their place, we drank Muscat (the local apératif), ate a LOT of cheese and generally had a nice time. Speaking French too, they were so so so nice. We got to hear stories about school trips to London (trying not to leave the kids on the Tube) and learn all about the local area from genuinely lovely people. Lovely.

French family meal, too good!

Our third and final day in Montpellier was spent in a seaside resort- Palavas-les-Flots with Rhiann's French family, who had kindly offered to take us out. We ate lots of ice cream and took a free boat to a museum. We finished our day by wandering through Montpellier's old town, having a casual Muscat and yet another bloody panini.

Sooooo Montpellier, go if you get the chance! It's completely different to the French Riviera (Nice, Cannes et al)- more laid back and fewer tourists. Personally I can't wait to go back for the Muscat alone...