2025 South France

I didn’t think I had much left to say about southern France but then I took the train to Montpellier, Sete and Narbonne from my Beziers location. The trains are so efficient and leave ON TIME. On weekends you can sometimes get a ticket for 1 euro. I was going to go to Mont Blanc, to take a tram to the top of the highest mountain in Europe, after my brother said it was close by. But then I filed my taxes with CRA and had to shell out too much…… Montpellier is a very organized city and is bustling. There are trams everywhere and very organized on where the stops are and where you can cross the racks. There are big community spaces with fountains or statues. Bicycles are everywhere and have dedicated lanes.

Since Bezier in southern France is only 175 klms or so north the Pyrenees Mountains that divide Spain and France, the temperature is very nice in late April. May gets hot.

In Sete, on April 27 there is a swim competition in the Canal du Rhone that has many competitors either without equipment or with a single flipper. There is a walking path all along the Canal which snakes all through the town and there are many bordering restaurants. I found an Indian restaurant. Also a climb to a Fortress and spectacular view of the Mediterranean. I took a cruise on a river boat that provided a history of the area in French, so I have little information on that. There are many pedestrian streets with many interesting sites and more busy restaurants.

On Sunday May 4, I went east for 14 minutes on the train to Narbonne. French are so well mannered that there were no loud conversations, just muted ones. The fields are very green and crops look healthy. When I arrived at 9 am, I got a delicious breakfast at Cortado.

What a historical town ! I saw an original Roman road. I walked through the huge Cathedral Saint -Pasteur. Just amazing and so big I almost could not find my way out. Church bells were ringing every 15 minutes.

I went into the L’horreum where Roman ruins and antiquities from 1st century BC have been restored. They are beneath the floor of the museum. https://narbovia.fr/accueil/visiter/visiter-horreum/ Being the first Sunday of the month I did not have to pay the 5 euro entrance fee. The construction by the Romans is incredible.

I also went to the museum of the home of a famous French singer - Charles Trenet. These towns all seem to have carousels.

There is an open air market on the promenade next to the river with many vendors and some lovely clothing like only the French can do. There are boats moored on the river and a walking trail on both sides that seems to go for a long distance. I see runners on this cool trail …. No rail to keep you from stumbling into the water..

These boats/yachts have access to electricity and mail boxes ! It was raining steadily just after noon so the little tourist train did not have enough passengers to do a tour. Myself and many others sat under a tent at the outdoor restaurants. Before my return trip I went into a Carrefour market where I found cherry beer and Curry sauce chips - everything in France is better ! ! Picked up some real food also. I arrived safely back in my Beziers apartment about 5 pm when it started to pour rain ! ! Beziers does have a fabulous covered market of every kind of food including couscous. It is about the same size as St Lawrence market in Toronto, but only 1 floor and more tidy. I find this statue so majestic next to the bus station in Beziers:

In 5 days I fly out of Toulouse to head to Ennis, near Shannon, Ireland. But if I could, southern France would be my first choice to live life, only after finding/importing some friends. There seem to be a lot of smokers here and others are tolerant of the lack of space separating us.

My hair is getting long after 5 months of not risking my lack of the local language to explain my hair cut. Although here in this part of France many are able to converse in English. I have had a few males engaging with me and one older guy bought me a beer. Perhaps there is an imbalance of male to female in France ?