Montpellier

When we say dash to the train station please keep in mind the 10 kg of shopping, afternoon tea and a couple of bottles of wine had been enjoyed over the previous days.

Our train to Montpellier was not booked as yesterday was a public holiday so Steve had a crash course in requesting tickets post haste as the TGV had just arrived! The TGV is the Concord of the railway with streamlined bullet like nose and not a whisper of sound from outside when underway. What a smooth ride through the gorgeous countryside at around 150km/h, almost half the TGV top speed but still got Steve very excited as the carriage leans into each corner.

Montpellier - Ou est l'accommodation s'il vous plait

Bless the Tourist information office in the centre of town, and the friendly tri-lingual Japanese-French English speaking assistant. A few calls later and we had a 32 euro per night room with shower right next to the camping supply store (could you ask for more?)

Tea is an essential part of every civilised society so why should Chateau Hall (a.k.a the tent) be without. Our brand new cooker, pot and pan set, gas cylinder and new found sense of self reliance was worth the wait. With this acquisition behind us it was absolutely time for fast food?!

Quick is like MacDonalds / Hungry Jacks with subliminal messages implanted into the rap songs played soothingly over the loudspeaker to buy more food. It was better (marginally) than Maccas which says a lot and gave the same satisfying feeling of a heavy and full tummy. Surprisingly, fast food does not cater well for travellers on a tight budget and we have found that the staple local diets are far better value overall.

To the bookshop for some planning tools! We were in search of a walk through the French countryside to epitomise the rural lifestyle and find something off the beaten track. In the end we selected one of the excellent topoguide book specific for the well trodden path (Grand Radonnee) of Robert Louis Stevenson through the Cevennes. One small problem, it is in French so a pocket dictionnary rounded off the purchase.

We have found it difficult to make some decisions throughout this trip, particularly given the density and richness of culture and options throughout this corner of Europe. The cities possess so much to see yet the countryside is calling.

A stroll through Montpellier has led us past a breakdancing competition in the spring gardens, the super modern plaza hotel de ville and residential plazas, canal, winged victory (copy from the Louve) and an authentic Aussie Pub (we beg to differ).

Shopping in the Coles / Woolworths equivalent was a supervised excursion this time with Camilla leading purposefully through the chips and biscuits isle before Steve found a bag of pre-prepared microwavable snails (pack of 50 for 20 euros - bargain). Their regular food supermarket is great competition for David Jones foodcourt in Sydney with such variety and delicacies.

Hmmm, delicacies! Without actually using the dictionnary we recognised the word beef and assumed the other word was for kebab (you know the ones on the stick). The cooking aparatus worked perfectly, the table was set, hunger was subsiding until Camilla piked up after close examination of the morcels. GET ME THAT DICTIONNARY! Moments later and we were consoling each other in peels of laughter at how similar heart and kidney tastes to sirloin kebabs.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM/LIZ! We are thinking of you.

Montpellier - 11 April

Tea and the unmistakable taste of scrambled eggs on baguette in the morning has justified the cost of the stove in a single meal.

An enthusiastic start in the overcast day has led us through the shops, main plaza and tourist office before a complicated 20 minutes on French only booking of trains for tomorrow. Camilla says Steve did very well (thankully the train was not on the platform this time). We will see if the tickets actually take us to Lyon tomorrow.

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