Our Home Exchange schedule had us driving from La Londe les Maures to the Montpellier suburb of Juvagnac on the first of August, the first Saturday of the biggest holiday month in the country. Traffic was predicted to be horrific, but we made reasonable time and arrived in time to enjoy our first afternoon. We used only the ground floor of the large family home, which had a tiny indoor pool, a yard full of fruit trees, and three outdoor free range turtles to feed.

The city of Montpellier is at least 1000 years old, with an 800-year-old medical school and a population still dominated by students. The buildings are old, the vibe is young, and getting around is easier without a car, so after getting checked in, we got on the tram to the city. Our first stop was an expansive botanical garden, also the oldest in France. Next we passed by the 14th-Century Sainte Pierre Cathedral, which like some of the other Gothic cathedrals in Occitania, I found more severe and imposing than beautiful. It wasn’t open to enter, so we continued on through the medieval core, to its central square, Place de la Comédie. 

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After a stroll through another city park we stopped for a savory crepe and passed into the new section of town, neo-classical Antigone district, where everything feels on a grand scale and I felt especially small. I didn't love it. Other than some random bits of public art, it felt like an extension of the nearby mall, and a Las Vegas version of a European city. But, it was real, and we circled it’s open, shadeless squares until we reached the river and retraced our steps back to old town. There, we found a nice little square for tapas to cap off the evening.

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Sunday through the weekdays, we were back to exploring by car for hiking, swimming, and nearby towns. One was an adorable medieval village called Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, and its claim to fame was the UNESCO Abby, free to visit. The real highlight is location - situated on the Hérault river, its striking gorge, and ancient Pont du Diablo. This time, we were allowed to rent a canoe and explore the gorge, plus lots of swimming in the cool river waters. 

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We also got a lake swim one day at the red sand beaches of Lac du Salagou, after a short hike around the nearby Cirque de Mourèze, with its unique limestone columns charmingly described as a Chaos Rocheux (rock chaos!). I wore the Kanab shirt in honor of rock formations and red dirt.

One day was cooler, around 90 instead of 100, and we hiked the famous Pic Saint Loup above Montpellier. Mostly shaded til the top, and worth the climb!

To really beat the heat though, you just can’t beat the Med. One day we explored the city of Sète, built on canals surrounding an enormous port bringing heavy Spanish and African culinary influences. This town is all about seafood, and we tried lot of spicier dishess with saffron, chili and cayenne, including a mussel empanada, stewed cuttlefish and the  signature fisherman’s dish, tielle setoise, an octopus pie. We tried both the mini hand pie version on the go and the larger meal size pie for later. The star seafood of the region is the local oyster from the huge lagoons like Etang de Thao, but we actually didn’t find it that special compared to those we had tried on the Atlantic side.

These lagoons are also home to more flamingos, which we were able to view more closely, but only from the car as we sped by them, so my photos are still lacking. We saw a ton on the way to the beach just south of Montpellier. Unlike the scenic, rocky coastlines of Cote d’Azur, it was just one, big, beautiful beach that stretched on uninterrupted from town to town. We spent our final day in the region just walking and swimming and losing track of time, so we made the unusual mistake of starting work a bit late that day. 

Worth it. Even though the city was interesting and the inland areas scenic, for me, the Mediterranean is just the best place to be. Especially as we are on our way further inland for the weekend, for a city break with some real history.