In celebrating our yearly anniversary, Bob and I ventured to three countries this time: South France, Andorra, and Barcelona, Spain (the last two places I will write separately). We have spent more time with our friend Bernard and his family in this part of our travel but the experiences with all three places were equally unique and enjoyable.
Place de la Comédie, Montpellier, France
Before It All Happened. We have a tight flight schedule; our flight is not direct. We have a connecting flight in Philly before our final destination in Barcelona (Yes, this is the most feasible airport to go to Montpellier, France). We got to the airport with ample amount of time. While waiting at the gate to board, we noticed that plane wasn’t there yet, and the time kept on delaying. What supposed to be a flight that leaves at 1340, didn’t take off until about 1430. Luckily, I strategically upgraded our seats so it would not be time consuming when we deplane compare to when we seat towards the back. With less than an hour as we got off in Philadelphia, we hurried. We made it to Gate A25 from B11- from one end to the other; boarding by then has started. After that, the flight to Barcelona was smooth. We sat next to a guy who is based in Barcelona; chatted with him from time to time in between watching movies and sleeping/resting and until we landed.
We arrived in Barcelona thirty minutes earlier. Went through immigration and customs, took our luggages, and picked up our rental. Then we were on the road off to Montpellier. Along the way, we stopped at an aire (rest area similar to big gas stations like Buccees or Wawa) we find in the freeway.
Back home, I would get chips or Nathan’s hotdogs at any of these places, but was surprised to see how different it was here. It has a full service- like restaurants with buffet menus. From the sandwiches to the main courses, they all looked delicious. Not knowing what to expect, I ordered a Paella (one of the many I would have from this 10-day trip). It did not disappoint. It tasted good; I can say that this was better than the one I order at Los Dos Compadres back at home. It was quite a meal.
Top: Promenade de Peyrou
Bottom: L-R 1. The Arch de Triomphe de Montpellier, 2. one of the many alleys and streets of Montpellier
Montpellier. We met our friend Bernard three hours later. We were finally in Montpellier. Since he live in an old city, there was no room to park our car outside his apartment so we went to a public garage and parked our rental and headed to his apartment, unpacked our luggages and took a rest for a bit. Bernard has a very nice apartment- each room has its characters. The high ceiling is one that I liked most.
Once refreshed, we started gallivanting around town. Bob has been to Montpellier before, I have not. He was more into being re-oriented again in the area whereas myself- I was taking everything in. Such a charming town. Busy with both locals and tourists but not like crazy as Paris. Bernard brought us first to Place de la Comédie- a large square at the center of the town, with chairs and tables set outside the plaza, typical of French bistros. Then we walked to the alleys and old streets, where he showed us multiple old churches (that have beautiful facades. It was late in the afternoon then and most of them were close so we didn’t get the chance to see what were inside); walked by some novelty shops and local stores; and he showed some arts on the walls of the old apartments too. Then walked again. By this time we were at the Main Street and was approaching the Montpelier version of the Arch de Triomphe. According to Bernard, the Arch in Paris took inspiration from this one; but of course bigger and one of Paris’ main tourist attraction. Across the Arch we walked to Promenade du Peyru, where we saw the panoramic view of the city and the old aqueduct. Then more walking into the alleys and old streets, til we found a bistro and had a drink. I have my escargot and a pint of local beer. After that we walked again the narrow passages I am becoming familiar with, until we reached Bernard’s apartment. Next to his apartment, is Mogador a Moroccan restaurant where we had our dinner. Vadim, his younger son joined us too. That was another great meal. We went back up after that and called it a day.
The view of the Pope’s castle across the River Rhone.
Avignon. Jet lag hit me. So I woke up at 3AM, tossed and turned- and at 530AM (European time) I decided to get up and explored the town on my own with my camera. I re-traced my steps to the places we walked the previous day; and some new streets and alleys as well. What a difference it make to shoot these beautiful places without the crowd. At one moment I was lost in my own world. The only thing was that weather was overcast. By 730AM I was back in the apartment and took a two hour power nap until Bob woke me up.
Our game plan was to go and pick up Victor (Bernard’s eldest son) at the train station then explore the city of Avignon. We left mid morning after a bread and cheese, and coffee breakfast that Bernard prepared. It took us about an hour driving, until we fetched Victor then headed to our first stop of the day. I have little to no knowledge of the different regions in France, but I am learning. And this time, I learned that this was the papal capital since the 14th century before it moved to Rome in the Vatican. The last pope that lived here was Pope Gregory in 1370.
Top L-R: 1. Bob infront of our glamping tent; 2. Bob and I leading the canoe (Bernard and Victor away behind us);
Bottom: 1. sumptuous dinner from the lodge; 2. the four of us at one of the stops while canoeing
The Palace was huge. It took us approx about an hour and half to complete the tour. What made the experience unique was that, it was interactive. We were given an iPad when we entered the palace, the goal was to scan a QR code and it will let you know what the room was about. When you focused on the walls, it will transmit a 3D hologram of what it was centuries ago. I thought that was cool.
When we’re done with the palace tour, we left Avignon and continued our journey.
Pon’t de Arc. I wasn’t really paying attention when Bob and Bernard were talking about our day’s adventure; all I know was that- since our original plan to go to Provence to see the lavender fields wasn’t gonna happen, we resorted to Plan B. Plan B was trip to the nature; and off we drove the beaten path. I forgot the name of the winding road, but before finally arriving to our final destination, we made multiple stops to appreciate France’s Gorges de l'Ardèche. Similar to Flume Gorge we once see while in New Hampshire.
It was almost 6PM when we arrived at Pon’t de Arc. Bernard booked two rooms (for us and for them) at a Prehistoric Lodge where we stayed for a night. I was in highschool or maybe college, in my “hiking the mountain days” that I last slept in a tent, It was a surprised that Bernard had booked us to one to stay over. Unexpectedly, the tent was fully equipped with king size bed, bath tub, and all modern amenities. This time and age its called “glamping.” Atleast not the one we pictured😉.
The famous Vallon Pont d’Arc.❤️
Pont d’ Arc was our off the grid surprised get away from Bernard; far from the hustle and bustle of the city. After we settled, and scouted the place for a bit, we had our dinner. Once again, the food was superb! I never had a bad meal here yet, so far. Once dinner was over, we headed back to our tent to rest; it was a long day after all.
Bob woke me up around 2AM and asked if I still want to see the stars like we planned the night before. We did. I was hoping to shoot a milky way, and attempted to do so but with no luck. I thought it might be too late since its June, and usually the milky way is at its peak around midnight during this time of the year. The clouds also started moving in. It was short but nice to once again enjoy the constellations. Bob used to watch them almost on a nightly basis when we lived in Princeton. Not long after, we headed back to our tent and sleep.
The next day we were off to our canoeing adventure. It was a two of hour of fun and just enjoying the serenity of nature and Bernard and Victor’s banters on how to paddle to make the canoe move forward🤣. Bob and I had kayaked before but we never had the experience of slides. The water reservoir at Vallon Pont d’Arc de Ardeche has these. Not only one but three (at least in the routes we signed up for) to add more thrills. About 3/4 of a mile before the end, we parked our canoes and rested just below the famous Vallon Pont d’Arc. This is one beautiful rock formation and quite a view. It was almost 2PM when we reached our final destination. We were wet, tired but packed with a lot of fun.
the Arena of Nimes
Wheaded back to the lodge, paid our dues and changed. Then we off to our next destination.
Uzes, Orange and Nimes. Along the way to Bernard’s country house we stopped by three towns. The first one was Uzes where we had a taste of French snacks. I had my chocolate crepe and a scoop of Tiramisu ice cream. I said this before, the ice creams in France are a-lot richer in textures and more complex in flavors than what we have in the US because they use egg yolks. When we were done, we’re back on the road.
We made a quick stop at the town of Orange because Bernard wanted to show us an old Roman coliseum. But unfortunately, there was an event that day and could not go inside- so we walked around instead and headed back to the car and drove away.
Then we stopped at Nimes. An old outpost for Roman empire, this town is known for well-preserved Roman architectures. We were lucky to see two of them- the Arena of Nimes (now used for concerts and some bullfights) and the Maison Carrée- a white limestone Roman temple which is about 2,000 years old. Bernard could not find a parking so Bob and I (and Victor) hopped off to take photos then hopped back on and drove away again.
Top: L-R: 1. Bernard and I outside the farmhouse; 2. Bea pouring some champagne
Bottom: All six of us having a nice French dinner; 2. our last lunch in Montpellier at Le Dome (Bernard’s family restaurant)
The last stop we had was at the farm stand and fromagerie along the way before we finally made to Sussargues- where the country house at.
When we entered the house Bernard gave us the grand tour since this was first for both Bob and I. I can’t help but admired the old character of this abode. Built in the 1890s, some of the house’s original features remain intact. The one that struck me most was the floor in the foyer- it brought me to my childhood as it resembled my grand mother’s flooring.
While we were settling for the day, Bernard was making dinner. When it was time, Bob and I were surprised of the simplicity yet sumptuous food he prepared. We had a Moroccan salad, cheese (that we purchased from the local fromagerie), olives, mixed nuts and saucisson charcuterie and fresh loaves of bread. Bea opened a bottle of Champagne and we had a toast. Then we enjoyed the dinner along with great conversation of what transpired during the day. We stayed up a few hours more, then decided to call the night off. We had done a lot that day and it was safe to say that we were all tired.
The night was short. We closed our eyes and then it was daylight. This was our last day in France. When we were all set, we headed back to Montpellier one last time to collect luggages, shop for our cheese, saucissons and souvenirs to bring back home. Bernard brought us to the Dome- his family’s restaurant where we had a delicious lunch (I had the duck) for the last time. When we’re done, we bid farewell and headed to our next destination. This time, its just myself and Bob.
Carcassone. On the way to Andorra, Bernard told us to drive by the city of Carcassone and see the castle. Which we did. And 1.5 on the road and we were able to roam around inside this 12th century fortress. Across the citadel there was also century old cemetery which we also explored. We didn’t stay long as it was getting late; we have almost four more hours to drive to the Pyrenees region.
Four days are not enough; in retrospect, If only we have enough time, we would explore more of this city. But I can say, perhaps next time. Au Revoir La France!
Carcassone Castle