We arrived in Montpellier still with no where to stay. There was not an information center in the train station, so we just walked out and started looking for a hotel. The first one we saw was 66 euros for 2 people, but they were full and the lady made Lieselotte fear that all the hotels would be full since there was a festival about to happen this weekend. Next we stopped in McDonald’s to use the free wi-fi but alas, no one had responded to our emergency CS request. Lieselotte was getting really worried that we’d have to sleep in the train station, so she left me
to check internet stuff while she left to check out other hotels. I thought she might be gone a long while, but she was back within ten minutes, having found a hotel a couple hundred feet away for 48 euros a night. We decided to take it, and while it was nothing fancy in the least, it had 2 single beds, a bathroom, and a fan (which proved essential because it was HOT).After we dropped our stuff off, we changed into lighter clothing and went to walk about Montpellier. The town was very beautiful with palm trees and sunny skies and really nice buildings. Suddenly, all our worries were gone and Lieselotte started saying “Wow, I’m really glad we came here - what a great pit stop!” I always have to chuckle at how fast she goes from being in fits of worry and pessimism to laughter and joyful optimism. It is one of her endearing traits. :)
The center of town was setting up for the festival with big open tents and an outdoor stage. People were mulling around everywhere in cute dresses and sandals. We were so excited - it was about time for some warm weather!
We looked around at all the shops and found a place to get some baguettes for lunch. Lieselotte went back to the hotel to use the bathroom while I went to the information center. Right in front of
the info center was a cool outdoor market that was just shutting down, but I looked around and admired the beautiful dresses and purses.When I got back to the hotel Lies and I took naps and then got up at 7:30 to go out. We walked around looking for a place to eat dinner, finally settling on a lovely little restaurant where we got to sit outside and enjoy the fabulous weather. It was getting dark, but we were still fine in short skirts. There were many bats flying above us - more than I’ve ever seen at one time. They are so fast and it was interesting to see them.
From there we walked around a little bit and all of a sudden saw a group of guys running as fast as they could down the road, then more guys. I thought, “they are trying not to pay for a meal,” and right after I thought that, a waiter came running. I’m pretty sure he never caught them
though.Then went back to the hotel at midnight, played cards, and went to bed.
Oh, and did I mention that before we got home, another homeless man tried to corner Lieselotte? Yeah, but this time, bystanders were laughing at us.
The next morning we woke up late and then walked around the center before we left to catch our train to Barcelona. It was so hot and sunny and I am really missing my hat - will have to buy a new one in Spain soon! We also found a shopping mall and tried some light linen dresses on, but we’ll wait for Spain to buy some of those as well because they were more expensive than we thought they should be - after all, Montpellier is a rich town.
Now we are on the way to Barcelona and very excited for Spain!
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