My companion on this long weekend trip to the less glitzy region of the South of France was my daughter Rachel. The boisterous 02 frequenters disturbed her sleep this friday night the 7th May 2010 much more than mine. We would discover, to our dismay, later how the lack of sleep would impact poor Rachel’s Saturday.
Saturday breakfast was, surprisingly, not immediately easy to secure along the flutter of small streets running from the Allees Paul Ricquet. Coffee was finally taken with a croissant at a friendly but cold and functional operation just paces down a small street the other side of Allees Paul Ricquet. Almost satisfied, we headed back to the hotel via an apartment store called Galerie La Fayette. A second distraction in the form of a well presented boutique gift shop with a strong African flavour just a couple of doors away from the hotel yielded extra luggage for the trip in the form of an Asian style (!) wooden eyes only (shut) bhudda face.
At the top of our Saturday agenda was the securing of a rental car. This, we were reliably informed, would be most easily negotiated at the railway station where there were offices for some of the larger car rental operators. A fifteen minute trundle through light rain and the Park des Poetes, which was in the midst of hosting a VE day celebration brought us to Europcar and Avis signs at the forecourt of a moderately busy Gare de Beziers. Inside the building rental car offices were disappointingly locked and even more disappointingly void of helpful contact information should one wish to partake of car rental type business on this VE Saturday morning. An hour of dithering and determination to stay chilled was followed with the purchase of two, one way, eleven euro fifty each, tickets to Montpellier on a train that departed within twenty minutes of ticket purchase. Bye bye Beziers.
Montpellier station was alive with mobile rucksacks. This was clearly a town popular with the tourists. Tourists that travelled by train and carried their goods on their backs.
It was still raining. In a state of aimless and somewhat weather driven disappointment there followed a thirty minute zombie amble in the vicinity of the station that culminated in food and drink at restaurant J’aime! The underlying question – what fun is this? – was pushed aside as we tucked into beef and chips in a baguette (as most food items are in France). The pleasure of food encouraged us to revisit the need for a plan and we resurrected the ‘rental car’ idea. In a flurry of energy and enthusiasm we visited three car rental counters in 30 mins. Prices were ridiculous at around 150 to 200 euros for two/two and half day small car rental. My enthusiasm and inspiration was subsiding fast. Rachels had already evaporated. We needed a room to rest and recharge. L’Hotel just beyond Mcdonalds at the other end of the street got lucky and were treated to the pleasure of our patronage for two nights. It was the turning point of the weekend. Rachel slept and recharged. I explored the pedestrianised town centre on foot with camera in hand. By early Saturday evening we were excited and ready to explore the Montpellier restaurant scene. We were not disappointed with the choice and our selection.
Down The Road 