Montpellier

Had a good sleep - although the bed was way too soft so Tony and I were worried about not being able to walk after!  Breakfast was good and before we needed to leave we wanted to go and have a look at the beach and touch the waters of the Mediterranean.  We were able to detour through the shops to get to the beachfront so it took us maybe 5 mins to get there.  Its not like any beach we have at home fortunately. Its all pebbles!  We carefully walked to the water and all agreed were very lucky at home.

lots of pebbles

contemplating the ocean

the boys playing with dinosaurs on a giant screen in the supermarket

We are moving onto Montpellier today which is our last stop before flying to Paris on Friday.  Were taking a wee little detour to Nimes on our way as there is something there we really wanted to see.

The sat nav decided she was going to find the most un-direct route out of nice today, but we did get to see a bit more of it than when we arrived yesterday.  It has a very long coastline and the "beach" comes right up to the main road in parts.   Its quite lovely and we wouldn't mind coming back here and imagine it would be nice for summer holidays.  Lots of nice places to ride!

the road out of Nice

lots of very nice boats here

We weaved our way back to the freeway and began the last long drive of our trip.  And, fortunately our last visits to the toll booths - I lost track of how much we spent today on them, it seemed we stopped very often on the French side.  Again lots of mountains and the greenery is much different here compared to the northern areas.  Much more dry and rocks rather than lush forests.

reminded us a little of the Grand Canyon

After another servo lunch we arrived in a small town called Nimes.  Again Tony had to manage with a confused sat nav lady voice, small one way streets and bus only lanes.  The reason for our visit was an amphitheatre, not dissimilar to the Colosseum in Rome.  Once we found the city centre she was easy to see.  In our travels around the streets we happened upon an underground carpark so we were set.

Nimes is absolutely gorgeous. The amphitheatre is only one of a number of ancient roman buildings.  Wikipedia tells me that the amphitheatre is 50 x 50 metres smaller than the Roman version, but its in much better condition and they still use it a few times a year for bull fighting!  Nimes began as a retirement village for Romans who fought in their wars - its on the road between Italy and Spain.

main road in old section of Nimes

Fontaine Pradier

Old court building

Ampitheatre

circa AD70

Notre Dame et Saint Castor Cathedral

Sun is out so its time for Icecream

After we had our fill of ancient buildings we got back on the road and headed for Montpellier.  Found our way through the city easy enough but confusing to get to the hotel.  Were staying in the old centre area, specifically in the Comedie area.  We came out of the carpark and up the stairs.  I think we all gasped at the same time.  OMG its beautiful here - loving French architecture!

ooh la la

We checked in to our hotel and surprisingly its pretty good.  Airconditioner works superwell and it has blockout curtains.  After unpacking I desperately need to find a laundromat.  Bonus - there is one on the very next street.  Nate and I took off to wash and see what else is near us.  Turns out that there are many many restaurants and even a Monoprix supermarket.  This is going to make life very easy here.

After a couple of loads of washing, and a quick downpour of rain it was almost dinner time.  While I was out wandering earlier I noticed a Bistro so we went back there to try.  Tony and I had steak and Nate had a burger.  We ordered them with fries and was a little disappointed when the food arrived without any.  Never fear - soon after a big platter of them arrived and they were all you could eat!!!

Bistro Chez Jean

Le Steak

Le French Fries

After our very yummy dinner we came back to the hotel to catch up on masterchef and then watch a brand new movie with Arnie Schwarzenegger - what a waste of time that was... c'est terrible