Our Day in Montpellier

Yesterday was another “Field Trip” day. This time we were headed for the city of Montpellier, near the sea. This was a town that Polley and I had visited 20 years ago, but were not returning out of any pangs of nostalgia, but we going to visit Julie Ribault, the sister of Natacha Price, our good friend and owner of the Madrona Hill Bakery. Julie had been kind enough to encourage us to visit for a longer period, but we found the prospect of renting a car was a little beyond our budget. So, the old SNCF (the French train) was our option. While we were not riding the famous TGV, we were on a “fast train” to Montpellier, with only one stop, the city of Narbonne on the way there (we were non-stop coming home). This trip, as they always are, was uneventful and, of course (bien sûr!), was right on time, having taken just two hours to arrive in this very old city, built on the ruins of a Roman city.

While we had been promised a warm day, French weather prognosticators being every bit as accurate as those in Portland, it was blowing, cloudy and quite cold! Wandering from the train station up the hill, we came to a wonderful plaza, the Place de la Comedie.



It sits spread out in front of the magnificent opera house.


As we sat down at a little café on the Place, we suddenly remembered attending an opera there in 1986. We can’t recall the name, but it was something about Peas! Anyway, certain aspects of the city suddenly came back to us. Following a light refreshment, we sauntered (having already “wandered”) about the town. Montpellier has various streets angling off the Place, but then they are connected by numerous alleyways that give it a kind of mysterious and romantic feel (although not too romantic at 10:30 a.m. on a cold, cloudy, windy day).

Montpellier is now filled with high-end shops. Polley was in Heaven as we went from one shoe store to another. However, we were very safe in terms of purchasing anything. Even if the dollar was strong, there was no way we were taking any of these things home with us. There must be money in Montpellier!

At noon, by the old carousel in the Place de la Comedie, we found Julie Ribault, sister of Portland’s own Natacha Price. Julie told us she would be wearing an orange scarf, but with just one look, we knew whose sister she had to be! As you will see by the photos, Julie looks very much like Natacha. She told us wonderful stories of when people confused them and the fun they had with that.

Julie was joined by her daughter, Juliane, who was eager waiting to see real Americans. That thrill lasted, maybe, 2 ½ seconds. She was really more interested in the carousel!

We were taking Juliane to her great-grandmother’s house, so that Julie, Polley and I could have a leisurely French lunch. 5 minutes from the Place, we were greeted by Julie and Natacha’s grandmother. She was most gracious. We sat and drank Pastis, and Muscat. Grandma is a very lovely, sharp-witted 84 year-old and despite neither of us having a lot of the other’s language, we did manage to communicate. It was a truly lovely start of the afternoon.

Leaving Juliane with grandma, we headed off for lunch at a wonderful Salon de Thé call L’Heure Bleue. These Salon de Thés are something that seem to be much more prevalent in France then when we were here two years ago. They are a kind of sophisticated brasserie. L’Heure Bleue was a wonderful cross between a fancy antique shop and a sophisticated restaurant. You can see from this photo of a fanciful doorway in L’Heure Bleue.


It was wonderful. The plates contained a variety of offerings usually built around a theme. I had a Greek dish which had stuffed grape leaves, a Tzatziki-based cucumber salad, a small slice of quiche and a miniature spanikopita. Polley had a kind of breakfast dish of tomato tarte tartin, scrambled eggs with chives and a green salad with walnuts. Julie had yet another dish. With a bottle of wine, we experienced real French dining as we sat there for a couple of hours gabbing away as though we had known each other forever.




In some ways, we had. Natacha was the connection and from there the rest was easy.




Following a few photos in the restaurant, we stepped back outside to beautiful blue sky and a much lighter breeze. Julie then took us on a walking tour of old Montpellier. We went up toward the Place Royale du Peyrou, passing through their own Arc de Triumph,




through the gardens to the Peyrou




and beyond that to where a still functioning aqueduct stands.


From there you have a panoramic view of from the Mediterranean to the hills to the north. With Julie leading the way, we just drifted (having now wandered and sauntered) through the streets and alleyways, along another parkway, called the Esplanade Charles de Gaulle


until we made our way back to the Place de la Comedie where we sat at a café in the bright sunshine (with nearly every other person in Montpellier – Julie says that sitting at cafes in the major hobby of the people of the city) and enjoyed each others stories and company for another hour. As the clock moved toward 5 o’clock, Julie needed to rescue Grandma and Polley and I had a train to catch. Two hours later, we were catching the metro in Toulouse and heading for home. It was a wonderful day, a great chance to make new friends and to enjoy the extension of Natacha’s family. I have a feeling that we will make our way back to Montpellier in the future.