How We Spent Our Summer in France, Part 2

A misty summer morning at the bird refuge near Adge...

Birthdays. Why do so many people have birthdays in the summer? I suppose we could examine what was happening nine months earlier and make up something about—oh, I don’t know, long winter nights? But then again, maybe it’s just an impression: statistically, one-quarter of all birthdays should fall in the summer (and, of course, one quarter should fall in the fall…) 

Anyway, we just had a couple of birthdays, one of which was mine (which may be a clue as to why I find the summer full of birthdays!) To celebrate we planned an outing, a day trip to some nearby towns. We traveled with another expat American couple, Mary and Mark, who’ve been in France for a few years, and are now more-or-less permanently settled in Montpellier. Mark also has a summer birthday; in fact, his is just a few days after mine. So this trip was a celebration for both of us.

First issue was a rental car. All the majors (Hertz, Avis…) were out. This is August, after all, the month when the French go on vacation. And these days, private cars seem safer than public transport, so demand is high. It’s clear we were about a month late in our planning efforts. However, Paula, ever persistent, found a car through OuiCar, a platform for individuals to rent their private cars to other individuals. Effectively, the Airbnb of car rentals. We’d used OuiCar once previously, just before the virus lockdown in mid-March. (Here’s the blog I wrote about that trip, to Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert.) There wasn’t much selection at this late date, but we did get a car for the two days we had planned.

              Agde

First stop was a town we’d been interested in for a time, Agde. In our last blog we wrote about our trip to Séte, a town at the eastern end of a long étang, or lagoon. At the opposite end of the étang, ending the 10 km of Séte’s sandy beach, is Agde. In the last couple of decades there has been a lot of development around Agde, including a massive Naturist (read: nudist) colony with accommodations for 50,000 (yes, fifty thousand naked people!)

The cathedral of Agde in the distance, along an unused canal.

Our interest, however, lay on the other side of town, and in another century: the unique “round lock” that marks the end (almost) of the Canal du Midi. The round lock has three gates, to match three different water levels (well, any two out of three anyway). One lock connects to the canal, one leads to the river (the Hérault river, from which the name of our département is taken), and the third heads towards the long, narrow Etang du Thau, which connects Agde and Séte. (So canal boats with goods bound for other Mediterranean ports, after transiting the Canal du Midi, would pass through this final lock before entering the étang on their way to the port of Séte, where their cargo would be loaded onto more sea-worthy craft to travel the Med.)

Looking up the Canal du Midi from the Round Lock.

Boats waiting for the lock to fill: the one boat has just entered the lock at the bottom, the other is preparing to leave. The third gate is on the right. The lock dates to the 17th century; the lamp post is somewhat more modern...

We made the long, slow drive through traffic-congested Agde, crossed the river, and then got very confused as to which one-way road went where. Finally, though, we found free parking at the train station, and walked the last 10 minutes to the lock. We were able to get off the road and walk along a no-longer-used canal, which was far more pleasant than walking (or driving!) on the road. Then, since it was now lunch time, and parking was free and unlimited at the station, we walked back along the canal, re-crossed the river into town, and found an excellent restaurant with tables on the river bank.

Mary, Mark, and Paula awaiting lunch in Agde, along the Hérault River

  

             Pézenas

After a very pleasant lunch we piled back in the car and drove 30 minutes north to anther ancient town, Pézenas (no Naturist Village here through). All the parking lots were full, of course, this being mid-day in August, but we did find a spot just out of town in a large field shaded by rack-mounted solar panels (an Eco-parking, as it were).

Paula crosses the bridge into the old town of Pézenas

Very touristy!

Pézenas is a cute, very touristy town. Its narrow 15^th-century streets are lined with shops selling local products, antiques and other old stuff, and all manner of things of interest to tourists (of course!). It’s quite an interesting place—we’d been here a few years back—but today the streets were crammed with people, and when a passerby sneezed and left it hanging in the air we decided that a less-crowded part of the old city would suit us just fine.

The Michelin Man, former spokesperson for the Michelin Tire Co, is apparently now retired and running a tourist shop in Pezenas...

...with his steel-sculpture buddy, Dog.

 It’s a fine place to visit and we will be back in a month or so when the crowds have thinned out (I want to see that door museum!). As it was, we made our way to a café for some refreshment before heading back to Montpellier. Over all, a very satisfying day!

 

Pezenas is full of sights (sites??) like this ancient doorway.

Paula and Mark admire the violet shutters (or volets violets in French!)

             Alphonsia Maria - La Péniche

The next day was my birthday proper (11 August, if you’re keeping track), and Paula had worked out a special evening for us, a night on a boat! This boat was a péniche, a 100 ft.-long canal boat once used to transport bulk goods throughout Europe. Since commercial shipping is now much cheaper by truck and train, péniches are out of work.  Those that avoided the scrap pile are now either private residences, or some variant of a floating hotel. The Alphonsia Maria is one of the latter.

The Alphonisa Maria, our home for the night.

The owners live on board, with four cabins for guests, and a large space up on deck for eating, relaxing, and chatting. Why, it even has a (small) swimming pool! It is permanently moored along a canal just opposite the ancient Cathédrale de Maguelone. Getting there is not easy: we could take a tram, a bus, and then walk for a half-hour. Or, drive. So, we kept the car overnight and pulled up alongside the Alphonsia Maria the next afternoon.

The floating bridge that crosses the canal,with Cathédrale de Maguelone in the background.

 After being shown our cabin—with private bath, and air conditioning—we sat up on deck for a while, conversing with the other guests and admiring the view. It was all pretty flat, but across the canal was a sort of island where the Cathédrale de Maguelone was located. And, the étangs are full of les flamants rose: pink flamingos! This time of year they’re mostly just standing around on one leg, but during their migrations the sky is filled with them. After a bit we went for a walk, crossing the canal on the clever floating pedestrian bridge: it's hinged in the middle, and is driven open and closed by a pair of outboard motors to allow boats to pass.

The Alphonisa Maria from across the canal, with the private yacht Black Pearl (clever name, eh?).

The tourist train heading for the beach.

 

At the far end of the bridge was the stop for a little white tourist train. We climbed aboard and headed for the beach, a few minutes away. We weren’t really interested in the beach, so when the train was ready to return, so were we. This time we got off to visit the Cathédrale. We’d been here before, a few years ago, which was a good thing because the cathedral had just closed. We wandered around a bit, took in the view, and hiked back to the train stop, arriving just in time to catch it on its way back to the canal (saving us about five minutes of walking!).

The beach near Cathédrale de Maguelone.

A great place for water fowl; here's a Snowy Egret near the cathedral.

 

We had made reservations for dinner in town, and by the time we’d gotten back to the péniche it was time to leave for dinner. In this case, “town” was Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone, a village a few kilometres away.

It may be but a village, but it's got some great restaurants!

Back on the boat as the evening closes in...

After an excellent meal we were back at the boat, and joined the other guests on deck for a glass of wine as the sun went down. (Yeah, 9PM and the sun was just going down!) There wasn’t any real sunset, because the fog had rolled in (or crept in, or whatever fog does). Night fell slowly, it got darker and darker but not cold (ah, summer in the South of France!). Eventually we said our good nights, and headed down to our cabin, grateful for the air conditioner. It wasn’t too hot, but the fog made the warm air incredibly humid. The night would have been much less pleasant without that AC!

Stillness on the etang as night falls....

The next morning we were up late, but still managed to beat everyone else to breakfast. It was the typical French breakfast: coffee, croissants, jam… and such jam! Turns out it is made by a lady in nearby Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone, and decidedly better than even the best commercial jams. (We later found the lady and her small workshop, and were able to buy a few jars. She doesn’t sell it anywhere else—she has very limited capacity, on her kitchen stove—so we were glad to have found her!)

Breakfast was certainly adequate!!

When we got up in the morning there was activity on the shore, next to the boat. A stage had been set up, along with a long row of tables. It seems this is the spot for a regular weekly summer festival, with music, and, of course, food and wine. The festival took place in the evening, but preparations were already getting started. And we thought, ah, if only our night on the boat were tonight, instead of last night! The stage was right opposite the deck! How cool would it be to watch the music, and the people coming and going, from the deck of “our” boat! They were, of course, booked up for that night. Ah well, perhaps next year…

 

Fog obscures the sunset over the etang

 

             Breaking news…

We have submitted our paperwork for our second one-year visa! This is a big deal because reservations for these appointments are very difficult to get. While we will need to wait a couple more months to know the final outcome, it is a near-certainty that we will get our Carte de Séjour, permission to stay for another year. Yah!

How We Spent Our Summer in France, Part 1

 Oh my, but it’s been hot! Like really hot. Like 35°C/95°F hot. And, 65% humidity! Dry heat I can take, but humidity? No thanks! Still, the locals keep telling us: uh no, it’s not hot yet! Wait for the canicule! That’s like a heat wave, or something. Last year in Montpellier the temperature reached 45°/113°. We’re not in any hurry to get there! 

How can we get to Iceland??

We’ve also looked at getting out of town. In fact, we were planning a week in Brittany, France’s northwest Atlantic coast. But, the COVID numbers in that area spiked. It’s not a heavily populated area, and we wouldn’t be hanging out in the big cities (Brest, Quimpier). But this is vacation time, and Paula could not find accommodations at any place for more than two nights at a time. Well, that’s ok for a week, two nights here and one there… Except, this is the time of COVID! Every new lodging is a new opportunity to pick something up. Staying one place for a week? OK. Four places in one week? I think not! When we went to Lucca and Florence (link to that trip here) we knew no one had stayed in those rooms for at least several nights. So, we’ll save Brittany for another time, and continue to enjoy Montpellier. 

So what have we been doing, besides hanging out in our air-conditioned flat? We’ve had a couple of outings…

                     

Views in front of Noilly Prat, in the small town of Marseillan

           

            Noilly Prat

One of the joys of living in France is visiting its many wineries. And, about an hour’s drive from Montpellier, is the producer of France’s premier vermouth, Noilly Prat. One day while we were playing boules someone in the group suggested we take a tour of the facility. So we did! 

Obligatory no-longer-used polished copper steam-punk distillation vessel on display at the entrance to the winery. Sign reads ""Behind this door is produced the premier French vermouth". 

The sales area. While not visible in the photo, the artisan who did the steel work welded his personal petanque ball to the top of the flag staff! (You don't find that kind of dedication everywhere...)

Vermouth is a bit of a mystery to me. It’s a fortified, flavored wine that’s never been very popular in the US. Aside from its use in martinis, I haven’t heard much about it. In Europe, on the other hand, it is often drunk as an aperitif, particularly in France and Italy. 

First stop on the tour: the blending barrels.

Vermouth starts out with a light white wine. At Noilly Prat they use wine from nearby vineyards, aged and blended according to the original recipe Joseph Noilly developed in the mid-1800s. The wine is blended, fortified with alcohol to 18%, and then aged for a year in barrels kept in an outside yard. This aging exposes the wine to hot sun, cool winters, and constant ocean breezes, mimicking the long sea voyage that most wines of the 18^th and 19^th centuries had to endure (and is the reason that this spot, close to the sea, was chosen by Noilly Prat). 

The outdoor aging yard, exposed to sun and wind.

These barrels are used here for up to 12 years;
they tend to get a bit beat up!

I was particularly fascinated by the story of the barrels. Noilly Prat gets them principally from the sherry producers in the south of Spain—after having aged the sherry, the barrels contribute to the complex notes of the vermouth. In turn, the sherry producers get the barrels from distillers in the US, where they have already done duty aging whisky. Prior to that, the barrels were white oak trees growing in France. (So, there is a busy international trade in oak!) 

Back on the south coast of France, after the fortified wine is aged for a year it goes back inside to other oak barrels, where a select blend of herbs, spices, roots, and bark are added. And, of course, the botanicals added to the wine are carefully selected to produce the desired flavor, balancing tartness, acidity, bitterness, and so on. Noilly Prat produces four or five different products, each with its unique blend of essences. 

More steam-punk machines, now no doubt replaced by a sleek and efficient stainless steel box

Meeting place for the Coven? Or VIP tasting area?

Our guide was careful to tell us that each morning, when the work crew arrives, they start their day by spending two minutes at each barrel, hand stirring the botanical mixture into the wine (the only vermouth producer that still hand stirs!). After steeping for three weeks, the wine is decanted and stored for eventual bottling, which is done at another facility up the coast. 

After the tour came the tasting room, where we were served cocktails made with our choice of Noilly Prat vermouth and the appropriate citrus zest (orange, grapefruit, lemon, lime, depending on which of the vermouths we’d chosen). It is, indeed, a light a refreshing drink, although much less favored now than a half-century ago. 

• 

   Tasting time! And yes, the overhead structure is made of old barrel hoops.
  
  

A fine Noilly Prat cocktail with a twist of lemon, served by our guide/bartender.

Next came the expected opportunity to buy bottles of the product—and the clever molds for the spherical ice, err, cubes(?) used in our cocktails. Then, finally, it was on to lunch, always a worthwhile experience in France. 

After about an hour and a half, as lunch was winding down, it was suggested we head over to Bezier, a near-by city, to check out the famous seven-step “staircase” lock. This extraordinary series of locks, part of the original Canal du Midi built in the mid-1600s, allows the canal to rise/fall 21.5 vertical meters (70.5 feet). It’s quite an engineering feat for the 17^th Century, and is still in use today. 

The Bezier cathedral, a few kilometres distant.

The top of the "staircase," ready for the long ride down...

While Paula and I had been there just the year before, shortly after our own week on the Canal du Midi, we went with the group (not that we had much choice; it was the driver who suggested we go!) The sun was hot, but the process of locking boats up through the subsequent stages was fascinating enough that we stayed with it for the hour or so it took to get the boats all the way to the top. 

...and looking up from the bottom.

 

            Séte

Séte is a pleasant small town on the water, built at the base of a huge mound of a hill, Mont St Clair. It was once an island, anchoring a long sandy spit stretching several kilometers to  the southwest. It’s now attached to the mainland by a few bridges, with easy access from Montpellier—in addition to the highway, there are trains throughout the day that make the 15-minute trip. 

Aerial view of Séte and Mont St. Clair. Photo courtesy of the tourist office.

The town was built in 1666 specifically as a port for the newly-finished Canal du Midi, giving access to the Mediterranean. The port is now all grown up, and is a major shipping point for the South of France. The city has also become a major tourist attraction, thanks in a large part to the 10km (6mi) of sandy beaches along its sand spit. The sand spit protects the Etang du Thau (an étang is a small body of water, a pond or, in this case, a salt water lagoon) from the Mediterranean Sea. The calm waters of the étang support the commercial growth of oysters and mussels, an important regional product. (And just across the étang, 12 km distant, is the small town of Marseillan, home of the Noilly Prat winery!) 

View along one of the canals of Séte with Mont St Clair behind.

On the day we went to Séte it was hot and crowded (but decidedly not flat!). I have to say our experience was mixed. We headed for a delightful square a few blocks up from the water, expecting to spend a peaceful 20 minutes relaxing and enjoying some coffee. But the square was packed, and we ended sitting near the road, with the already annoying traffic noises punctuated every few minutes by a very noisy motor scooter climbing up the steep street. 

A shady square in town, but all the cafes are crowded at the far end! The van on the left is recruiting for Le Légion étrangère, the French Foreign Legion. Maybe that's why the square is so empty...

We continued on our way—on a pedestrian-only street!—and found a very fine indoor market. (Indoor, so air conditioned!) It looked like a great place to have lunch, but as it was still early we moved on. 

Another view of a different canal, running along the main street.

Back out on the main street fronting the canal we waited for the once-an-hour bus that would take us up and over Mont Saint-Clair to the beaches on the other side of town. We wound up steep streets past stone walls and steel gates enclosing what we imagined were fine villas with expansive views out over the town towards the sea. (The walls were high enough, and the gates sufficiently solid, that what lay beyond remained a mystery. But I’m sure there were some fine properties and spectacular views!) 

Panorama from the peak. On the left is the Etang du Thau, with the Med on the far right, and Séte's main canal down the middle. Montpellier is in the very distant center.

The bus arrived at the top with its expansive lookout, but I was not ready to leave the comfort of my seat, so we rode the bus down to the other side of the hill, past more iron-gated stone walls. Since we weren’t really interested in the beach, we just stayed on the bus as it climbed back up the same road, making the same stops, to the top. Now we were ready to get out, so we had a chance to take in the magnificent panoramas of the extensive étang and the distant hills on the mainland. 

Another view from the top: the Etang de Thau, with it's commercial oyster racks visible towards the left. That curving peninsula looks like a great place to have a house!

Next came the long, long walk down, all 183 vertical meters (600 ft.) of it! (My calves hurt for three days after that.) Still, better going down than up, and once back in the town we rewarded ourselves with lunch at the indoor (did I mention it was air conditioned?) market, accompanied by a couple of tall, cold beers. 

Looking back, I'm glad we're headed down, and not up!

Half way down! It gets a little less steep.

The Paul Valéry High School, named for a well-known French poet born in Séte.

A colorful street near the high school

It was a good outing, but we are looking forward to returning next month in September, when the tourist season is over and the weather a bit cooler.

Séte has some pretty outrageous street art!!

What’s next?

Our Paris trip is on hold. It’s just hot everywhere! We are thinking of renting a car for a few days and exploring locally. There’s a couple of rivers in the area, with quiet coves and shady beaches. Check back in the next blog to see what we end up doing!