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!