Autumn in Montpellier... and Paris!

It’s autumn again in Montpellier. The weather is decidedly cooler, the colors are changing; leaves are falling. We enjoy the changes here; it seems California has just one climate all the time! (Not a complaint, mind you, but we do find we enjoy the seasonal differences!).

Anyway, we’re glad to get away from the hot humid summer days… although we’re not keen on the cold weather! We have had some gloriously sunny, dry days, though. That’s truly a joy!

Droning on...

On one such day recently I went out with a friend, John, to practice with his drone. He is getting into vlogging—video blogging—and these days views from on high are essential for any real video blog.

Because drones are carefully regulated here in France, John had to have his drone licensed, and get himself certified, before he could legally fly it. And that means, no flying over houses! For our practice session we rode the tram out of town towards the beach, then walked to an isolated spot along a canal.

The Étang de Pérols, near where we were droning.

This part of the Mediterranean coast is low lying, sandy with lagoons separated from the Sea by long sandbars. These lagoons, called étang here, look like long, narrow lakes. Some are deep and support considerable aquaculture, notably oyster and mussel farming; others are quite shallow and support pink flamingos (real ones, not the plastic kind!). The canal we visited was on the edge of a shallow étang. The canal itself, the Canal du Rhône á Sète, connects the Canal du Midi that runs through the southeast of France to the Rhone River, and thence to the canal networks to the north. Here, though, it's just a narrow tranquil waterway.

John making pre-flight checks.

Our goal for the day was to gain experience in using the drone to make the kinds of shots John was interested in. He'd brought a list of 10 different exercises—following, circling, and so forth—for us to work on.

The drone on its landing pad, ready for flight.

While it was fun playing with the drone, I was really struck by the location. I had passed by this area many times, but had never stopped to look around. It was a glorious day, clear and bright, and the views of Montpellier, and Pic Saint-Loup, on the horizon were great. But I'd never paid much attention to the area itself; the terrain, the waterways, the landscape. Seeing it from the air was really magnificent!

It's a bird! It's a plane! No it isn't...

I enjoyed our foray, but kept thinking of that canal. And a boat... a boat on the canal, heading to the town of Aigues-Mortes; and maybe on the Rhône River. And flying the drone off the stern, giving us a great view of our slow progress through that flat but oh-so-interesting countryside. 

Back in the city…

A few days later Paula and I were out walking through Montpellier and passed through the Promenade de Peyrou, a park located on the highest spot in Montpellier and site of the water temple, the terminus of the aqueduct built in 1765 to supply water to the growing city.

The magnificent Chateau d'Eau, the water castle (or water temple ,as we call it);
end of the aqueduct bringing water to Montpellier.

Looking out from the chateau d'eau to the rest of Peyrou on a quiet, sunny fall day.

It was a Saturday, and people were out and strolling about or relaxing. We've been there many times, yet always enjoy the scene, and the view of the city and the Arc de Triomphe, the entry to the city put in place more than a half-century before the aqueduct.

        Up next

This is our fifth autumn in Montpellier, and we are still thrilled to be here. And, as Paula's birthday approaches, we realize that this is our seventy-fifth autumn on planet Earth. Seventy-five! 

To celebrate our 75 years—it's Paula's birthday, but mine, too, really (August)—we're going to Paris.

We have just arrived, and while we haven't done much yet, there are certainly no end of interesting things to do in Paris.

And you can read all about them in our next blog!