‘What Bastille day activities do you have on here in Montpellier?’ Colin asked the Office of Tourism employee. ‘It’s not Bastille day, it’s a bank holiday’ he replied. Erm… interesting. We could have sworn July 14th was Bastille day. At least, after our Aussie friend told us via SMS.

Montpellier was dead as a door nail anyhow so whatever the case, we almost starved to death because everything was closed (in the morning). Can you starve to death in one morning?

As is usual, we walked over Montpellier aimlessly and then went looking for the Tourist info centre. Every town we’ve been in we have had a wild goose chase trying to find the TIC. The signs are everywhere pointing down streets but we always seem to end up going in circles or nowhere. By the time we find it and get a map, we discover we have seen everything! This was no exception. We discovered the Arc de Triomphe, aqueduct beautiful gardens etc well before we got the map. So the next day, when there was a ‘bank holiday’, we had already covered all grounds and everything was closed in the morning so we were a little stumped. After strolling around for a couple of hours, the shops opened.

Our hotel had a door which opened into the 4 story shopping complex *groan*. After 3 weeks of little villages and small markets it was quite overwhelming to see so many people in one place. I know I’m a sad case, but the shops and the sales were pretty exciting for such a deprived case as myself. Col, of course, wasn’t too thrilled about it so I restricted my frenzy to 2 hours.

We’re off to Figaec now to spend the week in an appartment with friends. Back to the little villages which are more our style. Our luggage has grown considerably so let’s hope we all fit  in! My boasting of ‘carry on luggage only’ is a thing of the past.