French mussels, hmph. Teeny, weeny wee things – delicious, but even the big ones were about the size of my thumbnail. My plate came out and there must have been about 3 dozen of them heaped on the plate. I thought that there was no way anyone would manage to work through the pile, but then found out that the shells are all for show. The oysters on the other hand are very impressive. Al had raw oysters for the first time in his life and was shazamed! We were one of only 2 parties in the restaurant and we had a lot of fun with the waitresses who didn’t have much English, but great senses of humour. So far, we have not met any of the notoriously grumpy French citizens other than the concierge in our hotel in Paris, but have confirmed that good manners and laughter create language surpassing connections.
In our initial plan, today was meant to be a blob out day in Meze. Our hotel is right on the lagoon and has a pool, so it would have been awesome on a hot day for lazing about. Unfortunately, today was the first ‘bad’ weather day we have had. Raining and windy – although still not cold at around 22 degrees.
So we went to plan B and, after visiting the local laverie to do the laundry and a wee wander about Meze while the washing was being done, we headed inland in search of a tiny village called Saint Jean de la Blaqiere. We had brunch in the Tour de France Café in Christchurch and friends of theirs run the café in St Jean. They are coming to NZ for the Rugby World Cup and so were keen to meet some kiwis. The trip took us off the motorways, along some narrow, windy roads and through several blink-and-they’re-gone villages. The country looks just like Marlborough except for the buildings, so feels familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. It isn’t yet lavender season, so we have only seen blushes of early lavender along the road rather than the swathes of purple that the region is famous for – but still lovely.
We found the café and met Mimi and Virginie – unfortunately Serge, the big rugby fan, wasn’t there. We ordered omelettes for lunch and they were massive! We found out later that they had 4 eggs in each! After they had finished their lunch servery and there was only us in the restaurant, we had a lovely conversation with Mimi and Virginie – Mimi spoke no English and Virginie only a little, but we are getting pretty good at communication now so it was a lot of fun. We took a photo of us all for the people in Christchurch and Mimi gave me a note to take to her friend. We are very pleased that we had the opportunity to go.
After lunch we headed back to the coast and into Montpellier. It is a very big city and on the outskirts looks very much like any other major city. In the centre though is “old Montepellier” inside stone walls. This in itself is a very big town and bustling with modern shops and transport systems mixed in with the old.
I am now writing this while sitting in Chris and Al’s room where we are drinking a bottle of wine and munching some fresh fruit and veg. After such a big lunch, none of us could face another full meal and we want to get packed up tonight and early into bed for an early start tomorrow. We have had a text from Toni to let us know that they are in France, so by this time tomorrow our quartet will be six. I hope we fit all the luggage in the van!
P.S. Bonne anniversaire Papa! We have raised our glasses and even sung Happy Birthday in French to you all the way here on the other side of the world. xx
P.P.S. Glad to hear that the op went well Wassa, hope you are up and at 'em real soon. xx
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