France May 2017

It’s been a while since I posted a new entry. Not for lack of desire but life has a way of getting away from you. In May, my job took me to the south of France to Montpellier. Technically, I’m told, this is not the French Riviera but it’s right next door. I feel like I’ve already been there because I drive through Creve Coeur, IL almost twice a week. That’s our Riviera and I live right next door. 🙂

We decided to fly into Paris and train to Montpellier so we could see the French country side. The ride into Montpellier was majestic.

After we were told we had to pay 50 Euro to change train tickets to the earlier train, we sat around for what seemed like forever. They don’t tell your train platform until the last minute. Why? I can only imagine is to avoid interference with the crews preparing the train for the next trip.  I truly enjoyed the ride down to Montpellier (MOP). We saw countless old cities and classic French country side. These shots only cover a slice of the beautiful countryside.

Montpellier (MOP) is home of one of the oldest Universities on earth. Downtown MOP is a beautiful mix of modern and ancient city. I thought these first couple shots captured that well.

At dusk on our first evening, I had to to see the PPromenade de Peyrou. There are lots of interesting details, like the statue of Louis XIV on horseback extending his arm towards Spain. The 18th-century Château d’Eau is a monumental water tower fed by the Saint-Clement Aqueduct, which is 14 kilometres long and crosses the square. The arch de triumph celebrates Louis XIV.

I wasn’t thrilled with the shots I captured the first night. On the second evening, I convinced John to go back so I could try again. I do like most of these better.

Our train ride back to Paris was not as expected. In fact, we will likely choose fly next time instead. Not 30 minutes outside of MOP, the train slowed to a halt. The PA barked out a a long explanation in French. Then we heard in English, “The train is delayed at least one hour….” The rest didn’t really matter. Come to find out, someone decided to commit suicide by train ahead of us causing delays on our track. It took an extra 90 minutes and by the time we arrived in our hotel, we were exhausted and in no mood to travel into Paris through the pouring rain.

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