Montpellier est si Mignonne (Super Cute)

Quick story before I talk about this great place. So on the train ride from Avignon to Montpellier (1.25hrs), I was amazed by how the adults were completely at ease calling out inappropriate behaviour of young adults. All I could think was, no one would do this at home in fear of what the teen might say or do but not here…the teenager actually apologized and removed her feet from the seat. The French really believe in the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child"! As a side note, we have travelled using only public transportation throughout Europe aside from our 2 day car rental. I am so impressed by the convenience and flexibility it has given us while travelling, not to mention how inexpensive it is too! You all know I have a thing for finding deals.

Montpellier was included during the last stages of our planning after a conversation with one of Matteo’s and Simone’s swim students, who raved about this university town just 10 minutes away from the Mediterranean Sea. It was only an overnight trip but we quickly dropped off our bags at our cute little apartment in the heart of the city and began taking in the sights. The train station is 5 minutes away from the centre here in Montpellier and we love that, especially since we are travelling with our carry on and I make Rob walk all the time.

This city begins to establish the mixture of old and new, with beautiful architecture, lovely gardens and history but it has a feeling of modern influences creeping in. Montpellier is made up of 95,000 students and it truly makes the city vibrant and lively. As luck would have it, our dinner that evening turned into a wonderful chapter of our story. We randomly picked a restaurant called Les Fils de Maman, and did we ever chose right. The owner was a 24 year old entrepreneur who creates his own menu, cooks along side the chefs, makes his own house beer, serves the tables and still found some time to sit with us and share a drink. Nathan as it turns out had lived for a while in Vietnam and then in Miami and had to come home during COVID when his green card expired. He shared with us his passion for making people feel joy. His food was delicious and he made this mushroom sauce that I could have eaten by the spoonful. He spoiled us with glasses of wine, shots but most importantly he treated us like friends. Nathan gives me hope that there are some young people in this world who will make a difference.

We arrived in Toulouse yesterday afternoon but I think I’m going to leave this for the next blog as we are just starting to explore the home of the Airbus. Wishing all my Canadian family and friends a wonderful Thanksgiving Weekend. Enjoy this time with your family and friends! Share food, make memories and tell stories!