Marilyn's Odyssey: About Montpellier and Sete

The last couple of days have been fun exploring around Montpellier. We have used the tram system extensively to explore all different parts of the city. One can go from very old to very modern in a flash. Was hard to be away for Andy's birthday but had a nice chat. Yesterday we spent several hours at the zoo. It is a very large area where all the animals have big natural enclosures. Sometimes makes it harder to spot them but most of them were in very cooperative moods yesterday. Great variety of animals and hardly any people. There is a large amazon forest greenhouse in which we were the only people. Very well done and made for an enjoyable day.

Today we took the train to Sete and spent the day exploring this delightful seaside city laced with canals. There are literally thousands of boats of all descriptions tied up along the walls of the canals and in the many marinas. Sete is a very big fishing port and the seafood is fresh, straight from the ocean to your plate. I enjoyed a wonderful lunch of oysters and mussels for a starter followed by cuttlefish for a main. This was my second time savoring this wonderful seafood which is more closely related to calamari than anything else I can think of but with more flavor. I will definitely be looking for it when I get home. It was interesting how many more cars there were in Sete than Montpellier even though it is much smaller. Shows one what a very efficient public transport system can do. Never anywhere have I seen as many mopeds and motorcycles as in France. They are allowed in the pedestrian only areas so I can understand how the locals favor them.

Must say I certainly enjoy starting the morning with coffee and fresh croissants bought from the bakery just around the corner. The French are so civilized!