Days 41 & 42 Montpellier, Susan flies home

Quiet days in Montpellier just chilling....

After the excitement of visiting the Carmargue on Friday, we had a very quiet weekend just chilling out in Montpellier. There really is a lot to see in this city. Susan had read about some big markets happening this weekend, so we headed down towards Le Lez hoping to find the markets. There were plenty or marquees set up .... but they were all empty, so we think it must be for another big event next weekend.

Appears to be ramps for skateboarding competition being set up

The grandstand for the competition viewing

It was beginning to get a bit warm in the sun .... a high of 26 degrees!! Yay says Barb!  So we wandered along to our favourite patisserie and made some selections therein.

Best patisserie in town we reckon

We sit in the square to eat .... shooing off eager pigeons

A selection of different flavoured macarons for madame

Afterwards, we catch the tram into the town centre

We happen upon this memorial to the fallen soldiers from Montpellier of both World Wars

The wreaths seemed  freshly laid

Another statue in the Jardin de Plantes

On Sunday morning Barb and John got up early and toddled off to find a nice treat to bring home for Susan on her last day with us in Montpellier. She is headed back home on a flight from Beziers Airport, directly back to Stanstead Airport where she'll catch a taxi to her home (about 25 minutes drive away).

Although we are sad to see her go, it has been very challenging for her to cope with all the walking involved in this sort of holiday. The train trip here (involving three different trains) was quite enough to contend with. We have had some very special adventures with her, and we're pleased she made the effort to come at all.

We found this at Place de l'Europe

It's a rather strange statue of a man carrying a horse!

This very grand crescent of up-market apartment buildings are reminiscent of Bath in the UK

We keep seeing headless statues around ... aparently vandalism

Across the road is the Piscine Olympique ( indoor Olympic pool)

Yet another grand avenue .... things are done on a grand scale round here

A quick selfie in front of the fountain

Then Barb sits on the edge and we consult our map

After carefully consulting the map we head off in entirely
the wrong direction and end up in a market place

Turns out we are at the back of the Lafayette Galleries shopping complex .... a very
long way from our apartment. We give in and jump on a tram to go home

After a lovely lunch of ham and salad and fruit there's time for a short rest before we head out to drive to the airport at Beziers (about an hour away) to drop Susan off to fly home.

The airport at Beziers is quite small but handles European international flights

John helps Susan to check in and drop off her baggage

At Stanstead airport the staff will assist Susan (Ryanair willing) to get to her taxi and she should be home in her own bed by 9.30 pm.

We drove back along the motorway, this time knowing what to do to pay the tolls - you take a ticket at the first booth and pay at the other end as you exit. It wasn't quite like that for the road going over the Millau Viaduct - there they just take the money with no messing about. Grrr.