After a few days in Montpellier, Kim and I decide that we've had our fill. That first day spent on the beach was great, and we were keen on the idea of more. So we moved locations to Sete, a smaller town maybe 30 minutes by train, and right on the beach. Only like 3 euros for a ticket! From the Gare (train station) we head to our hostel. Little did we know that the town was built around a small mountain and our hostel ended up being quite a hike. I've never been so aware of how heavy my pack is! Kim referred to it brilliantly by saying that wearing a backpack is like having a small person on your back who is trying to take you down. That's basically what it feels like. Finally reaching the hostel on the hill, over the next two days we explore the town, find some really interesting shops, walk the coast line, sit in the sun, hike Mont Saint Clair to see the view, and eat some great food. There's not much to say about Sete besides that it's a port town resort on the ocean, but the land structure of Sete was really interesting to us. It is built on the Bassin de Thau, which is a salt water lake confined by this little strip of land and Mont Saint Clair, and on the other side is the Mediterranean Sea. It was pretty strange to view from above. The weather was gorgeous for us, and overall Sete turned out to be a cool little town.
View of Sete from Mont Saint Clair.
Our hostel and Kim walking down some of the many stairs we climbed.
Some of the coolest winding little french streets.
The sea-side port filled with boats.
A fisherman about to empty his catch for the day while being stalked by preying seagulls.
Kim in front of the window in our private room at the hostel.
Kim at lunch at a lovely cafe/shop we stumbled into one day called La Decoratrice. It was a lady cooking in what looked similar to her own kitchen while her two children served us. We just sat down and without any further discussion they served us a three course meal (soup, salad, and a quiche dish thing) for the surprisingly small amount of 9 euros.
The Mediterranean Sea.
From Sete we had quite the experience on the train as we moved onto Florence, Italy. We've learned quickly that trains aren't always dependable. Someone told us that Thursdays are a terrible time to travel due to the all day strikes. Missing our connecting train in Nice, we were forced to spend the night, and take another train in the morning from Nice to Milan to Florence. The views of the French Riviera were incredible to say the least.
Kim on the train.
View from the train window overlooking the Mediterranean.
This is my favorite photo. View from the train overlooking somewhere. Monaco maybe?
So far everything has been easy and enjoyable, and a really good experience. Kim and I are currently in Florence, Italy and will post a new entry for that soon. And hopefully Kim will post some entries of her perspective on things.
We are safe and sound and having a really fun time!
Camille
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