Return to Aigues-Mortes!

Lundi, 30 juin.

Yesterday, Molly and I were generously invited to tag along with the group of William & Mary students currently studying abroad in Montpellier on a day trip to Aigues-Mortes and a local beach. We've visited Aigues-Mortes before (you can read about that trip here), but when opportunity knocks -- and especially opportunity happens to be a free trip to a beautiful historic seaside town -- you answer!
 

Look familiar?

Since Molly and I had already done the touristy thing, we opted out of another tour of the city ramparts. Instead, we walked around the interior of the city, popping into souvenir shops and -- of course -- stopping for sugary snacks. We decided that after a long morning of walking (and twenty-one years of penny-pinching), we deserved two scoops ... I'll have framboise and caramel buerre salé, please!

Excursion à Aigues-Mortes et Gard-du-Roi

Samedi, 21 septembre.

Although there are several things I don't miss about the orientation pre-stage (including the oppressive heat and the sincerely ugly Triolet dorms), I do miss our weekly excursions -- a little bit of history, a little bit of sun, and enough walking to make you want to sleep on the way home. But because the end of our first month in France called for a celebratory adventure -- and because Molly and I have seen just about all there is to see in Montpellier at the moment, we decided to take our own little excursion this weekend! On the agenda: the village of Gard-du-Roi and the city of Aigues-Mortes.

Because a direct bus to Aigues-Mortes wouldn't get us to the town till noon, we decided to leave Montpellier early and stop for an hour or two in one of the smaller seaside towns on the way ... and thus our trip to Grau-du-Roi was born! Grau-du-Roi, which means something along the lines of "king's bayou" in Occitan, is a small fishing village on the Mediterranean coast that doesn't have a whole lot of remarkable attributes. (Although Hemingway did describe its "long beach and fine fishing port" in one of his novels.)  But, naturally, since it's a small fishing village on the Mediterranean, it doesn't need to be remarkable because it's inheritantly incredible. 

We only had a few hours in the town before catching the next bus to Aigues-Mortes, but it was the perfect amount of time to meander around town, take photos, and buy some souvenirs! The town was hopping, even in September, so I can't imagine how crowded it must be in peak tourist season.