One of the joys of retirement is being able to travel around at a slower place and to possibly leave when everyone else is at work. Using the car is also something we should be trying not to do. So, when planning a visit to a friend in deepest Cumbria, I looked at the train timetables. 5 hours 43 minutes and two changes of train … Continue reading The hills of the North rejoice……

As it is Sunday, we have had a lie in and then come into town. Anne and Michael have gone to a choir rehearsal at the Opera House (we were hoping that I could go and listen but it is a closed session) and I have been museum visiting. At the Musee Fabre I went to see an exhibition of work by Louis Gauffier. He … Continue reading And today is the last day of my visit

Montpellier, being a civilised sort of place, has two opera houses. We went to visit the older one today, built on the 1880s on the site where two others had burnt down. Coincidentally, both whilst Hamlet was on. It won’t be done again – for obvious reasons. The tour was led by a very nervous student who gabbled through the information and had to refer … Continue reading At the Opera House

With apologies for not doing this yesterday….. Maguelone is the site of the original cathedral, built way before the town of Montpellier. Although the current building dates from the 10th – 12th C, archaeologists have found Roman and Visigothic remains. See https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maguelone_Cathedral for the rest of the history. It is built on an island between the Mediterranean and the salt flats and lagoons. After the … Continue reading Manueline

So this morning I sat around reading the paper and listening to Radio 3. So much so ‘retired people on holiday’ to quote my brother. This afternoon Anne and I went on another tour. A brief history of Montpellier. There were some overlaps with yesterday but not many. Firstly, water. In the 18thC the king decided that Montpellier needed a piped water system. An aqueduct … Continue reading Montpellier again

This morning I went on an organised tour of the private houses (Hotels Particuliers) in the old town of Montpellier. Apparently, Montpellier is not as old as many of the towns around it, having no Roman history and being founded in the 10thC. During medieval times it was a major trading post, specialising in moneylending, dyeing and the spice trade. This was put in jeopardy … Continue reading Montpellier continued

By the way, if anyone wondered why I had mentioned the Alyscamps (which, incidentally, means the Elysian Fields) yesterday but then not been there – we ran out of time! Next time maybe. After a snooze with my book an the sofa this morning, Anne and I went to the centre of.Montpellier. Although there is acres of urban sprawl, the centre is based around a … Continue reading Montpellier

An hour away from Montpellier is the Provençal town of Arles. Previously a Roman town, it has an amphitheatre, a theatre and the Alyscamps, a field of famous graves. So famous in fact that, in mediaeval times, people used to pay to be buried there and the Rhone boatmen made a fortune transporting coffins. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alyscamps There is also a famous poem. https://www.poetica.fr/poeme-1956/paul-jean-toulet-en-arles/ We have seen … Continue reading Arles

If you arrange to leave London on the Eurostar on a Sunday morning, you have to be prepared to travel on the Saturday and stay overnight. So far so logical. Having packed, tidied, deposited the dog with the kind people who are looking after her for the week and generally faffed about, I walked down to the station and got the train. Where I live … Continue reading Travel in times of plague – continued. (Not mentioning Brexit)

Saturday: time to pack and return home. However, there is one last palazzo to visit before then. The Palazzo Albrizzi, built in the 15thC and heavily decorated in the 17th, is still privately owned. We were, of course, shown round and given coffee by the owner, Lorenzo Rubin de Cervin. I believe he is also a Count. I feel that I should only consort with … Continue reading And finally……