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One week into Europe

SEVENTH day of backpacking across Europe with "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS"  [13+]

I take the mount, any day. I love hiking off the beaten path. So I opt for Le Pic Saint-Loup! Without a means of transport, it is nearly impossible to start. The bus from Montpellier drops you in the middle of nowhere and you have to walk an hour to Gazevielle, the village at the foot of the mountain. The climb itself is a challenge but doable. It’s not a regular path either but rocky, with very rough gravel and rock. I saw people wear flip-flops but don’t try that at home: wear proper shoes.

At the top are a steep drop, a chapel, a giant cross, and a little shop, which were in fact just two people playing cards with an icebox full of coke.

Afterwards you have to walk back to Mas de Londres and catch the one-way bus to Saint Martin de Londres to get the last bus back to Montpellier around six.

I have hiked before in Wales and Ireland. It’s a wonderful way to be totally surrounded by nature and being a part of it. I love it.

We eat at Leclere Cuisine D'Arrivage at eight. A wonderful choice. I have the steak with French fries and vegetables. A very large ice cream as dessert. The atmosphere is great; I can’t believe it’s been only one week in Europe.

Fun fact about Montpellier: Frédéric Bazille was a French painter who helped found the Impressionist movement of the late 19th century, before dying in combat in the Franco-Prussian War.

Frédéric Bazille was born December 6, 1841, in Montpellier, France. He soon left school to pursue art. It was during these formative years that he met fellow painters Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Alfred Sisley, who joined him in founding the Impressionist movement of the late 19th century. In 1870, he joined the infantry after the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War and died in battle. (bio.com)

I go to my room early to write in my new blog about poetry "Invalid Item" 

Day FIFTEEN "Give It 100!"