Written by: Paul
Our first August in Montpellier was spent close to home. We were scheduled to travel and also have a full house of visitors in September, so we decided to lay low and just enjoy the hot, lazy days of summer in our medium-sized city near the Meditteranean.
Montpellier
Each month I do a quick write-up on our experiences and views on Montpellier. In August living in Montpellier primarily came down to surviving the heat, although it had eased up a bit from the onslaught of oppressive killer sunbeams that hit us in July. Don’t get me wrong, I love warm weather (who doesn’t?) but the heat in July frequently hit close to 40 degrees C, which I’m quite certain melted parts of my face off and I’m not quite sure if they’re coming back. August was routinely low-to-mid 30s – still hot, but manageable.
One of the marquee events to hit Montpellier in August was the Mondial de la Pétanque, or Pétanque World Chamionships. Competing for pétanque supremacy were over 1500 participants representing 17 different countries. All on the banks of the River Lez, right outside our building.
If you’ve ever been to France or fancy yourself a francophile, you’ve likely heard of pétanque (also known as boules in France). It’s a game played on a rectangular dirt or gravel pitch, consisting of two teams trying to throw one large, heavy ball to a spot as close as possible to a much smaller ball. It’s like bocce, or even curling on dry land if that helps you to visualize the basics.
It’s basically a backyard bbq game elevated to competitive status. We had regularly watched people play pétanque in parks in Paris, usually a glass of wine in hand, making it as much a social event as a competitive one. This event, though, was no joke – they took their pétanque seriously, and the skill on display was impressive.
The event took place over about five days, with recreational teams playing along the river and the elite competitors battling in a marquee stadium built at the Hôtel de Ville. Montpellier does an excellent job putting on events, transforming parks and waterways into amazing competitive venues. We enjoyed watching a few matches each day, soaking up the atmosphere; it’s always fun getting wrapped up in international competitions, especially when they are free (our favourite) and right outside our door (also our favourite).
Here are a few more images from the week of pétanque goodness:
Outside of pétanque we just enjoyed the city – working out along the Lez, eating at our favourite restaurants, and watching the occasional summer storm roll through. It did make for some cool lightning storms.
One other thing we really enjoyed in Montpellier over the summer is how many great markets and brocantes there are in the city. Each Sunday we usually find ourselves in the area of the Promenade du Peyrou, where they have a weekly brocante.
It’s always chock full of fun things to look at and it usually brings a lot of people in. If nostalgia and browsing through antiques and a plethora of Tintin memorabilia is your thing, this is the place for you.
We’ve never actually seen anyone sell anything at this brocante, but the sellers keep coming back each week, so they must occasionally ring up a sale or two. Successful or not, the displays are cool. I always dig the photography guy, who always has a heap of old camera gear.
Food trucks give you the option of munching on an empanada or something while you browse, and a few times a year they have live music and other entertainment.
It’s a good time, and part of what makes daily life in France interesting.
Accomplishments
In August Angela had her birthday! We celebrated by going out for dinner and I gave her two tickets to Rome and Florence (I was hopeful she would pick me to go with her, and I must have played my cards right because she did!). The trip wouldn’t be until October, which gave us time to plan and get excited about it.
Angela also received her Carte Vitale! So at this point we both had coverage in the French healthcare system, almost eight months after we arrived here. We had bought a one-year health policy before leaving Canada, so we were always covered, but our acceptance into the French system meant we wouldn’t need our Canadian policy anymore.
Travel
August was a rare month in that we really didn’t go anywhere. We enjoyed planning for Italy, as well as for a September trip to Paris, but in August we basically made ourselves tourists in our own town.
So, a quiet month, but a good month spent in Montpellier. This is a city we still love, and we’re thankful every day that we chose Montpellier as a starting point for our French adventure!
Thanks for reading and we’ll look forward to sharing another Expat Life post with you next month – a bientôt!