Friday, February 7, 2025 - Day 11 - We walk in the sunshine until clouds move in, obtain groceries, and walk home in the rain. Sunny to start, then rain: 54°F (12°C)

We both woke up feeling a bit extra tired this morning, so we took it easy. Finally, we decided we should get out and see this place, so we decided to wander around for a bit, then end up back at the Monoprix to pick up groceries for the two weeks we'll be here.

We began our walk at the Place de la Comedie, where there's this interesting statue fountain. The fountain is called The Three Graces.

Place de la Comedie is one of the largest pedestrian complexes in Europe. At one end is the Opéra Comédie, an Italian-style theater from 1888:

and at the other end, is the Office de Tourisme:

We walked down to the Office de Tourisme, and got in just in time as it was shutting down for lunch and they kicked us out but we were able to grab a map.

Beyond the Office de Tourisme is the Esplanade Charles De Gaulle. If, like me, you had no idea really who Charles de Gaulle was, and only really had heard his name because of the airport in Paris, here's a fun little side quest about Charles de Gaulle that is worth the journey.

To give a sense of the size of this place, here's what it looks like when you stand in front of the Office de Tourisme and look back down toward the Opéra Comédie and the three Graces:

and here's me looking at something:

And here's looking the other direction, up the Esplanade Charles De Gaulle:

At the end of the Esplanade CDG is the Opéra Berlioz, one of the largest entertainment venues in Montpellier. As an edifice, it's a relative baby, having been built in 1990! There's also a big row of flags and some colorful statues:

Notice how cloudier it is in this picture? The weather really moved in fast, with a cold wind in our faces! We headed back to the Monoprix to stock up on groceries.

Here's the produce section:

Notice how the origin of the produce is called out in large text - larger than even the name of the item.

It had begun to rain, so we got a bit damp on the walk back to our mini-castle. It was a cozy evening to prepare a home-cooked meal - rice, ground beef, broccoli, and mixed (frozen) veggies.

It was yummy!

And for dessert: Chocolate tart!

After dinner, we had a call with Ben and Nick regarding some issues with our mail, and discovered that Jamil has been called for jury duty! I guess life doesn't stop just because we are on a different continent darn it.

One big plus - we were able to log in to our Apple TV account, and can continue watching through Season 1 of Severance. So good!