According Late reports, the airspace was closed and all flights had been canceled. As we approached the airport was clear that the chances of flying were virtually nil, but I refused to accept that the eight days we had planned to spend in Sicily went to fret. Although the information panels damn word appeared next to each and every one of the flights scheduled for December 4th, we went to the Aena desk for information that we keep a little hope. Perhaps there was a remote possibility of agreement with the drivers and air traffic will be resumed in few hours, but nothing is further from the truth. After the first moments of anger, helplessness and disgust, I found it quite easy to change plans and the only thing that was clear was that he did not return home.
We sat in the cafeteria, fill in the appropriate complaint forms and took the laptop to find out how the world was. The first thing I did was cancel reservations of accommodation we had in different parts of Sicily and then check the weather forecast. The thing looks pretty bad, a cold snap in virtually all of Europe. We had no clothes or shoes to withstand temperatures as low nor we wanted to spend eight days on the road so not many options. We'd head to France and depending on the climatic evolution would throw away to one side or the other. In the same airport kiosk I bought a Lonely Planet guide "Best of France " to try to organize something on the fly.
Although we started with the hope of reaching the regions of Auvergne and Burgundy, after two days and gave up on why the time was not about to improve. So we stayed in Provence, a region which we kept very good memories. For 18 years we've been through that area and we were so many things pending, so we now had the opportunity to see new places but also to remind others.
The capital of the region of Languedoc-Roussillon surprise us. External image behind a slightly disheveled elegant city lies a dynamic, happy and alive with a reputation for having a high quality of life, which has much to do its pleasant climate and proximity to the Mediterranean.
Magnificent nicely restored buildings, cobblestone streets quiet, a weight history, ancient palaces, charming shops where they sell products of "terroir" quality, art galleries and antique shops, numerous restaurants, a large market Christmas, friendly people ... What more could you want?.
Of course the best way to see it and enjoy it is by foot and wide pedestrian zone makes it easy. We headed toward the center, known as l ' Ecusson in form like a shield. Indeed, its profile draws a sort of pentagon and its edges are boulevards that take the place of the old walls.
the guiding its 69 meter high bell tower that dominates the city, we reached the old church Santa Ana . Built in the nineteenth century in the Gothic style and is now converted into a contemporary art gallery called " Carré Saint-Anne." At that time, the space is occupied by an antique fair and between windows, columns, Gothic arches and the body background, you can find all kinds of antiquities.
In this picturesque area, between the music conservatory and the church of Santa Ana, you can see some workshops of luthiers, craftsmen who are dedicated to building and repairing stringed instruments.
continue through the lively pedestrian streets are now packed and down the rue de la Loge reached the Plaza de la Comedia , vital center and meeting point for the inhabitants of the city. This large space is dominated by the Comedy Opera and surrounded by other buildings hearth. In the center of the square stands a copy of the source the Three Graces - Aglaia, Euphrosyne and Thalia - an emblem of Montpellier. The original statue, created by Antoine Etienne in 1970, is located in the lobby of the Comedy Opera.
Apparently, the intense cold to be accentuated as the sun goes down, does not discourage people and gives the feeling that all the city has poured into the street. Of the approximately 250,000 inhabitants, 60,000 are students and the youthful spirit is noted. Many are foreigners, since it is a popular destination for Erasmus students.
A group of percussion and a musical in two points of the square environment and encourage some couples dare to show their dancing skills to the eyes of an audience improvised.
Here also begins the great Christmas market that has nothing to envy to the markets of German cities, even found the mulled wine or mulled wine , more typical of Central Europe in a Mediterranean city, as they can not miss the crepes, waffles and all sorts of delicacies. To take a warm onion soup, the most delicious soup I have ever tried to stick with a chocolate crepe black to cointreau Ummmm ....
Christmas market extends across the wide Esplanade Charles de Gaulle to Opera Berlioz, another City Opera, separated only 400 meters from the first which shows the great love of the spectacle of montpellerienses.
In this same trip, is the Fabre Museum, considered one of the most important museums of Fine Arts of France, with works by Rubens, Zurbaran and Delacroix, among others. Its name honors the painter François-Xavier Fabre who was born in Montpellier in 1825.
We go back again in the rue de la Loge and continue for another of the main avenues of the old town, the rue Foch, which leads to the Arc de Triomphe at the end of the seventeenth century was built by the Manager in honor of King Louis XIV right where he occupied one of the doors of the old wall.
Behind the triumphal arch opens the large public park Place Royale du Peyron, the highest point of the city and from where you can see a pretty sight. At the foot of the park stands the aqueduct Arceaux des , which is inspired by the Pont du Gard. Built in 1754 by engineer Henri Pitot de Launay, was the function of supplying the city water coming from the springs of Saint Clement. In the same time is called Château d'eau , which was the water tank in the city.
Behind the triumphal arch opens the large public park Place Royale du Peyron, the highest point of the city and from where you can see a pretty sight. At the foot of the park stands the aqueduct Arceaux des , which is inspired by the Pont du Gard. Built in 1754 by engineer Henri Pitot de Launay, was the function of supplying the city water coming from the springs of Saint Clement. In the same time is called Château d'eau , which was the water tank in the city.
Continuing along the Boulevard Henri IV is reached monumental the Faculty of Medicine and Cathedral of Saint Pierre .
The Faculty of Medicine of Montpellier is the world's oldest active Salerno since disappeared in the early nineteenth century. When the city was not yet two centuries old, his feudal lord Guilhem VIII signed in 1180 an astonishing edict authorizing the teaching of medicine to anyone regardless of their religion or origins. That was how in the early thirteenth century, Jewish doctors - in Montpellier had a large Jewish community - created the School of Medicine.
The Faculty of Medicine of Montpellier is the world's oldest active Salerno since disappeared in the early nineteenth century. When the city was not yet two centuries old, his feudal lord Guilhem VIII signed in 1180 an astonishing edict authorizing the teaching of medicine to anyone regardless of their religion or origins. That was how in the early thirteenth century, Jewish doctors - in Montpellier had a large Jewish community - created the School of Medicine.
studied in its classrooms Ramon Llull, Arnau de Vilanova or Nostradamus.
Next door stands the San Pedro Cathedral built in 1364 by order of Pope Urban V. The imposing portico gives it a medieval fortress.
the death of the king Jaime I, Montpellier became the Kingdom of Mallorca and in 1349 James III sold the city to the French king Philip IV to raise funds.
Despite being a city "young" (S. VIII), or at least much more when compared with other neighboring cities like Nîmes, Narbonne and Carcassonne, Montpellier has much to offer. We spent a few hours but enough to spread their good atmosphere.
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