Sit Back & Relax

I might have gone a little overboard with that whole "no time to rest" attitude in Bordeaux. Taking a break is important, even while vacationing! Luckily, I was able to take a couple days to sleep and relax as Lucie and her boyfriend Thierry still worked during the day.

It wasn't just me relaxing, however. Clermont l'Hérault as a whole seemed much more laid back than busy Bordeaux. Maybe it's the heat, the proximity to Spain or the comparative size of the towns. Regardless, people just seemed to take life... slower. I certainly didn’t mind!

My first night we went to an old town called “Villeneuvette”, meaning new small town. I guess they didn’t quite think through that someday the town wouldn’t be new anymore, but it did stay small! Villeneuvette was originally created in the 17th century as lodging and place of work for the workers of a royal clothmaking factory. It had a very community-based attitude, as there were walls surrounding the city that encouraged the inhabitants to stay. 

On our way back, we stopped at a market to buy some food for our apéritif that night. They had unpasteurized goat cheese (yum!):

And fresh green olives, which I found out I love! There are lots of olive and fig trees in this area.

For those of you wondering, an apéritif is a little appetizer time before the meal in France. There’s a little spread of food and wine with a spill of crème de cassis (blackcurrant). Then for half an hour, an hour, you can sit with friends and family to munch, sip and talk. In Bordeaux we didn’t have any apéritifs, so maybe it is more part of the relaxed attitude of Clermont-l’Hérault. 

For the apéritif the next night, we went to a tapas restaurant right on "Lac du Salagou”:

I learned that instead of saying “cheers” as you chink glasses, you say “santé”, or health. Here’s some other photos from that night of the gorgeous area:

Lucie et Thierry are quite lucky in Clermont l’Hérault to be close to several of the “Grand Sites de France”. These are about forty areas that the French government identifies as notable throughout their country, and some French people make it their goal to visit the entire list. We ate dinner by the Lac du Salagou, but in fact the entire "Vallée du Salagou” and “Cirque du Mourèze" is qualified as a single Grand Site. 

On Saturday we set out to visit another Grand Site, Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert – Gorges de l’Hérault. This one covers quite a large area as well, and it required quite a bit of driving. Up a mountain, down into the valley on the other side, and all the way back again! 

First pictures of the drive, and our first stop to view the land below:

Then the view from waayyy up on top of the mountain. If you look close enough, you can see the little town of Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, our destination for the afternoon!

But first, some lunch. We stopped halfway down the mountain for, you guessed it, a picnic. It seems like a staple in French culture:

In French, the word for picnic is “pique-nique”. It’s widely pronounced as “peak-neak”. Thierry, however, is from an area of southern France that pronounces it as “peak-a-neak-a”. He thus receives endless teasing from Lucie and her family for this word and several others!

The area was gorgeous, and several people were enjoying wading despite (or perhaps because of?) the frigid water temperature:

We then continued our drive and walked around the town a bit:

Lucie, Léonie and Thierry:

Sunday morning Lucie and I set out for the second half of one of the Grand Sites, the Cirque and city of Mourèze:

We enjoyed some lunch and napped before going out to the heat. For the afternoon, our plan was the second half of one of the Grand Sites - Gorges de l’Hérault. We started out by swimming by the Pont du Diable, or the Devil's bridge. You can see it in the background of this picture:

There are countless bridges by this name throughout the world, and even several within the region. Here's the lore that goes with this one:

In reality, this is a natural occurrence. The region is so dry that the water level stays very low all summer. Then once the rain starts to come in the fall, flooding is quite frequent and can reach over the cliffs on either side of the gorge:

This would quite possibly topple a bridge in progress, as well. Next in our day was the charming town of Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert:

 Another notable thing about Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert is that it was one of the routes of Saint Jacques de Compostelle. Here's a brief article explaining the story: http://123voyage.com/realsw/tosee/stjacqu.htm Thus, above many doors there are seashells in this shape in remembrance.

I also have another couple tidbits to share. First, centipedes are as feared as scorpions in this area! The French words are "le scorpion" for scorpion and "le scolopendre" for centipede. They are both poisonous and one must be on the lookout when hiking or camping. Here's a video that I couldn't resist sharing. It has French music in the background, and I know how much many of you love "scolopendres":

Secondly, I enjoyed my time talking with Thierry and Lucie over apéritifs, dinner, in the car and just at home. Sometimes, however, I wouldn't understand a word in French and they'd race to think of it in English for me. One time when Thierry won, I learned a funny French idiom:
"Il se la pète"



Basically, it means Thierry thinks he's hot stuff or he's showing off by finding the right answer. But it translates literally to "he farts". As in someone goes and farts for how great they think they've done. My apologies for the crudity, but learning the meaning of this phrase caught me at the right time that night and I laughed heartily. I hope it gave you all a laugh too!
Lucie and Thierry were wonderful hosts and made my time in Clermont l'Hérault very enjoyable. It was nice to sit back and relax at the beginning, but see the beautiful surrounding area as well. I'm posting this quite late compared to when it happened, but "these coming weeks" will be orientation and the start of school. So wish me luck and I'll write home again soon!

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