Tarragona and Sete (Montpellier)

 My post on Tarragon will be very brief.  We were scheduled to be in Tarragona on Saturday, June 4.  Darrell, Brenda and Nicole arrived just after midnight and I arrived about 3 AM on  the fifth.  This was after a restless night on the plane from Newark to Frankfort.  None of us were up to tours.  So, I will skip to Sete.

I cannot type the name of the town correctly because there is a mark above the first 'e".  It is pronounced "set" just like a set of cufflinks.  Darrell toured Sete and I went on to Montpellier.

Some people have asked how the University of Minnesota got the  "M" used in its logo.  It does not match any of the usual fonts.  Well, I have the answer.  In the main square of Montpellier, Comedy Square, the emblem "M" of the city is found on many paving blocks.

                        

The center of the Comedy Square has a fountain called "The Three Graces."  This square is a gathering place for any celebration or protest.  Thanks to the many pubs surrounding it, revelers often get a bit boisterous.  Therefore, the original marble statue at the top of the monument has been replaced with a copy and the original is kept safely inside the Theater, 

The local tram system has a stop on the Square.  Tram cars are decorated to represent the season, or nature or some other reason.  We just saw 2 of them.

 

We were  in the city on Pentecost , so most of the shops were closed.  However, a few of the fruit stands in the large market building were open.  

This part of France has had may wars and changing allegiances.  To commemorate one victory they built a triumphal arch, the Arc de Triumph, much like the more famous one in Paris.  At the time, they were not particularly fond of the king, one of the Louie's, So when he came to visit they made a statue of him and put it on the other side of the Arc, outside the city walls.

 

Many of the buildings in the city center are ones which have stood for hundreds of years.  As styles and uses changed old openings were closed and more modern doors appeared.

Not all buildings are old, however.  This hotel is right on the Comedy Square.

Our next stop was Chateau Flaugergues.  Again, I cannot recreate all the marks above the letters. 

In order to be called a chateau, a property must have 3 things:

    A Manor house

    A French Garden

             and a vineyard (which we did not see.)

The original owner did not think his house was grand enough, so he added wings on each end and a third story. 

One distinguishing feature of the house is the "floating staircase."  It seems to hang in the air with no visible means of support.

During World War II the Germans occupied the house.  The left their signature and other remarks on the walls, so redecoration was in order. 

The master bedroom (called the Eagle Room) was redecorated as a tribute to an ancestor who spent time with Napoleon in Egypt.  

For some reason, there is a large grove of bamboo.  

Our wine tasting at tables inside this grove gave us a taste ( about 1 tablespoon) of 3 of the wines they produce.  This part of France is the largest wine producing area in France many, many times larger than the more well know areas such as Burgundy,

Just one more interesting fact about Sete. 

The word means "whale" because the area looks like a whale from the sea.