12. 11. 07. Fran and Clive arrived last Tuesday for their first visit to Clermont. I met them at the station in Montpellier and we picked up the car and drove back here. I had made a bourguignon for dinner, but after a welcoming glass of wine, tried to turn on the gas only to discover that it had run out! It was too late to pick up another “cube” so we went over to the Venizia for dinner. Wednesday morning we went to the market and after lunch decided on a short tour round lac du Salagou. We arrived at the car only to discover that the battery was flat and, as it was a Prias, nothing worked, and we couldn’t even find the battery! After a call to Hertz and a wait for about an hour le depanneur arrived from Lodeve. Luckily he was quite small as he had to climb over the back seat and get into a space below the trunk to find the battery. The car started immediately and we happily went for a ride around the lac. Came home and enjoyed the boeuf bourguignon for dinner with a bottle of the local wine and then went down to the Negociants for coffee and cognac. Thursday was our day by the sea, so we went off in the morning to Marseillan and Marseillan plage where we went for a long walk along the beach before heading into Sete for lunch. We had a very tasty seafood lunch outside in a little restaurant overlooking the old port and then went for a stroll around town and then up to the cimitière marin overlooking the bay. Lots of chrysantheums on the graves after Toussaint. Friday we made a picnic lunch and drove to Lodève where we dropped in on my friend Malcolm and then headed up to the plateau where we stopped and had our lunch. After lunch we drove across to the Cirque de Navacelles and then down to St Guilhelm le Dessert and the Gorges de l’Hérault before heading back to Clermont. Had a wonderful dinner at Le Tournesol. Saturday, we loaded everything into the car and had a final quick tour around Villeneuvette before lunch at the Negociants. We then drove to Montpellier and dropped in on Claire’s expo and sale before Fran and Clive checked into Le Grand Hotel du Midi. After dropping off the car we wandered around the old part of Montpellier before having our final dinner in the Brasserie du Theatre. I stayed at Claire’s Saturday night and then Fran and Clive headed back to Paris Sunday morning. A great visit and hopefully something we can make into a regular event.
