Sunday.

Montpellier is made up of the old city and the surrounding suburbs. I am staying just on the western edge of the old town . It takes about 15 to 20 min for me to walk to the other side of the old town.  Sundays seem to be a day of rest for most people in Montpellier. Going on a sample of 1!  Over half the cafes were closed and most of the other shops. A friend had given me a list of the 6 best places to get a good coffee, Australian style, in Montpellier. I went to the earliest that was open.9am.  Half the way was along one of the main roads into the centre of the old town. I saw about 5 people. Then the only people I saw were a few street cleaners. The flat white was delicious. By about 9.30 the place waa full. I wound my way back through more streets that I had not been along. 

There are 4 tram lines that operate in Montpellier.  I wanted to do something brainless this morning so walked to the nearest stop and went on the one that goes to the NW and then south ( the blue line) to meet up with the tram that goes from the centre westwards. For thr first 2/3  of the first tram it  was mostly all University buildings and associated labs . Then poorer economic housing areas. More headscarves. I had planned to get a coffee or something at the terminus but the terminus was in the middle of nowhere so i got straight onto the green line to  return to the centre - except it finished in an area that I think on a normal day would have far more people around. About a km east of the eastern edge of the old town. It was a bit spooky. Ms google took me around the back of a few big hotels. No one else in sight. I think next sunday I will stay home and paint my toenails or something. 

I had seen in my wanderings a nice looking bistrot in one of the little higgledy-piggledy  outdoor spaces off the main streets. I found it fairly easily, which was lucky. I was shown to a table on the edge of this place's allocated space ( I forgot, today was a bit warmer than it has been and warm enough, just, to sit outside).  I chose to sit with my back to the rest of the restaurant  ( scary for me) and watch the people passing and imagine going to the church that is no longer a church that was about 10 steps away from where i was sitting. But unfortunately there was hoarding around the front door.

I enjoyed reading my book on my small plant-filled balcony in the sun in the afternoon.