We had a lovely breakfast on the deck overlooking the sea and then left to explore the city of Sete, known as the “Venice of France” because of its canals. Louis XIV, the Sun King, chose Sete as the point where the canal du mid would join the Mediterranean Sea. It was inaugurated on July 29, 1666 with a jousting tournament. They used boats that were rowed by a team of oarsmen, with a platform on the front of the boat where the jouster stood. Jousting is still a favorite sport. It is now the leading fishing port of France. A lighthouse and modern pier was built in 1966. We walked from the port across 2 bridges over canals to reach the town center.
As we walked through the streets we came to a large local, smelly fishmarket, called Les halles, with a large variety of fresh fish. We then began our trek up the hill to Mont St. Clair. The hike was 1.2 km up a very steep grade with 200 steps at the top (which translates to 10 miles!) Jeff counted the steps and said we could rest after every 100. His heart rate was 79; mine was 138. The hardest part was the steep grade leading up to the steps.
It was cool at the bottom with a nice breeze, but was hot by the time we got to the top There was a nice breeze on top of the observation tower that we climbed to take pictures! The views were gorgeous at the top, where the Notre Dame de la Salette chapel was located. the chapel was built by a Duke in the 17th century on the ruins of a defensive fort. Inside the walls were covered with frescoes by several famous French artists. From that vantage point we had great views of the canals, the sea, and the Lanquedoc coast.
I was disappointed that there was no water at the top. Going down was a whole lot easier and faster!
Back in town, we found a place for water and Jeff’s Coke Zero and finally hooked up to wifi and posted!
But not without another problem. Blogging this time has not been without its issues – Jeff accidentally deleted an entire day’s post while trying to change the order of the posts. It took over 2 hours to rewrite and repost the pictures.
We also tried to find a post office for postcard stamps, but no one speaks English and Jeff’s French is not so good. Even went into the Hotel de Ville, but no help. No stamps today. We had lunch on the canal at a restaurant named Bar Glacier with the menu all in French. We managed to order and Jeff had a burger and FRENCH FRIES and I had a ham club sandwich. The french fries in France are delicious!
We walked along the beautiful canal and had DELICIOUS glaces (ice cream). As good as gelato!
Glaces stop
This was a very busy patisserie along the canal. I waited in a long line while most people bought baguettes. I bought two macaroons (caramel and pistachio) and a very hard French cookie.
Pics of pastry shops especially for Sandy M
The French people certainly love their dogs! Yesterday we posted the three dogs in the fountain. We saw all kinds of dogs everywhere in Provence and today in Sete. We saw them today in bicycle baskets, in carriers behind bicycles, in backpacks, on leashes, and off leashes. in Italy, We did not see many dogs.
Returning to the ship in mid-afternoon, we had some time to relax before dinner. Had dinner with our friends and then actually retired early for evening (since we had worked on the blog earlier)…
Bonne nuit