Stop 6 - Montpellier

Well, the candlelight and Rosary procession last night was sure a surprise.  There were thousands and thousands of people taking part, and even more watching from vantage points, like ourselves.  The number of people assembling for the procession was a ‘swirling mass’ of unbelievable proportions!  The procession started dead on time and was led by some Priests carrying a cross which was lit up.  These people were then followed by around 100 people in wheelchairs and their helpers….then it was over to everyone else. The procession must have gone up the road for about 200 meters, then turned at a roundabout and came back slowly towards the basilica. By the time the first lot got back to the steps of the Basilica, people were still moving off from the starting point….amazing!  Most people carried lit candles and were carried along in the throng. It had to be seen to be believed!  Mass was being said and a choir was chanting and singing most of the time the procession proceeded.  It sure was something we’ll not forget being at and seeing.  We did leave the scene early so as not to get killed in the crush of people leaving after it was all over.  The other Aussies on the tour actually ventured into the mass of people and marched…they said it was very moving. (Sorry about the pun there..)

Today we have travelled some 450 kilometres from Lourdes arriving in Montpellier around 4pm this afternoon.  We were to go to Nimes, but there was a special weekend for Bullfighting this weekend, another long weekend for the French, and all the Hotels were booked out…..so, we are here instead. We had a stop in at Carcassone around lunch time for a couple of hours to explore the medieval walled town there.  Quite a huge area with its very narrow streets which are quite steep in places.  We walked around the Battlements with their good views over the town itself. I guess you would call this place a Castle in some ways…it has turrets etc, a moat and a drawbridge.  Of course there are very many little shops within the walls, lots of eating places and souvenir shops. There are lots of Cobblestone streets which are really fairly hard to walk on for any length of time.  It was very nice though and we enjoyed having a look at it all.

 Carcassone

Where we are staying in Montpellier is out of town somewhat so there will be no exploring this part of the place.  The hotel is nice and we have just come back from a very nice dinner.  Now for some rest and relaxation. The weather has been quite warm and everyone is a little tired today. Apparently some of the rooms last night in Lourdes were less than satisfactory, but we were happy with our room. Tomorrow we are off to Provence, Nice and Monte Carlo.  We have 2 nights in Monte Carlo so that should be good.