Sunday, November 25, 2012 - North Shore News - A37
TRAVEL
YOUR NORTH SHORE GUIDE to THE WORLD OUTSIDE
Université de Montpellier: The university is considerably older than its formal founding date, associated with a bull issued by Pope Nicholas IV in 1289, combining all the long-existing schools into a university. It is not known exactly when the schools of liberal arts were founded that developed into the Montpellier faculty of arts; it may be that they were a direct continuation of the Gallo-Roman schools that gathered around masters of rhetoric. The school of law was founded by Placentinus, from the school of law at Bologna, who came to Montpellier in 1160, taught there during two different periods, and died there in 1192. The famous school of medicine was founded perhaps by people trained in the Spanish medical schools; it is certain that, as early as 1137, there were excellent physicians at Montpellier. — Wikipedia
photos Mandy Trickett
THE impressive Pont Du Gard, an ancient Roman aqueduct bridge, crosses the Gardon River in Vers-Pont-du-Gard near Remoulins. Begun in 20 BC, the structure was part of a massive 50-kilometre aqueduct system that delivered 20,000 cubic metres of water daily.
MONTPELLIER: YOUTHFUL CITY WITH A RICH PAST
Mandy Trickett
Step back in time
Contributing Writer
D
odging skateboards and street artists, we step across the egg-shaped, yellow marble outline of Montpellier’s Place de la Comédie and step back in time.
Sipping café au lait we survey the elegant architecture of theatres and hotels around the large oval area nicknamed “the egg.”I t’s easy to imagine the 18th century elite who came here to stroll, chat, flirt, people watch and simply hang out beneath the town’s statue of the Three Graces — an activity known for centuries as faire l’oeuf, “doing the egg.” Today, an eclectic mix of university students, young families, elderly couples and tourists still “do the egg” here in the sunny capital of France’s Bas-Languedoc. We pull ourselves away from the egg to explore cobbled alleyways and tree flanked promenades, meandering past historic monuments and Gothic vaulted cellars. We suffer Parisian déjà-vu because so much of the architecture and statuary here mimic the capital: the elaborate opera house, a miniature replica of the one in Paris; the classical Chateau d’Eau (water tower); the Palais de Justice, and streets like Rue Foch, a mirror image of the one in the capital. Our guide’s weighty antique key gives us access to the Arc de Triomphe, yet another copy of a Parisian original. From its top, we overlook the St. Clement aqueduct and the Promenade du Peyrou before moving on to the old town, or “Écusson,” so named because its layout resembles the shape of a medieval shield. This ancient rabbit warren of crooked passageways is crammed with expensive boutiques, tiny cafés and homely apartments with balconies gaudy with scarlet geraniums. We amble to the unique Romantic-Gothic Cathédrale Saint Pierre — unique because it is shared with the university’s Faculty of Medicine and home (on the first floor) to a bizarre Museum of Anatomy. The medical university was huge even in the 13th century: the cathedral is a mere upstart, dating from the 14th. Food is, of course, a passion here and Écusson is a perfect place to have lunch. We relax in the dappled sunshine, enjoying a local specialty: galettes, hearty crêpes stuffed with exotic fillings like “Galette Francois 1er,” a whole wheat crêpe bursting with shrimp, mushrooms and béchamel sauce. We sit, somnolent in the sun, sipping the local wine and entertained by strolling musicians. For dinner tonight, there’s the Bistro Du Théatre, a lively, noisy place offering a hearty seafood soup, with classic aioli and grated cheese. Tomorrow, we’ll treat ourselves to the splendid L’Estrale waterfront restaurant in nearby Palavas Les Flots, a harbour town garlanded with lights where we can sit beneath the stars, warmed by a See Montpellier page 38
CATHÉDRALE Saint-Pierre de Montpellier dates from the 14th century.