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Montpellier and Château d'Exindre

May 19, 2022

On our second day we toured the city of Montpellier. Following the tour, we enjoyed a picnic dinner prepared by Julia's mother Cathy at Château d'Exindre. We played Pétanque, a popular game in the Camargue that is similar to bocce ball.

The route to the city of Montpellier and the Château d'Exindre Winery.

This 18th century aqueduct brought the city's water over 14 km from the Saint-Clément spring to the water tower in Peyrou, Montpellier.

The water tower at the end of the aquaduct

The water tower is at the western end of the Jardin du Peyrou. This is the highest point in Montpellier and when this served as the city's water supply, gravity provided the delivery to numerous fountains.

A view over the city from the water tower plaza

A view from the water tower, through the Jardin de Peyrou, past the statue of Louis XIV, to the Porte du Peyrou, a triumphal arch in Montpellier.

A lamp in the Jardin du Peyrou

In the Jardin du Peyrou

Statue of Louis XIV erected in 1718

The Porte du Peyrou, a triumphal arch located at the eastern end of the Jardin de Peyrou in Montpellier

One of the child and lion statues by sculptor Jean-Antoine Injalbert - 1883

Decorative light rail in Montpellier

University of Montpellier, Faculty of Medicine, the world's oldest medical school still in operation

A quiet residential street in Montpellier

The Place de la Comédie is the main square in Montpellier. The Opéra Comédie is the building center-right.

Place de la Comédie, Montpellier

Our group at the Place de la Comédie in Montpelier (photo from Julia)

The Montpellier version of the Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe

A view of the Jardin de Peyrou from the west

The Musée Fabre has an excellent collection of the works of Frédéric Bazille, a Montpellier native son. The next album shows photos of some of the museum's collection.

Arriving at Château d'Exindre

Julia's mother Cathy (pronounced 'Cat'-tea') prepared a lovely Provençal picnic dinner, and her father Stéphane entertained us. That is Cathy holding the lyrics for Stéphane.

Our tour of the winery and vineyards begins

Vineyards at Château d'Exindre

Entering the aging cellars at Château d'Exindre

Inside the aging cellars

Our host and Julia pouring the wines for our wine tasting at Château d'Exindre.

One of the wines we tasted

One of the wines we tasted

One of the wines we tasted

One of the wines we tasted

We learned to play Pétanque. Here Julia is tossing the target ball (small green dot near her right hand) to start the game.

Jim preparing to toss the ball

Kathy Siller tossing the ball

L to R: Betsy, Marian, and Larry watching Julia toss the ball. On the right, Kathy Siller and a friend of Julia's watching the toss.

Skip getting ready to toss the ball. That's Julia's mother, Cathy, at the left peering over her sunglasses. L to R: Carmen, Betsy, Marian, Larry, Skip, Kathy Siller, Julia, and a friend of Julia's

Carmen tossing the ball

Stéphane making precise measurements and Julia celebrating the result

Stéphane uses a special tool to measure the results while Kathryn, Jim and Julia look on.

Julia and Stéphane are serious competitors!