Au revoir France (kind of)

It was our last day in Montpellier. We checked out of our accommodation, left our bags at the storage, and spent time revisiting our favorite central areas of the city. We decided to take a leisurely coffee break to relax and kill time before our evening flight to Switzerland.

The café we chose for the morning had tables surrounding a gentle fountain in a garden square, adjacent to a 19th-century Catholic church. French locals were everywhere, from students taking a break to friends enjoying lunch together. We observed a watercolor workshop in progress, led by an classic colourful art teacher; the same in every country!

With plenty of time on our hands, we planned our next steps and I tried a Café Viennois for the first time, which is essentially a dessert. Which suited me perfectly.

For lunch, we stumbled upon a modern fried chicken spot on a classic Montpellier street, and ate on the table just outside the small kitchen restaurant.

Later, we gathered our bags and hopped on the tram to the airport for our easyJet flight (low cost airline). True to form, the flight was delayed multiple times, and we landed at Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg EuroAirport just after 7pm, right on the Swiss border. Luckily, our Airbnb was in Saint-Louis, just over the Swiss border but still in France, and was conveniently close. The EuroAirport itself was fascinating in its own right, with exits to France, Switzerland, and even Germany, despite being entirely on French soil. The process was a breeze thanks to Schengen agreements, and we hopped on a bus to Gare de Saint-Louis.

Nearer to the Swiss Alps we were glad for the cooler climate as we walked with our packs to our Saint-Louis Airbnb. We grabbed some dinner essentials from a nearby supermarket, closing the day on a simple meal and a refreshing shower. A pleasantly slow, but long travel day.Read more