Day 30 – to Agde
June 26 – new city day
- We had to be up early to catch the 8:19 train.
- On the way to the station, we had a very nice Taxi Uber driver. He’s Serbian and they speak four languages at home (his Serbian, her Catalan, Spanish, and English).
- Upon arrival, however, the station was bonkers.
- The station had pay toilets that very few people seemed to understand. Turnstiles didn’t account for anyone with a walker, in a wheelchair, with a stroller, or the woman with an oxygen machine. The woman cleaning also put her mop across one of them, blocking the exit. It seems like a new system–and is clearly designed to keep out those without train tickets–but the designers did not think it through. It’s like they have never been to a bathroom before. And putting sinks and soap behind a paywall is just morally wrong. We lived through COVID, but not everyone did. Encourage hand washing; don’t gatekeep it!
- After giving up on being able to wash my breakfast avocado off my hands, I returned to learn that surprise (!) we were boarding early. But that was really just a ruse to get us out of the main area of the station (where we had seats) and into a queue where they could corral us. They then created new barriers through the lines for security and moved us to another queue where we learned our train was delayed. We stood on terrazzo tile for far too long; my back and feet were killing me. And, we hadn’t yet had a chance to get Cokes.
- Finally, our train was ready and we could board. Of course, our car was at the other end. But it was very nice and quite sparse with only 7 of us in the whole car. We didn’t think this would affect our connecting train since he built us a decent layover when planning our route.
- As with most travel, lots of inexperienced travelers like to push and shove their way in…as if we aren’t all about to get on the same damn train that takes all of us at the same damn time to the same damn places. Part of this is because the Spanish have very tiny personal bubbles. (I think that is a big reason why pickpockets are more common.) The extra-crowded feeling is also compounded in Spain because they don’t get in lines/queues. It’s like a whole country of people who never went to Kindergarten (They don’t really have it. In Spain, “Kindergarten” is 0-3 years old. “Preschool” is 4-5. Still, they must never line up and take turns like polite and civilized people.)
- Of course, there was only wifi if you live in Spain or something. For this train you need a certain app to use their wifi but the Play store won’t install it because it “doesn’t work on your device.” What? Like my Android OS phone? I’ll be glad to be switching train brands.
- At both the station and on the train, they aren’t using the tech they have. There are all these screens that are unused. They make announcements in multiple languages, but the speakers are all blown out, making anything they say very difficult to understand. Renfe makes you get their app (or paper boarding passes) to board. So why not make messages go to the passengers on their phones in their language? Why not post info on the blank screens? Why not make the wifi work for everyone and use this tech instead of the awful/useless/blaring announcements?
- In a blink, we were out of the city and watching the pretty Spanish countryside go by at about 200km/h.
- Weirdly, they brought around a service cart, but we had to pay. I guess it was just to keep the crowd in the Cafeteria car down in size. After she charged us, she realized she only had one Coke (and some Coke Zero); she was quick to return with a second real one.
- The train switch in Narbonne was interesting. The station only has stairs, no lifts or escalators. We hung around the bottom level until we knew which platform would be our next train.
- We then jumped on the daily commuter train from Narbonne to Agde
- As soon as we arrived, we headed across the street for food and drinks. Our server also pointed a fan on us after pouring our waters and cokes with flair as if he worked on-set in Cocktail.
- After lunch, we found an Uber, made our way to the apartment we rented, and met our concierge there.
- Patrice was wholly different in person than he was on the phone. He was super kind and helpful. We managed quite well with his broken English and our extremely limited French…and a lot of context clues.
- The apartment was a tiny studio, but had a very nice layout and a big covered patio.
- We went out for a night time walk around. We found three guys dressed in full bunny suits passing out carrots and giving very red (and bad/cheap) lipstick kisses on cheeks or arms (with consent). It was very funny.
- We found dinner at a bar/restaurant, QG, where he had steak and I had duck. Our food was amazing and I bought half the duck back to the apartment.
- While we nursed our full bellies, we made plans for the rest of our night.
- We went to a great club where I had some cab franc that I really liked. I don’t think I’d ever had that type of wine. At night, the whole place is a party atmosphere similar to South Beach with clubs of all kinds at every turn, people dressed to be seen, music and lights spilling out of doorways and trying to entice you in, and excitement in all directions. But, unlike South Beach, almost every place shuts down at 2am.
Day 31 – beach
June 27 (Fri) –
- I had the most decadent leftovers for brunch ever: the rest of my duck from the night before.
- When packing for this trip, I debated bringing a Turkish Towel. I decided against it to make room for something else. So naturally, we had to go to the store to buy a Turkish Towel for the beach. Because despite not being beach people, when in Rome (or the South of France).
- We had a lovely time at a bar on the beach. We were lucky to get to sit under umbrellas at a small cocktail table as long as we kept ordering (and water counted). When the heat got to be too great, we jumped into the Mediterranean to cool off. We did this on repeat for hours. We also did it without our phones (because sand, because water and because I forgot that we brought the protective pouches for them. Oh well.) We couldn’t get any shots that didn’t include other people anyway; it was crazy packed.
- Back at our apartment, we settled on timings and booked a hotel and train for Marseille.
- For an early dinner, we found really good rotisserie chicken. It was far more affordable than most of the other restaurants. They don’t have any inside seating, so all the tables are pretty packed in under the umbrellas. This led to us meeting a fun couple next to us, Sarah + Paul. They are from the UK and we chatted about travel, the insanity in the US, and our lives.
- After dinner, naps took over since we were worn down from the sun and heat.
- Our night was more chill. We walked around a bit. We shut down the Cowgirl (a western themed restaurant with a more eclectic menu) with a Coke and an Orgasm (a vodka and strawberry drink that was quite yummy…and potent!) We also shared a chocolate milkshake from the gelato kiosk.
Day 32 – beach ii
June 28 (Sat) –
- After breakfast in our apartment, we made plans to go to return to the beach, but much later in the afternoon. So, we used the time to edit, blog, read, and plan our evening.
- We went back to Mana beach club, but were turned away because of some “elegant” event they were having. We saw ladies trying to walk in sand with high heels. One guy even carried his wife the rest of the way.
- So, we went to the open beach and just stayed in the water since we didn’t have any shade.
- After our “swim,” we got drinks at La Bohemia and then dinner at Le Mississippi restaurant. I had a beautiful plate of shrimp and avocado. He had chicken skewers. And we both got ice cream desserts.
- Back at or apartment, we met our neighbors and chatted for a long time. They are Australian and run some campgrounds there. They come to Agde every year during their off season. Alas, they were leaving the next day.
- Went back to the same club from two nights before and had a great time. We chatted with a lovely couple from Croatia. We also met Lisa & Darwin who are from London who like the pool we have scoped out. I was totally psyched for Sunday Funday!
Day 33 – “Sunday Funday” -ish
June 29 (Sun)
- We slept in, had brunch in our apartment, and just relaxed for a while. We were waiting for some of the heat to dissipate.
- When we did head to the pool, we were met with a rude hostess who told us we had to leave our shoes by the trash can. We understand the rule, walked through the foot wash, and offered to put them in our bag, but she said they had to be up there. Then, we saw everyone else had theirs near their chairs. We immediately bumped into Lisa and Darwin again who confirmed that she’s a grumpy employee (who has worked here every summer for years), so he went to fetch our shoes from the “trash” and put them by our chairs. We got one of our free drinks, found the cool pool water, and enjoyed the nice crowd. It was chill and not the “Sunday Funday” vibe I was expecting, but it was nice and relaxing. For the third time, we saw someone reading the French version of The Cleaning Lady. They were even all reading the exact same one. Each novel has a different color cover and these were all blue.
- Like one does on swimming days, we found ourselves hungry. We tried a nearby restaurant, but they weren’t serving food yet. they directed us to one around the corner, Baskin, and it was yummy! I had a Salad Niçoise (a mixed greens salad with anchovy filets, a seared-and-chilled tuna steak, a beautiful dijon dressing and a balsamic glaze) and he had ailes de poulet (chicken wings).
- We had intended to walk through some of the stores at that end of the retail area, but in our post-meal bliss, we forgot.
- We went back to the room to cool off and nurse our sunburns
- Later, we had dinner at Mary’s Italian, made a grocery run for morning Cokes and snacks. He also scoped out our exit route (looking for the shadiest way to the gate) and bought us after-sun creme. The most interesting of all though, he saw Ultra-tan Elvis complete with the coiffed hair.
- Packing to leave was a little sad, but we were burned and it was about to be the week, not the weekend, so it was time.
