Medicinal Plants, Paintings, and Music

Here is a summary of some of what I did in Montpellier:

Musée Fabre
Upon entering the Fabre, it looked like there were only a few rooms of Baroque-period paintings, but that was before I discovered the staircase.
Local painter François-Xavier Fabre founded the museum in 1825, and it was renovated in 2007. There's an entire room dedicated to the work of Frédéric Bazile (1841-1870), who was a close friend of Monet's. Bazile's work is currently on exhibit at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.


I saw two paintings by Peter Paul Reubens, the famous Flemish painter, and then came the flood of painters about whom I knew nothing but whose works moved me to write down their names: Jan Weenix, Abraham Hondius, Jan Van Huysum, Jean Ranc, Jean Raoux, Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, Hyacinthe Rigaud, and Carle Van Loo.

Jardin des Plantes

The University of Montpellier was established in 1289 and is one of the oldest in the world. The medical school predates the university by more than 100 years. Nostradamus studied there until school officials discovered he had worked as an apothecary (manual labor, bad). In addition to Nostradamus, Franciscan monk and author, Rabelais, studied and taught at the medical school.

The school built the Jardin des Plantes in 1593 and it remains the oldest botanical garden in France. It claims 250 different plants for medical use. Compare that to Northern California, where the only cultivated medicinal plant you'll find is marijuana.

The choir inside Saint-Piérre

Saint-Piérre - The Cathédrale Saint-Pierre is across the street from the Jardins des Plantes. Pope Urban V had it built in the 14th century, and in the 16th century was destroyed during religious conflicts. When it was rebuilt, a choir was added to the structure.

On the day I went, I heard someone practicing a Mozart piece on violin in a neighboring apartment. That set the mood for when I entered the cathedral. The tall ceilings and the huge organ suspended in the back were things I remember the most.

Trio Wanderer at Le Corum

Years ago on a business trip to Rome, I saw Puccini's

Inside Salle Pasteur

"Manon Lescaut" at the Teatro dell'Opera. Seeing classical music performances in Europe is a special treat, because it is so much more prevalent than in the US.

On this trip, I was able to see Trio Wanderer at Montpellier's Le Corum, which is located at the far end of the Charles de Gaulle Esplanade. The concert was in the Salle Pasteur, and nearly

Trio Wanderer

every seat was filled. The trio played the following pieces:
Trio élégiaque No. 1 in G minor by  Sergei Rachmaninoff, Piano Trio No. 4 in E Minor (Dumky), by Antonín Dvorák, and Trio No. 2 in E-flat major for piano, violin, and violoncello, Opus 100 by Franz Schubert. The Schubert piece was one they've been performing for a while, based on what I could find on YouTube.

At intermission, I went to the bar and ordered a "Kir Vin Blanc" off the menu. Apparently, the listing was for two drinks -- you order either a Kir or a vin blanc. The server brought me both a Kir royale in a champagne flute and a glass of white wine. I tried to enjoy both before the end of intermission, but I failed. Despite this, the music performance was spectacular, and I secretly felt I was getting away with something.

English Circle
"On Va Sortir" is the site where I learned about a semi-monthly English circle in Montpellier. The site lists adult outings organized

The grounds of Jardins des Plantes

by members for each day of the week. Examples include bowling, beach strolls, movie nights, whiskey tastings, and even an English circle. I signed up for the site (it's free), and I discovered  the English circle met two doors down from my flat.

I got to meet a fascinating group of people of various ages who spoke flawless English without any involvement from me. I felt admiration at their fluency and envy that I couldn't carry on like that in French. We talked about weekend concerts, recent movies, and worthwhile books. I forgot I was speaking with non-native English speakers. A week later, I met up once again with the circle at O'Carolans, and I got to meet another group of English enthusiasts.

Gaumont Theater at Place de la Comédie

Movies at the Gaumont
My first visit to the Gaumont was in 1995, where I saw the movie "Rangoon" in its original English with French subtitles. On this visit, I was happy to find the theater still in operation. I saw two movies, both in French, and neither with English subtitles (why would they, right?) I understood 10% of the dialogue and 25% of the plot. The movies were:

• "Get Out," American horror/social commentary movie about directed by Jordan Peele. I liked it despite my lack of understanding of French.
• "L'Amant Double," French psychological thriller directed by François Ozon. I walked out of this movie about a 25-year old woman who has a miscarriage, finds a therapist, falls in love with him, then falls in love with his identical twin brother, who's also a therapist. Sounds intriguing, but the script was misogynistic and dull. 

Inside Le Corum

The ads before the movies were worth the admission price. A Coke ad came with a warning message that said something to the effect of "Make sure to exercise regularly, because this drink has too much sugar." A second ad went further by saying the product had too much sugar AND too much fat. Imagine that happening in the States! Then there was the Samsung ad showing ostriches wearing 3D goggles and imagining they could fly. The background music was Elton John's "Rocket Man."