Wine Tasting Day 2 - Misadventures in Sete

Day two's wine tasting ended in the late afternoon and the bus took us back to the hotel. We had the option to either stay at the hotel and venture into town for our own dinner, or hop back on the bus in 30 minutes and go down to the mediterranean port town of Sete. Knowing that we'd probably never get to this part of the world ever again, Marianne and I chose Sete. 

After a quick freshening up in our hotel room, we headed back to the bus with about nine other people and made our way towards Sete. The bus dropped us off on a busy street near the harbor with the plan to come back at 9:30 to pick us up in the same location. 

The nine of us decided to find a beachside restaurant together for beer and dinner. We zig-zagged through the maze of streets until we met up with and walked along the harbor. 

Boat jousting

The harbor was beautiful! Not only was it warm and chock full of boats, but there was a boat jousting school (yes, a school to learn the art and skill of boat jousting!) with a class in process. We stood there for a good 20 minutes until we finally saw one of the boys get 'jousted' overboard.

Boat jousting - boy overboard!

The gals wanted to keep walking to find a beach-side restaurant. At this point Marianne and I knew we had to stay with the group because we'd never be able to find our way alone back to the bus pick-up location. So we walked with them to the sea, but there was a sea wall and no restaurants. There was a medieval fortress just a ways down the coast, so we walked to the fortress. The fortress was closed. Instead of walking back to the harbor, the gals wanted to keep walking; there were some apartments - see? On that hillside? 

So we walked. Uphill. Into the blazing sun. And the gals in the lead were setting quite a pace. 

I was getting winded. And hot. And hungry. And thirsty. 

We made it to the apartments, but there were no restaurants. Did we turn back? No. Surely they'll be something around the corner, over there - can you see it? There are shops and stuff. Let's go! 

So we kept walking. Farther and father away from the harbor, civilization, and the bus collection point. I was hot, tired, and now hangry. Marianne was concerned for me (I was probably beet red) and my heart, but I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, so I trudged on as best as I could.   

We finally made it to the shops and stuff. It was a weird, desolate plaza with every shop shut tight and zero people walking around. Our tour leader, Peter, stood in the middle of the empty plaza with us, rubbing his chin until he finally sighed, "Right. What now?" 

I saw a single woman walking across the plaza and I told him, "Please, go ask her if there's somewhere we can eat nearby." He did. We had to walk about three blocks inland, but there, in a mini-mall like complex of closed shops, was a single, bursting-at-the-seams restaurant with vinyl tablecloths and a view of the busy street. No one cared at this point that it wasn't beachside. We needed food. And beer. And seats. 

Thankfully, although slammed with people, they were able to accommodate a party of nine. We ate, drank, and cooled off under the umbrella'd tables. 

Marianne and her moules

Before you knew it, it was time to trudge back to the bus. By this time it was almost 9:00 and the sun was much less intense. The walk back was downhill and a lot easier, but we were still a bit late getting back to the bus. 

My FitBit told me that night that our walk in Sete was just under 5 miles round trip. 2.5 miles is a long way to walk when you're cranky and don't have an end game, but I'm still glad we went to Sete. 

I want to see the world so I push myself out of my comfort zone. Sometimes I push myself a bit farther out of that zone than others, and those times tend to make the best stories!