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Montpellier, France

Our trip started off early in the morning about 5ish when got into a taxi all bleary eyed and half asleep and thought we would be able to wake up gently on the 25 minute ride. Oh no this was not to be the case, we had a taxi driver that must have consumed the whole world's supply of speed. He started talking non-stop all the way whilst driving like Lewis Hamilton blindfolded. We arrived at the airport earlier than expected but this was a bonus for the ears and sanity.

Once at the airport we went through security shoeless and beltless triggering the alarm off for some unknown reason all while trying to keep my jeans up. After security it's supposed to be a breeze, not with Ryanair as most of you will know. As soon as Ryanair announced they were boarding it was like the start of the ill-fated Grand National that never was, the legendary Ryanair dash. It was everyone for themselves anyone not able had to be left, a seat had to be secured at all costs. Once on the aeroplane Trish and I settled down as best we could for the 2 hour flight from Liverpool to Nîmes, I watched "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" on my laptop and Trish read from her Kindle.

Once we touched down in Nimes there was no palaver like in Liverpool it was all very relaxed, straight through and out into the sunshine and on to the waiting shuttle bus which cost about €6 and takes 35 minutes. The bus drops you off right outside the station and this is where you pick it up for the return journey. Once in the station you can try out your best French, speak English or if you prefer use the vending machines and change the language to English and purchase your tickets. Then it's off to Montpellier on a nice comfortable train and the journey only takes about 40 minutes.

Once in Montpellier we made our way to the tourist board on the Place de la Comédie to meet Edith Dupuis who organised everything for us. Edith was brilliant, she made sure all our activities were ready, sorted out city cards, bicycles, restaurant visit, massage, hotel and paragliding (this was to be the bane of our holiday).

After a detailed briefing with Edith and armed with our information packs we set off for the Hotel Du Parc; just a few stops away on the excellent tramway system. The trams are clean, regular and very convenient and only cost a couple of euros for a return trip but don't accept notes only coins, which is a slight problem when first arriving. Once we had our City Cards we could use the trams as much as we liked for free so well worth getting. Arriving at Place Albert 1er the hotel is 5 minutes' walk away and fairly easy to find from the directions on the hotel website or tourist office.

The hotel staff were very friendly when we arrived and show us to our room straight away without any fuss. The room is away from the main part of the hotel like a separate apartment and was very clean and had all the amenities we needed for our stay. Outside on the wall is a beautiful trompe-l'oeil which Montpellier has many dotted around the city. After unpacking our bags we headed off into the city for the evening using the tramway once again in search of a place to eat. Montpellier has so many good and varied restaurants that it's almost impossible to choose, so most of the time we referred to the booklet from the tourist office "Montpellier Où Manger".

A few of our favourite restaurants were Les Jardins de Marrakech "great Moroccan food", Bombay Restaurant, the people of Montpellier seem to love a curry as the place was full and also Le Volodia. Le Volodia was a restaurant that Edith had arranged for us to visit as part of our prize and it didn't disappoint. The food was outstanding especially the "Filets de poulets poêlés au jus de foie gras, au romarin et à l'estragon" this dish was absolutely superb and the chef even comes around to make sure everything is fine.

The next day we waited for Edith to phone to say we were going paragliding, which ruined our breakfast with fear and trepidation. Once she phoned and said it was too windy to go, our appetites returned straight away and we then looked forward to the day's activities. We familiarised ourselves with the city, walking about, jumping on and off trams at various stops and getting used to the way of the city. After lunch we visited the craft fair in Antigone "l'Antigone de l'Artisanat" and worked our way through the beautiful things on offer that were all very tempting but not possible to purchase due to Ryanairs meagre baggage allowance. Following the craft fair we made our way down to the river to watch the Extreme Sports Festival which was fairly entertaining and quite amusing when the competitor's enthusiasm got the best of them and ended up in the water.