Sete

It was some years since my wife and I had visited my elder sister who has lived in France for the bulk of her life, so a visit was long overdue.

From the balcony of our hotel

Sete, or Cette in the Patrick O'Brian maritime novels ( Jack Aubrey and all that!) and indeed known as Cette until 1928, is the largest French port in the Mediterranean and for someone such as me with an interest in boats, ships and the sea it is a very interesting place indeed.

Mont St Clair at night with a Tuna fishing trawler in the foreground

Built upon and around Mont St Clair, it is situated on the south-eastern hub of the Bassin de Thau, an enclosed salt water lake used primarily for oyster and mussel fields.

Very french!

It is known as the Venice of the Llanguedoc region with its network of canals linking the Mediterranean with the Etang de Thau.

Place Leon Blum

The marina with Mont St Clair in the background

There is always the temptation to take the Morgan there but it is an extremely busy place with very restricted parking and my sister is emphatic that it is no place for our Morgan....our old Volvo of some years ago yes, but not the Mog!

A welcome rest with our hotel in the background

We had a great time and intend to return in the near future if only to sample my sister's tomato farces, and of course revel in the French ambience of a very busy commercial port.