Four days in Montpellier -- not in Kansas anymore!

I hadn't been out of Aveyron for four months, and breaking out of La France Profonde had become an almost physical necessity. So, what did I notice about the big city of Montpellier?

1. Surprising architecture. One would expect Montpellier to be colorful and vaguely Provençal, but it actually appears more Parisian. Was I really in the South?
2. Gays. They are somehow still invisible in la France Profonde, although I wonder how long that situation can last. The Montpellier Tourism Office caters directly to gay tourists, something we're not going to be seeing soon in Rodez!
3. Sandwiches. Along with crêpes, pizzas and hamburgers, that seems to be what the largely student population is eating around the Place de la Comédie and in the tramway.
4. Films in English, thank heavens! A group of alternative movie houses, the Diagonal, shows ALL foreign films in their original version, which is a once-a-week treat here in Rodez.