Montpelier is a larger university town and to say that it is immaculate doesn't do the town justice. There wasn't a spot of dirt or garbage anywhere in the city. Even their train tracks had grass in between them such that it looked like the train was strolling through a meadow. There is an old section of the town surrounded by the new section which appears to have not a single building more than 5 years old and given the proliferation of cranes throughout the city it looks like their building the entire town from scratch.

The old section was gorgeous with beautiful alleys leading to larger squares or old churches, now art museums or government offices. In the center of town was an electric train system that was so quiet you have to be careful walking or you may not hear it till it runs you over. We had some time to kill in the central square so B and I grabbed some lunch and I got to practice my French with the shopkeepers. My French is coming back quickly but there's still so much I've forgotten. In my mind, this was better than Barcelona, it had the larger city feel without feeling frenetic and their street sanitation systems were the best I've ever seen.