Excursion à Toulouse

Dimanche, 29 septembre.

Bonjour and bienvenue à Toulouse, the destination of my most recent weekend trip!

Toulouse is home to: one of Europe's oldest universities, the largest cancer research center in Europe, the headquarters of Airbus, Europe's largest space center, and the largest Romanesque church in France. Oh, and it's casually been described as "the place capitalism was invented." With all that it's got going on, it's not surprising that the city is the fourth-largest in France! (To put it in perspective, however, the population of this grande ville is approximately 1.2 million ... just over that of Fairfax County.) Oh ... and it's also the name of one of the kittens in The Aristocats.

 

Molly and I decided to go to visit the city a few weeks ago, when we realized how inexpensive it would be to take the train there for the day. We ended up taking the train (about two hours each way and less expensive than going from Northern Virginia to Williamsburg) and spending ten hours in Toulouse with a couple of other study abroad students we know from the pre-stage. I didn't know too much about the city (and naturally neither did anybody else), so we headed to the Office of Tourism for a map and then just spent our day wandering around downtown Toulouse!

Excursion à Aigues-Mortes et Gard-du-Roi

Samedi, 21 septembre.

Although there are several things I don't miss about the orientation pre-stage (including the oppressive heat and the sincerely ugly Triolet dorms), I do miss our weekly excursions -- a little bit of history, a little bit of sun, and enough walking to make you want to sleep on the way home. But because the end of our first month in France called for a celebratory adventure -- and because Molly and I have seen just about all there is to see in Montpellier at the moment, we decided to take our own little excursion this weekend! On the agenda: the village of Gard-du-Roi and the city of Aigues-Mortes.

Because a direct bus to Aigues-Mortes wouldn't get us to the town till noon, we decided to leave Montpellier early and stop for an hour or two in one of the smaller seaside towns on the way ... and thus our trip to Grau-du-Roi was born! Grau-du-Roi, which means something along the lines of "king's bayou" in Occitan, is a small fishing village on the Mediterranean coast that doesn't have a whole lot of remarkable attributes. (Although Hemingway did describe its "long beach and fine fishing port" in one of his novels.)  But, naturally, since it's a small fishing village on the Mediterranean, it doesn't need to be remarkable because it's inheritantly incredible. 

We only had a few hours in the town before catching the next bus to Aigues-Mortes, but it was the perfect amount of time to meander around town, take photos, and buy some souvenirs! The town was hopping, even in September, so I can't imagine how crowded it must be in peak tourist season.

Oh, Happy Happy (Fri) Day!

Vendredi, 6 septembre.

Oh happy happy day! Today has just been an absolutely lovely Friday ... and it's only 6 pm!

The happiest of days actually kicked off yesterday, when we finished up our orientation classes. We had a final exam which, to be honest, was pretty rough, but the day picked up when I got my classes approved by the study abroad coordinator. After having spent hours and hours navigating the crazy confusing website, it was a definite relief! Then last night, we all met up at Place du Peyrou (which you should recognize by now from all my frequent visits!) for a sunset picnic with one of our fabulous student assistants, Ileana. It was tons of fun ... and the view wasn't half bad either!

Today, Molly and I woke up bright and early to walk over to campus and check our niveaux (levels). In addition to giving us feedback on our French, the levels -- based on our work during and exams at the end of the pre-stage -- would decide which RI (Relations Internationales) classes we would be placed into for the semester. So ... no pressure, right?

I Left my Heart with St. Guilhem

Mercredi, 4 septembre.

So I know it's been a little while since Sunday, but time absolutely flies here. We've been crazy busy this week, between choosing classes and giving oral presentations and going out to bars for trivia night (before preparing for said oral presentations ... whoooooops). Still, even though I'm absolutely exhausted by the time I fall asleep each night, I wouldn't trade the adventures we've been having for the world!

I couldn't possibly fit all my pictures from Saturday in one post, so here are some photos and fun facts about MY NEW FAVORITE PLACE IN THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD, aka the town of Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert.

It's a tiny commune about 45 minutes away from Montpellier (but still in the same department) and it looks like it just stepped out of a Paramount picture. Molly and I wandered through the streets in an absolute daze, snapping photos of every doorway and winding side street because everything we passed was more incredible than the next. Because our first stop (at la Grotte de Camouse) hadn't taken very long, we had a few hours to explore the town and eat lunch.

Excursion à Grotte de Camouse et Pont du Diable

Dimanche, 1 septembre.

Today we had our third and final excursion. This time, we took a short bus trip to Saint-Jean-de-Fos, a commune located in the same department as Montpellier. (Side note: This kind of commune doesn't mean a bunch of hippies farming beets ... it's just another level of administration, like a township in the States.) Saint-Jean-de-Fos is home to a couple of famous sites, including la Grotte de Clamouse, le Pont du Diable, and l'Abbeye de Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert. You'll have to stay tuned for more pictures from the town of St. Guilhelm because there was just too much pretty to fit all in one post!

First off: la Grotte de Clamouse. Caves. Lots and lots of beautiful caves. (And the view outside wasn't bad either -- check it out!)

The grottos are a very popular tourist site, but that doesn't mean that they're particularly easy to access. It's been a while since I was in Luray Caverns back in Virginia, but I'm pretty sure they're an easier climb. La Grotte de Clamouse is full of steep stairs, slippery stone floors, and some pretty far drops -- let's just say, I did NOT let go of the railing!

Yes, I WOULD Like Some Cheese with my Wine

Mercredi, 28 août.

You know that snarky expression -- would you like some cheese with that whine? Well now, it has a whole different meaning to me! And the answer is a very resounding YES.

As part of my French Civilization course, we went to a wine tasting today. I don't want to ruffle feathers or make anyone die of shock, but let me just say ... I am now officially NOT a fan of vin. (<-- Rhyming very much intentional.) First of all, I don't really like wine, so the whole idea of tasting loads of it wasn't exactly tantalizing. Still, I figured that it would be a fun time and would maybe introduce me to some varieties and flavors that I hadn't known existed!

Second, I was absolutely starving by the time we arrived at the Maison des vins du Languedoc, the site of lesson and wine tasting. BUT THERE WERE NO SNACKS. None. Not even a little plate of Saltines to help cleanse the palate! (Sorry, but I'm allowed to say things like "cleanse the palate" because I'm French now.) It was so bad that at one point towards the end, I saw a box of rocks, thought it was a bread bowl, and started to drool.

No snacks. Only tons and tons of wine!

Third, there was a frustrating realisation that occured when we all realized that "wine tasting" did not imply wandering around a vineyard, casually tasting wine. No. "Wine tasting" meant sitting at desks in an overly air-conditioned room at the Maison des vins, listening to a friendly but perhaps overly enthusiastic oenologue, or wine expert, talking about, well... wine.

Excursion à Avignon et Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer

Dimanche, 25 août.

A few months ago, when I was accepted to study abroad in Montpellier, I changed my Facebook cover photo to a shot of me, cheesing on the ramparts of some city. I knew it was taken somewhere in the South of France, and I had a feeling it was Avignon, but I wasn't sure. I decided I'd keep a look out for anything that looked familiar during our visit, but didn't think I'd have too much luck.

Me in Avignon ... approximately age 8?

Can you even imagine my shock as I realized that not only was my cover photo definitely from Avignon, but it was taken on the very ramparts next to which the bus had parked! You can recognize the tower and -- if you look closely enough -- the hole in the back wall. I couldn't believe it! Naturally, I had to take a picture.

I couldn't get onto the exact same part on the ramparts (for that privilege, you have to visit the Pont du Gard and pay an entrance fee), so I settled for a slightly different version! But hey -- same squinty eyes, same cheesy smile, and same red jacket!

Oui Oui -- to the l'Oulivie!

Mercredi, 21 août.

Yesterday afternoon, as we walked in to the Ionesco Building for our first French civilization course, we noticed a sign that read:  "Tomorrow, Wednesday August 21st, you have civilization class outside! Visit Oulivie, an olive plantation just outside of Montpellier in Saint-Gely du Fesc. With tasting."

So ... we're taking the time that would have been spent in a stuffy classroom and spending it instead touring and snacking at an oliveraie? I mean, come on -- great class or greatest class?! So I swapped out my backpack for a purse, my pen for a camera, and headed off to the Languedoc countryside with dreams of "I Love Lucy" in a giant wine vat dancing in my head.

Excursion à Nîmes et au Pont du Gard

Lundi, 19 août.

Phew, what a day! Today has been my first full day in Montpellier ... and I am pooped! But more about that later. First, I have much more exciting stories all about our first excursions to the historic city of Nîmes and the famous Roman aqueduct, le Pont du Gard.

The city of Nîmes is about an hour's drive -- or, in our case, bus ride -- away from Montpellier. We were met in the city by our tour guides, Christophe and Michel. (I genuinely have no idea who Christophe and Michel are or what makes them qualified to give tours of historic sites of the Sud de France, but as it turns out, they were great!) Our first stop was the famous Arenes de Nîmes.

The amphitheatre at Nimes was just as impressive as I had remembered it. We were running late, so we didn't have a ton of time to explore ... plus, it was crazy hot, so walking in and around the sunny arena wasn't exactly on the top of my to-do list. We did, however, get to learn a lot about the history of the Arenes and take photos from the very tippy-top!