Lattes, the zoo, and Pic Saint Loup!

(We found some horses after a hike on Pic Saint Loup)

Hello again! A lot more has happened since my last post. On our first Friday off, January 9 (we don't have classes on Fridays), we decided to try to walk to the beach, as it's only about 6 or 7 kM away, or approximately 3-4 miles. We ended took a trail that goes along the river, but ended up getting off the trail too fast and going to a town called Lattes. It was kind of weird because EVERYTHING in the town was closed! We think that a lot of places close in the afternoons for lunch hour, but it was almost creepy how few people were out and about.



Not realizing that we had gone to the wrong town to get to the beach, we kept walking down the road until things got more remote and we actually ended up finding Etang de Perols, a type of inlet from the Mediterranean. We were just happy to have found some kind of body of water after our voyage! On the walk back, it started to get a bit cold, and we were hungry. We finally found a restaurant that was open and got some food. There was a bus stop nearby that took us back to Montpellier.

That Sunday, we took a walk to the zoo! It is very close to our University, and is called Parc Zoologique Henri de Lunaret. It was fun to see the animals. Our favorite ones were the lemurs, who had so much energy and were jumping all around in their cage.



This past friday, January 16, we did my favorite thing that we've done so far--we decided to hike a mountain! While on a historic tour of the city, we were able to stand on top of Montpellier's Arc de Triomph, and could see a big mountain in the distance. We found out that it is called "Pic Saint Loup" (we later remembered that the word LOUP means WOLF!), and at the office of tourism, we were given instructions on how to take a bus there. The bus dropped us off in the middle of nowhere, and we had to walk an hour to get to the base of the mountain! It was so worth it when we began hiking--the views were incredible. The trail we were on lead us onto another mountain, and at the top on the far side we found these phenominal castle ruins! We were completely awestruck. From on top of the mountain, you could see vineyards, small French towns, and even the beginning of the Mediterranean Sea.



Once we hiked down the mountain, we ended up on the complete other side from where we started. We had to find a mideval town called "Les Matelles" to get the bus back to Montpellier. On our walk there, we ran into some horses, which you can see at the beginning of my post. We were so exhausted after the day, but all agreed the hike was the best thing we've done so far.



My roommates come this week, and I am very much looking forward to their arrival. It's been strange living in a big apartment by myself!



Here are some pictures (it is hard to upload pictures chronologically on this blog, and once they're in you can't move them around, so I'm sorry they are kind of out of order):





A cheetah at the zoo.



The cheetah is walking aroung just to the right of the tree on the left...





A cute little guy in the primate house

This is a fountain in "Antigone," a beaufitul area in Montpellier just a few minutes from my apartment. We took this at the beginning of our walk to Lattes. The girls in the picture are my three best girl friends here, Mandi, Stephanie, and Sarah (from right to left).

You can tell how remote it was!

We were so happy to find this little diner open in Lattes--we were starving! I had a croque monsieur sandwich and a crepe filled with nutella. YUM!

This is the beginning of our hike to Pic Saint Loup. We were COMPLETELY in the middle of nowhere, and followed this road which had signs pointing to the Pic.

This is our hiking group once we started getting up the mountain.

My friend Stephanie and I in the most incredible castle ruins at the top of the mountain! The mountain you can see through the windows where we are standing is the first mountain we climbed that day. Not sure which one exactly is Pic Saint Loup...ha.

Hope everyone is doing well--I am having a lot of fun here, but do miss home. It's been nice to have the internet and Skpe to communicate.

Au revoir!

Bonjour! Right now, it is Wednesday night, and I have been in Montpellier, France, since last Friday. The city is gorgeous, and I love the other students in my program! My apartment is also very close to the main square of the city, La Place de la Comedie, and the biggest shopping mall in the city, Le Polygone.

Classes started on Monday. I am taking Civilization of the South of France, Francophone Literature, Grammar and Methodology, Phonetics, Conversation, and Art History. The Art History class is going to take place in the Musee Fabre, a great art museum in the city. I can't wait until it gets going next week! My civilization class also is supposed to include some type of excursion. My other classes have been great so far, though are all instructed in French. I am finding that my comprehension skills are a lot better than my ability to speak back during conversation. I am hoping that I can become fluent during my time here! Hopefully the conversational class and instruction in grammar/phonetics will help.

It's been fun to cook meals in the apartment since it's the first time I'm living in my own place other than a dorm. I live very close to several grocery stores, which is very convenient. The French shop more frequently and buy in lower quantities than we do in the US, so I end up going to "Monoprix" or "Inno" (2 grocery stores near my apartment) a lot. Wine, spirits, and beer are all sold in the supermarket, and wine is SO CHEAP. You can get a decent bottle for only 2 or 3 euros! Baguettes and cheese are also very well-priced. A fantastic roll of goat cheese or a baguette only costs about 1 euro. Also, the drinking age in France is 16, so it's been a blast to check out the local night life. The French are very moderate people, so it's been easy to go out for a casual night. My friends and I really enjoyed a quiz night last night at "The Shakespeare" Pub. :-)

Another thing I have found interesting here is that the French are very eco-friendly. In stairwells and hallways, the lights always go out after a few minutes. There are light-up buttons you can press to re-illuminate the places when you need to use them. They must save a lot of energy that way. Apparently energy is much more expensive than in the US. (Can you tell I worked at a lighting systems company all summer!? :-) ) The heat is also kept at a minimum. We all wear our coats during class! It might be because they are not used to the cold weather streak we have been having over this past week. Apparently it's usually a lot warmer. Also, they do not readily give out bags at the supermarket or other stores. Many people re-use their bags, or bring plastic/fabric ones. All the cars are TINY, and the public transportation is great. I take the tram to the University Paul Valery for class. The hot/cold water fluctuates a lot too, which can make it difficult to take a comfortable shower. I think water must be expensive too? ;-)

All in all, it has already been a wonderful experience to be here. I love Montpellier!

A plus tard! ("Talk to you later!")



My room when I first got to my apartment :-)



Chateau d'eau, a beautiful monument that is right next to the aqueducts and looks onto a statue and Montpellier's replica of Paris' Arc de Triomph



Some of the girls and I on our first night with wine, baguettes, and cheese. The three French staples (minus coffee)!



A street right off La Place de la Comedie, the main square of the city. I live down the next street over to the left. It looks a lot like this.

Another beautiful building on la Place de la Comedie.

A giant, really old movie theatre in la Place de la Comedie.

I will upload more pictures soon :-)

A plus tard! ("Talk to you later!")