Our first week is over!

It’s Friday night in Montpellier! Or at least it was two days ago. We finished our first week of school and celebrated in the traditional student way: Going out on the town.  The two of us and seventeen of our friends hit up a wine bar for several bottles and great conversation. A few of us went for dinner, Kebabs Yum! We returned to the bar to pick up the rest of our group and went to a Discotheque. We all danced to a strange combination of American music from the 50’s thru today. I hadn’t ever been to a European Discotheque and it was kind of a weird experience. Much like the US there are slimy guys, drunken girls and sweaty dancers but this was a totally ‘foreign’ experience. The music was awful and everyone was dancing and having a wonderful time.

School has gone really well for both of us so far. Linn already took a trip to a vineyard (he’ll post about that soon) and has had 9 hours of French so far. He has had his English/French dictionary in his hands since Tuesday. J He has met all of the people in his program and enjoys them all. There are 3 Germans, 4 Americans, 1 Italian, 1 Bulgarian, 3 French, 1 Polish, 1 Spaniard 1 New Zealander and 3 Greeks. It is quite a mix but should make for interesting conversation and relationships. A good number of his classmates live in the surrounding residence halls so they get to see quite a bit of one another and have already started hanging out and making plans.

My French classes started Tuesday and have gone pretty well. It is intimidating since it’s taught in French. I have a total of three instructors, none of whom use any English unless absolutely necessary. I have class four out of five days with Wednesdays off. I’ve learned quite a bit in my first three days and I’m feeling more comfortable every day. There are students from all over the world in my classes as well. 5 girls from Mexico, 2 people from Bolivia, 2 Americans, 3 Japanese, 4 Chinese, 1 from Lithuania and 1 Turk. We have covered a lot of vocabulary and have started on the conjugating of verbs. I’ve discovered that there are a lot of exceptions and irregularities in the French language.  

The pictures above are from our Friday night out. They are poor quality but the one big group picture is a fun one to have.

  

Some pictures of our dorm

We moved into our dorm on Friday the 12th and we were pleasantly surprised with the accommodations. Our unit is on the corner of our building so we have a whole stretch of windows. Unfortunately, only one opens. There is no screen either but we haven't had any bats yet!! We have a mini Kitchenette (behind Linn in the photo) that consists of a two burner cooktop, a good size mini fridge and a sink. We also have our own bathroom (shower, toilet and sink). The building was probably built in the 70s, so it's new in comparison to the rest of the town but old and funky too. We've made two trips to IKEA for some cheap essentials and cooked our first meal in our little home tonight. The dorm is in a nice area, a whole neighborhood of students, who are from all over. This area is referred to as the student "city" even though it is part of the whole Montpellier.

Jessica and Scott Spahr (good friends of ours) have been on their European Vacation for the last week and stopped in Montpellier for two nights. We had a great time exploring with them. On Sunday the four of us went to a little town called Carnon which is on the Mediteranean. Scott, Jessica and I hadn't ever seen it but it was beautiful. The weather wasn't perfect but we made the most of it. We walked the beach and had a picnic lunch of bread, cheese and sausage. Jessica and I also managed to find the ice creamery too! We love our ice cream.

The first real days of school are Tuesday, we'll update the blog again soon! 

A request for food info...

It has occurred to me that it will be impossible to write about everything we experience. It was brought to my attention that even though we've been in the country known for amazing food, we hadn't posted anything about it. We haven't eaten at any 4 star joints, but we have loved everything we've tried. So here goes nothing: 

We've walked all around two French cities and eaten quite a variety of food. I have to say, it is amazing how true the baguette and cheese stereotype is. People walk around with a whole baguette sticking out of their bags and munch on it. There are a lot of Sandwicheries, creperies, saladeries, boulangeries, patisseries and brasseries. There are also, to our surprise, a lot of pizza joints. We had one pizza in Paris, 3 pork pizza: ham, salami, coppa with a fried egg in the center. Delicious! The egg (oeuf= uff) was questionable at first but was a perfect compliment to the meats. We had a second pizza in Montpellier, at a cute little joint run by one guy of Italian descent. We had a pie with ham, cheese, asparagus tips and whole olives. 

The second night in Paris we had two courses, a cold salad with egg, tomato, olives and viniagrette. We also had a slice of bread with chunks of Camembert cheese, pieces of ham and slices of boiled potato all baked in the oven and melted. I believed Linn's comment was "If I eat like this every night, I'll be as big as a house."

Lunch is usually the big meal, dinner being lighter fare. We haven't gotten used to that yet as we've had a lot to do during lunch time. Most people have a sandwich, some sides of veggies, salad, more bread. Tea and coffee are common drinks as well as mineral water. The sandwiches are light weight, usually a demi-baguette with a few slices of ham, salami, tuna or veggies and cheese. Today I had a delicious sandwich with krab, hard-boiled egg, tomato, lettuce and mayo on a sesame baguette. Linn stuck to the more simple Ham, Camembaert and mayo option. We've been having or even sharing sandwiches every day for lunch as they are cheap and easy to find. 

Since we've arrived in Montpellier we've been exploring for good restaurants. The first night we ate at a creperie, I had a norwegien crepe. It was a wheat crepe with smoked salmon, lemon, lettuce and herbed creme fraiche. Linn had a salad Nicoise with Tuna and a ton of veggies. The were both full of fresh produce and were beautiful colors. Last night we had beer and a plate of charceuterie and fromage with a basket of bread. 

Breakfast can be quite exciting as the breads are amazing. There are pastries everywhere, croissants, pain au chocolat, popovers, muffins, apple fritter-type things and much more. Again the idea of eating those every day sounds horrible but it is a regular thing. We've had espresso each day, one shot is just enough! 

We've also had quite a bit of wine since arriving. Most restaurants offer glass pours, 1/4, 1/2 or full bottles of wine. The 1/4 and 1/2 are served in a carafe. You don't save a ton of money but it allows us to try several different wines. However, wine in general is a lot less expensive over here. Something Linn is very excited about. 

Today we had made a visit to the local supermarket, to stock our mini-fridge. They had a great selection of everything from packaged crackers and snacks to fresh fruits and vegetables. Some things to note, their milk is super pasteurized and doesn't have to be refrigerated. They have more of a selection of bagged lettuces than not. Their wall of yogurts go on forever with plain yogurt being a favorite. I managed to find a peach yoplait carton... my favorite. Linn was again excited about the wine selection. Everything was very cheap and apparently it was a very good selection.  I noticed the extensive selection of boxed wines of which were labeled in different bright colors based on the flavors represented within. Very interesting!

We'll post pics of our city and dorm next. 

We've arrived in Montpellier

Things are going well here. The weather is like Northern California temperatures with serious humidity and only partially blue skies. It had been that way since we got here Tuesday afternoon. Then, last night we had thunder, lightning and pouring rain. Linn and I are both adjusting, though I think I may adjust more quickly. :) The other things we'll need to work on while we're here are our tans. Being on the Meditteranean Ocean and near Italy and Spain everyone is soooo tan! Being from the Northwest we are the two brightest white people in town!

We got the keys to our dorm yesterday and it is huge! We have two desks, two beds, our own bathroom and a kitchenette with a sink, two burners and a mini-fridge. There is really a lot of room. We'll move in Friday as we still have one more night paid for in our hotel. Our hotel that told us we had our own bathroom, which consists of a sink and shower, but there is only one toilet for all the 17+ guests down two flights of stairs. I guess that is typically european!? The pictures above are the views from our hotel window.

I registered for class today which was easy enough. I was told i would have to take a placement test but the woman registering me said something in French, I responded with "huh??" and she said "You must be a beginner? No need for a test, we'll just put you in the beginning course." C'est Bon.

Linn starts Monday and is already scheduled to go on a vineyard tour this next week. Domaine de l'Hortus which is in Pic St Loup, an appellation in the Langedoc- Roussillon region. He'll probably post notes about his visits for those who are interested.

Until next time.

A day in Paris

Since we only had one full day in Paris we had to make the most of it. Our hotel was in outskirts of the Opera district which was conveniently located but still had a nice neighborhood feel. We found breakfast at a corner patisserie- boulangerie and espresso at the Tabac shop across the street.  We walked everywhere, hoping to see everything. 

We visited Galeries Lafayette, AMAZING! The amount of fabulous designer clothing, shoes and gourmet food and wine in those two buildings is truly overwhelming. At the top of the main store is a 180d panoramic view were you can get a good feel for the size of the city. A must see! 

We stopped in at Lavinia, a wine shop that Linn had been to before. He loved it again and I was amazed by the selection. Three floors of wine, great wine that is.  They have a tasting bar and restaurant too.

We walked for blocks and blocks to see the Eiffel tower. Enroute we walked through the Place de la Concorde, taking pictures of the Champs- Elysees and the Arc du Triomphe. Upon arriving at the Eiffel Tower I proceeded to embarass Linn by taking a million pictures. :)  I had initially told Linn how much bigger it has seemed on TV and in print. Walking toward it, I changed my mind. The Eiffel tower is truly a work of art. I've posted some pictures on here of it and of us. 

Since we'd walked all over town we took the Metro back to our hotel which was cheap and convenient. We'll post a link for more pictures shortly. 

Next, on to Montpellier!

We made it to Paris!!

We made it to Paris! After 14 hours of travel, we arrived at 8:15pm, Sunday September 7.  We took a cab, with our 100kilos of crap, to our Hotel and went for dinner at 10pm! I love Paris already and we’re excited to see it in the morning, bustling with people. Thanks to the Chadence for the ride to SeaTac.  Tomorrow we have the day to see the city.

Phrase of the day: J’ai une reservation pour deux nuits. (I have a reservation for two nights).

 

Hi everyone,

The sixth of September is fast approaching! We had our Bon Voyage party this last Sunday and everyone had a great time. Thank you to all who came and to those who couldn't, we send an e-hug. 

The photo above is of the siblings at our party Linn & Morgan, Carolyn & Allison, Chori & Jessie.

This will be the first official post and we'll write again soon, from France!  

Visit http://bonjourallielinn.shutterfly.com/ for more pics from our party.