Salut everyone!

I’ve been meaning to write again for a bit, but so much has been going on and it’s been hard to find time (and energy)! Since I last wrote, I’ve visited several places in France, gone to Spain, and done a bunch of exciting blog-worthy things. I have a lot of things to share, so be warned!

One weekend, my host family went to a little seaside village in Spain called L’Estartit. It’s a destination for scuba divers, since there’s a fish reserve. My host dad is in a diving club, and they go there every year. It was so beautiful and warm, and us non-diving ladies spent the weekend on the beach and shopping. Since the village was so close to the French border, luckily we could get by with speaking French to people there!

L’Estartit

Last Wednesday, my friend Lauren and I took the train to the nearby city of N�mes. It has a really rich history, and lots of Roman sites. Fun fact: ever wonder where denim came from? Levi Strauss began importing a cloth from this city, known as “serge de N�mes,” which became known as ‘denim’.

The Roman amphitheater there is the most well-preserved in the entire world, and there’s also a beautiful temple called the Maison Carr�e. We climbed to the top of La Tour Magne, a remnant tower of an ancient Roman wall, and looked out over the city. My favorite part of N�mes was Les Jardins de la Fontaine, a gorgeous park filled with statues and water channels where swans floated past.

The amphitheater- this is where Roman gladiators fought as well as bullfighters!

La Maison Carr�e

Les Jardins de la Fontaine

This is the symbol of N�mes- it’s a crocodile chained to a palm tree, which symbolizes the submission of Egypt to Rome.

Next, we took a 30 minute bus ride to an ancient Roman aqueduct called Le Pont du Gard. It’s really impressive, and is the only three-tier aqueduct in existence. The architecture is amazing, especially considering that it was built from 40-60 AD.

Le Pont du Gard

This Saturday, our program took a trip to the medieval village of Saint-Guilhem-le-D�sert, which was founded by the cousin of Charlemagne. It’s very charming and small, and home to a famous abbey which houses a relic of the cross. This village has been a site for many pilgrimages, and like Montpellier, is also along the pilgrimage trail of Saint Jacques de Compostelle. In the streets, you see coquille Saint-Jacques (scallop shell) emblems designating the path.  

Main street of Saint-Guilhem (notice the castle ruins way in the background)

L’Abbaye de Gellone

Another view of the village (ruins way up on the right)

Way up above the village, we saw the ruins of a castle. We were able to follow a path partway up, but then had to bushwack/hike/rockclimb the rest of the way over to the ruins! And none of us were wearing hiking-appropriate clothing haha. The view was definitely worth it, though! The mountains in the distance were so beautiful, and we could see everything spread out far below. All that was left of the castle were a few walls and empty windows. I’m still shocked that they were able to build it up there, right on the edges of the cliff, and have no clue how they ever accessed it!

View from the top!

Last Monday was my birthday, and it was really enough of a gift to be here in France! But my friend and I were walking back to the program office after class, and when I opened the gate, nearly everyone in the program was there waiting to surprise me! They’d even baked a cake and desserts, and it was such a thoughtful surprise. I’ve never had a surprise party before, and my birthday was wonderful thanks to all of the new friends I’ve made here.

Yesterday, a small group of us went horseback riding near the beach at Le-Grau-du-Roi. I’ve been riding since I was little, and was dying to do it in France. I’ve always dreamed about riding on the beach, and got together a group of friends who wanted to too! We got to ride Camargue horses (a breed of wild white horses native to Southern France), and saw a lot of pretty countryside too. We galloped through scrubby fields with light purple flowers, rode on sandy beaches by saltwater ponds, and splashed knee-deep through the water on the way back. It was one of my favorite things that we’ve done so far.

 

It’s really hard to abbreviate everything that I’ve done, and to consolidate so much- let me know if you have any questions or want to know more about anything!

� bient�t!

Julia

 

Location: Montpellier, France