Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Toulouse and Montpellier, France

Hello Everyone!
My week in Southern France has sadly come to an end. I am so grateful to Lilla and Romain for hosting me in Toulouse! France is such a beautiful country with so much history! I feel very lucky to have gotten to see a small part of it. I arrived Wednesday afternoon after a long day and a half of traveling. I am looking forward to getting to Italy so that the traveling can stop...I feel like I am lugging my whole life around in the airports, all fit into a suitcase and a duffel bag. Lilla made caprese stuffed tomatoes and breaded chicken for my first night in France, it was delicious! On Thursday we tackled Toulouse! We went to Saint Sernin Basilica and the city center first. I was in awe standing inside Saint Sernin! There is nothing close to it in the U.S. The exterior and interior of the basilica are so detailed! We got a chocolate macaron while exploring the city center. I think macarons are my new favorite dessert because they just melt in your mouth here! The capital building, opera house, visitor center and mayor's house are all in the center of Toulouse. They are all incredible buildings with so much history to offer! My favorite was the mayor's house because every wall and ceiling is painted with murals. Thursday was Romain's birthday so we went to a restaurant for lunch and had mussels! After lunch I went to the Saint Raymond Antiquities Museum. Seeing the history of Toulouse and the Roman Empire that ruled it through sculptures and sarcophagi was incredible! It is hard to believe the artwork has lasted until today and that so many pieces are still intact. We also went down to the river and before heading back for the day had a treat. I got a chocolate covered orange and a hot chocolate. Those two sweets were easily the best of each I have ever had. The hot chocolate here is basically a liquid form of a Hershey's bar and is so delicious. That night I got to experience a French birthday! We went to Romain's dad's and girlfriend's house for appetizers and then went to an all you can eat restaurant, boasting tons of French cuisine. It was a wonderful way to try so many new and native foods! Friday was another sightseeing day so we went to St. Augustine Museum and Church. They had a whole room filled with columns from ancient buildings and three other rooms filled with paintings. Probably the biggest painting I have ever seen was there, about 30' by 15'. There was also a beautiful Manet hanging, which was my favorite. We then went to St. Etienne Cathedral. The inside of it was breathtaking with a huge alter with tons of detailed sculptures. To end the day we went to the Royal Garden and the Garden of the Plants and I enjoyed another amazing French hot chocolate in the cold weather! We did a lot in Toulouse and on Saturday prepared for Romain's birthday party. About 20 people came over to their apartment and we had appetizers that Lilla and I made that afternoon. There were a few people there who I was able to speak English with, but mostly everyone spoke French. When I was introduced as "the American", one guy said, "Do you live in Texas and work at a grill?" Another kept saying, "Alright, alright, alright!" to me because that was all he knew in English. They sung happy birthday in English though, so that was surprising. On Sunday I took the train to Montpellier. It was a very pretty train ride, with fields of green crops and large houses nestled in the middle. I stayed with friends of Lilla who were very kind to let me stay with them for a night and show me around. We had breakfast crepes for dinner Sunday night which were so good! So on Monday I saw Montpellier, which is also very historical and pretty! I still can't get over how incredible the buildings are in Toulouse and Montpellier. Every single one looks like it is from a different century. We went to the Mediterranean Sea and enjoyed the city center of Montpellier. The food in every shop all looks so good, it is hard to choose what to get. I also learned that in France, the stores only have two sales a year. There is one in mid January to early February and one in August/September. Any other time than that, in every single store, boutique or chain, everything is full priced. Crazy! So it definitely has been fun to look at everything, but that explains why I thought the stores were so crowded. People are shoving their way all over the place. I also noticed that Christmas is still going on in France. Decorations are still in people's homes, in the restaurants and even the streets are still decorated. I have seen so much this past week and learned a lot about the French culture! I am excited to go to Italy tomorrow! We have a two day orientation at a farm and then we meet our host families in Siena!

Here is a link to the farm I will be at this week:

http://fattoriapoggioalloro.com/

Ciao!

-Rachel


I have arrived!

Charles de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle

Toulouse

Caprese Stuffed Tomato with Breaded Chicken

Saint Sernin Basilica

Saint Sernin Basilica

Toulouse Capital Building

Chocolate Macaron

Chocolate Macaron

Toulouse

Toulouse

Mussels

Saint Raymond Antiquities Museum

Saint Raymond Antiquities Museum

St. Augustine Museum

Mayor's House

St. Augustine Museum

St. Augustine Museum

St. Etienne Cathedral

Garden of the Plants

Garden of the Plants

Hot Chocolate

St. Augustine Museum

Manet

St. Etienne Cathedral

Breakfast Crepe in Montpellier

Montpellier

Montpellier

Montpellier

Opera House, Montpellier

Montpellier at Night

Macarons

French Appetizers for Birthday Party

My lovely hosts for the week!

Mediterranean Sea

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