Ok, I'm just going to start this off by apologizing about my lack of blogging. I just never find the motivation to sit down and do this.
Two weekends ago I traveled to Toulouse with some girls from my program. We took the high speed train and it ended up taking about 2 1/2 hours to get there. We left on Friday around 11:30 in the morning and returned Saturday night. The trains here are pretty comfortable... the only downside is that sometimes your seats face backward, and for those of us who get motion sickness Dramamine is a must. We left on Friday the 13th and since it was our first trip without any adults, I was nervous that something would inevitably go wrong. However, I was informed in one of my classes that Friday the 13th is a day of luck in France rather than a day of bad luck and poor chance, so I knew it was going to be a good trip. (I saw on the news that the lottery sales had gone WAY up on the 13th because everyone thought that they'd win with the lucky day). When we arrived the sun was shining and we were ready to be tourists. We found our hotel quite quickly and I was pretty pleased with the quality. It was a hotel, not a hostel, so the beds were made and they provided hand soap and towels, which is always nice. The hostess at the hotel was very friendly and she also spoke English. She recommended a restaurant for dinner and also showed us on a map where the night life of Toulouse was.
After checking in, we ventured out in search of some churches/museums. We walked toward the capital and the center of the city and I noticed a few differences about Toulouse and Montpellier: 1. There are a lot of cars in Toulouse. Having to stop at stop lights and wait for traffic to drive was weird (even though I do that on campus all the time in MN) since I hardly ever encounter a car in Montpellier. 2. There was hardly any graffiti in Toulouse. I think that Montpellier is a special city in the amount of graffiti it has, but it was just strange to see blank buildings (and nice at the same time). Some things were similar though: 1. There were homeless people with dogs on the streets begging for money 2. There was a lot of dog poop on the streets 3. There were a lot of little cafés and sandwich shops, of course.
Toulouse is a larger city than Montpellier, and it felt bigger. Toulouse is the 4th largest city in France and is given the name "la ville en rose" which is "the city in pink." There is a phrase in French "la vie en rose" which means basically "life is good" or "life is beautiful." So, the city of Toulouse has kind of adopted that meaning. Toulouse is also called "la ville en rose" because many of the buildings are constructed in pink or red shades of brick. We just so happened to be there on Valentines Day, which I thought was very fitting.
We walked through to the capitol and then headed for our main tourist activity: the Basilique Saint-Sernin which is the largest basilica in Europe and also the largest Romanesque structure in the world. My friend Maddie pointed out that the entire structure was in the shape of a crucifix which was apparently really common in the olden-days. I guess it makes sense, it is the house of God. I had read that there were a series of tiers that gradually decreased in size as they got taller making them appear like a wedding cake, and I thought that was pretty silly until I saw it and then I decided that it was actually really cool. The church was beautiful from the outside, and equally as beautiful from the inside. It was HUGE on the inside, I can't imagine how many people used to fit in there. The altar area was roped off so we couldn't actually walk up to it, but it was really remarkable. We ended up paying 2E to go into the crypt and I'd say it was worth it. There were a lot of really interesting relics and some information on Saints that held places in the crypt. I toured a lot of different churches when I was in London and Scotland Junior year, but I think this might be one of my favorites. Although, the stained glass wasn't as cool as I was hoping.
Two weekends ago I traveled to Toulouse with some girls from my program. We took the high speed train and it ended up taking about 2 1/2 hours to get there. We left on Friday around 11:30 in the morning and returned Saturday night. The trains here are pretty comfortable... the only downside is that sometimes your seats face backward, and for those of us who get motion sickness Dramamine is a must. We left on Friday the 13th and since it was our first trip without any adults, I was nervous that something would inevitably go wrong. However, I was informed in one of my classes that Friday the 13th is a day of luck in France rather than a day of bad luck and poor chance, so I knew it was going to be a good trip. (I saw on the news that the lottery sales had gone WAY up on the 13th because everyone thought that they'd win with the lucky day). When we arrived the sun was shining and we were ready to be tourists. We found our hotel quite quickly and I was pretty pleased with the quality. It was a hotel, not a hostel, so the beds were made and they provided hand soap and towels, which is always nice. The hostess at the hotel was very friendly and she also spoke English. She recommended a restaurant for dinner and also showed us on a map where the night life of Toulouse was.
After checking in, we ventured out in search of some churches/museums. We walked toward the capital and the center of the city and I noticed a few differences about Toulouse and Montpellier: 1. There are a lot of cars in Toulouse. Having to stop at stop lights and wait for traffic to drive was weird (even though I do that on campus all the time in MN) since I hardly ever encounter a car in Montpellier. 2. There was hardly any graffiti in Toulouse. I think that Montpellier is a special city in the amount of graffiti it has, but it was just strange to see blank buildings (and nice at the same time). Some things were similar though: 1. There were homeless people with dogs on the streets begging for money 2. There was a lot of dog poop on the streets 3. There were a lot of little cafés and sandwich shops, of course.
Toulouse is a larger city than Montpellier, and it felt bigger. Toulouse is the 4th largest city in France and is given the name "la ville en rose" which is "the city in pink." There is a phrase in French "la vie en rose" which means basically "life is good" or "life is beautiful." So, the city of Toulouse has kind of adopted that meaning. Toulouse is also called "la ville en rose" because many of the buildings are constructed in pink or red shades of brick. We just so happened to be there on Valentines Day, which I thought was very fitting.
We walked through to the capitol and then headed for our main tourist activity: the Basilique Saint-Sernin which is the largest basilica in Europe and also the largest Romanesque structure in the world. My friend Maddie pointed out that the entire structure was in the shape of a crucifix which was apparently really common in the olden-days. I guess it makes sense, it is the house of God. I had read that there were a series of tiers that gradually decreased in size as they got taller making them appear like a wedding cake, and I thought that was pretty silly until I saw it and then I decided that it was actually really cool. The church was beautiful from the outside, and equally as beautiful from the inside. It was HUGE on the inside, I can't imagine how many people used to fit in there. The altar area was roped off so we couldn't actually walk up to it, but it was really remarkable. We ended up paying 2E to go into the crypt and I'd say it was worth it. There were a lot of really interesting relics and some information on Saints that held places in the crypt. I toured a lot of different churches when I was in London and Scotland Junior year, but I think this might be one of my favorites. Although, the stained glass wasn't as cool as I was hoping.
Here are some photos of the outside, the organ, the alter, and some relics:
We walked around some more searching for more churches, but we didn't find anything as impressive as Saint-Sernin, so we grabbed some chocolat chaud at a café just off the capitol area. It was delicious and a perfect drink to tide us over until dinner. After that, we made our way back to the hotel to change and get ready for a night out.
We ate at a small restaurant that our hostess recommended and it was phenomenal. I order a kebob ladder with all sorts of meat, cheese, fruit, vegetables... it was really good. It also came with a glass of sangria, and you can never go wrong with that. We were at dinner for a good two hours and it was so nice to just sit and chat and tell stories with all the girls. The restaurant had a very relaxed atmosphere and I think everyone had a really great meal. After dinner we headed to an area where there were a few bars and made our way around a few. The first one we went in was quite bizarre, there were small statues of a little boy.. well... I'll put up a picture. So, we headed across the street where we found a bartender who ended up loving Americans and Obama, so he gave us some free shots. We asked him if he could make us some drinks and he said very joyously "YES I CAN!"... all in all it ended up being a really great night.
The next day we just walked around and got lunch before our train took us home around two. We actually went into the capitol building and discovered that it's quite impressive on the inside too. When we got back to Montpellier, we got home, showered, and went right over to our friend Chelsea's apartment. She had us all over for a fondue party for Valentine's Day. It was the perfect way to spend a Valentine's Day when you're not with your boyfriend. We all brought a little something... cheese, wine, chocolate, strawberries, etc. and it was just very relaxing and delicious. It was fun to get a little dressed up too, we all looked very chique, as my host mom would say.
(side note: I just heard the TV show House theme music coming from my living room... turns out my host dad is a fan! It is so hilarious watching American series in French... all the voices being different and stuff. Anyway, now I can watch House with my dad!)
I also got some V-day cards from Jeremy and my parents, as well as a box of chocolates, sweet tarts, and Gopher Hockey cards.
All in all, it was a very successful weekend and a good Valentines Day.
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