Christmas Break - Montpellier

UNC Montpellier Study Abroad group celebrating the Holidays together :)

My ORIGINAL Christmas Break Plan:

Toulouse

Loire Valley

Paris

Chamonix

Italy

Rock-N-Roll Santa from OHIO in Montpellier

Student Demonstration complete with sit-ins and chants at the mall

I was going to head from Toulouse to Tours, France and bike through the Loire Valley to see all of the Chateaux during Christmas time, but I couldn’t find my passport …SO I had to go back to Montpellier after Toulouse to look for it. After a few days of ripping my room apart, I made an appointment at the US Embassy in Paris to get a new one issued – I NEEDED it to go to Italy with my brothers and David. I hadn’t seen it since I left Cork, Ireland in November…

MONTPELLIER CHRISTMAS TIME

Ariel’s host mother (above with Katrina) took us to the beach for a picnic...

to La Grande Motte (above with Ariel), a famous French resort and port, known for its funky architecture...



and to Aigues-Mortes (above) which is 1 of 3 completely fortified cities and was the only Mediterranean port during the Middle Ages.

Beautiful French Candy store chain in Aigues-Mortes "La Cure Gourmande" = cured from eating a lot! ;)

That week, Clément and I started dating...

We enjoyed rollerblading around town (under Montpellier's Arc de Triomphe)

But we had to say "Au revoir" since I left for 2 weeks :(

We all went Ice Skating a lot...



Indoor skating rink with disco lights!
(Becca, me, and Sarah)














Outdoor rink at the Esplanade in the center of town
(me, Rebecca, Ariel, and Chris)

We went out dancing a lot ...



















(above)
Ana Carolina - Brazil, Jennifer - Washington State, me, and Juliana - Brazil









Ariel and me at Macadam pub

Celebrating Rachel's 21st Birthday!

Juliana and I at a house warming party for Asof (English guy)

Hanging out at O'Carolan's (second favorite bar) with Anoop (London) and Tom (Wales)

























Christmas party at the Vert Anglais, our favorite bar!!!

That week in Montpellier turned out to be one of the most enjoyable, because I got to experience Montpellier during Christmas time without classes!

Christmas Break - Toulouse

("Elves" creeping around the city playing Jingle Bells in a minor key...kinda scary)

Currently I'm sitting with holes in my throat where just yesterday my tonsils used to be...I thought it would be a great opportunity to write a few blogs :)

SO I am continuing my blog 7 months later, because I enjoy recalling the memories just as much as sharing them with friends and family - although this blogger and I don't get along very well!

For Christmas break, the French universities give 3 weeks and I made a lot of last minute decisions ...

TOULOUSE - La Ville Rose

Toulouse is called the Pink City, because of the color of all the brick buildings. We were lucky enough to be there during Christmas time to experience “La Marché de Noel”, a market that every French town and city has during December. The most well-known marché is in Strasbourg, but Toulouse has an awesome one also.

(Becca, me, and Rebecca - only picture of all three of us)

Two other girls from UNC wanted to see more nearby French cities, so Rebecca, Becca and I went to Toulouse (the 4^th largest city in France) for 3 days.

(Me using the large mirror to capture the church ceiling and windows)

There is an awesome website/directory called “couchsurfing” which you can use to find people that are willing to host travelers or temporarily people who are looking for an apartment in that city. The system built on trust and recommendations from friends and “surfers”. The organization has grown to be very extensive and popular in Europe, expanding to the United States. Toulouse was my very first couchsurfing experience, but I had only heard great things. Rebecca had found a house close to the train station where 6 Toulouse Rugby players lived (Toulouse is the best Rugby team in France). Mattieu picked us up from la gare (the train station) and showed us our room downstairs next to the garage and washroom. It was full of nasty, stained couches and hookah pipes … a little sketchy, I must admit!

(Beggar lady and Rebecca, right )

That night, we went on a search for the most famous dish from the region … CASSOULET. Everyone said we must try it, but when you asked people to describe it “big bowl of fat/grease” was usually the response. Cassoulet is a rich, slow-cooked white bean stew with pork sausages (HUGE), pulled pork, pork skin, goose, duck, and mutton (hence the BOWL OF FAT!). Cassoulet is named after the distinctive deep, round, earthenware pot called “cassole”. We found a restaurant called Le Table that had the most amazing/only Cassoulet I’ve ever tasted – and it was a FEAT to try and eat it all…3 hours later, we all succeeded!

(really cheesy Santa - I couldn't stop laughing)

The next day, we met up with Anne, the UNC assistant director/Grad student, who showed us the wonderful fresh market (Marché Victor Hugo ) with many hanging rabbits, birds, pigs, fish, and lots of free samples - We enjoyed ourselves. Then Anne showed us an awesome tea store – the lady asked many questions about the flavor you wanted (fruits, flowers, spices, ect) until she found you the perfect tea. We all got some for our host mothers.

(Rebecca on the river)

My favorite part about Toulouse was the extensive river front …

(Me on the River front with Vin Chaud stained teeth!)

...I could really picture what the city looked like a hundred years ago, because I’m sure nothing has changed.

(Le Palais du Justice on the beautiful river front)

The three of us walked around and visited churches, museums, and a botanical garden with peacocks everywhere (above).

We spent several hours in Les Abbatoirs (right), which is otherwise known as the Toulouse Modern and Contemporary Art Center, and it had many really cool exhibits. Becca sat on a piece of art thinking it was a bench … the work was called “Marble box”.

That evening we walked around more churches and ate more foods at the market.

(Market and the Hotel de Ville. The Neon words say "Aligot" and "Truffade")

Another favorite Christmas market food looks a little bizarre at first, but we all decided to try – it was delectable! ALIGOT – How can I describe the texture this Tomme cheese blended with mashed potatoes and garlic (with bacon = TRUFFADE, mmmmm) into an ENORMOUS metal vat? Elastic ribbon… but it’s the best comfort food you will ever find! Vin Chaud (hot wine) was a great way to sip away the chills of the night – the French version of our hot apple cider.

Our final and free destination was the beautiful town hall (full of beautiful murals decorating the walls and ceilings.

I felt a large French/Toulouse pride while walking through those halls looking at all of these beautiful paintings.














The Christmas Spirit had truly begun in my heart during my few days in Toulouse, walking around the gorgeously lit market and watching the kids skate around the outdoor ice rink through the window of the Hotel de Ville.

(Marche and ice skating rink)