untitled melancholic post

Hello!

So, the title of this post is not super specific, but I really didn't know what to title it. I've just been reflecting a lot in the past two weeks about how close I am to the end of my time in France. It seems pretty insane how quickly this post-grad year passed. The same refrain everyone always says no matter what period of their life they are in. Time always passes faster every year you get older and this year was no real exception. It just has been hitting me lately because I just finished up my third of four vacations, which means that I am over halfway done. Now I have a little less than two months left and I am already feeling the double-edged sword of finishing a period of your life, an infuriating mix of melancholy of all I'm leaving behind and anxiety about all that there is to come.

Traveling with people, living abroad with other foreigners, and going through the same struggles with the same group of people brings you close to them a lot quicker than normal life brings you to those around you. I've already made so many friendships that I am going to be sad to leave behind and so many good memories in Toulon, with my teachers, and with my friends at church that it will be hard to go back to a place that I've known all my life. Moreover, the bad part about being American is that you live so far from all these other places. Our country is so big it's not very easy to leave it. I'll miss that about Europe and it will be infinitely harder to keep contact with all my European friends because of the time change and distance. The more I am in France, the more I want to be. I know when I return to California, I will feel the same about the U.S. You tend to feel torn between two places so far away from each other.

That's all I have to say right now on that subject. Good news, I am positive that this part of my life was where I was meant to be. I do not regret coming to France again. It has opened my eyes wider than they were before and for that I am grateful.

February Travels: Carcassonne, France

City #2: Carcassonne

Next we traveled to Carcassonne, which you can see on the map from the previous post. It isn't too far, about an hour I think, maybe two from Montpellier. Carcassonne is a special city because it is a fortified city. The main attraction is the huge medieval fortress and castle.

Looking on Wikipedia, I discovered that there was evidence of settlement as early as 3500 BC but during the audio tour they referenced the 3rd century A.D. as being the first actual castle remnants. It was a part of the Roman empire, but then was taken over by various other groups. In 1067, when France was still made up of many feudal families, it fell into the hands of the Trencavel family. They made many additions and expansions. In 1247, it came under the rule of France and was actually a fortress on the border between France and Spain (which was much higher up at that point). The fortress was known for centuries as being "impossible" to infiltrate and most of the tour we took explained the various fortifications that made that true. Finally, when the region of France called Roussillon was added France in 1659, Carcassonne was no longer a border city and thus became less important as a fortress. And, obviously, today it is an touristic city. However, seeing as we were there in February, the town itself was very calm and surrounded by a nice river, a canal and walking paths. I would recommend it if you were looking for a more relaxed, small spot. It would probably also be lovely in the summer. (And, I've heard they have fireworks by the castle on the 14th of July which is France's "4th of July", not a day of independence but the storming of the Bastille).

We arrived around 10 am in Carcassonne, checked into the air BnB, had a quick lunch, and set out for the castle. It was about a 15-20 minute walk from our AirBnb which was in downtown. We walked around the fortress, took an audio tour of the castle, walked one of the walls of the fortress, grabbed a late second-lunch at a café, took a walk along the Canal du Midi (a tree-lined canal that runs 241 kilometers from Toulouse, through Carcassonne and to the Mediterranean), and made dinner at the AirBNB. The next morning we took a jaunt through the gardens in front of the castle and then we were on our way to Toulouse.

Downtown Carcassonne

Crossing the Old Bridge to get to the Cité de Carcassonne

The smallest church before the bridge

Merci Seigneur

Stained glass, always a crowd pleaser!

The Old Bridge

River Aude

La Cité de Carcassonne on the approach!

Making our way around the castle

Mounting one of the sides of the hill

How many pictures have we taken?

We are in a medieval fortress!

Named after the River Aude

Entrance to the castle part

Inside the courtyard. 

A recreation of the fortress: It had 48 ramparts and two walls. 

Along the fortress

Overlooking one of the courtyards within the castle

Whadda view.

A hole down which they used to drop stones on their enemies!

Yet another view from the side

View of the houses with the church in the circle at the bottom

Emma!

Imagining this to be my kingdom.

An updated theater in there as well

Some cool towers in the background

The fortress' cathedral

RIP grey boots

Paintings in the streets around the Cité

Old town Carcassonne

A duck in its natural habitat.

The attack of the ducks

Canal du Midi

:D

Feeling sassy

The whole gang: Emma, me and Helena

I forgot to mention that the fortress of Carcassonne is called la Cité de Carcassonne. So, next we leave the medieval world and head for the university town of Toulouse. Bisous.

February Travels: Montpellier, France

Salut my friends.

So two weeks ago, I had my third two-week vacation. Go France! And it was a whirlwind vacation, but easily the best vacation (or should I say holiday?) of my life. I haven't been on many holidays, mind you, but even so, it was just really amazing. I went to Montpellier, Carcassonne and Toulouse with my roommate Emma and our friend Helena. Then I went to visit Berenike, a dear friend I met while studying abroad in Lyon, in Heidelberg, Germany and finally I met up with more friends and fellow assistants, Becca, Charlotte, and Steven, in Prague. I am going to break it up into smaller chunks because it's just too hard. So one city at a time! 

I have also decided that I am going to post all the pictures but only talk about the highlights and fun stories that way it is a better snapchat of my time.

Firstly, on February 6th (the beginning of vacation), Helena, Manu, Emma and I left for Montpellier, with Helena driving. Montpellier is a city in the south middle of France, about two hours from Toulon. We spent two nights there and about three days and we stayed in an AirBnB, which I really recommend in Europe. It's much cheaper than hotels and more comfortable than hostels. Plus, if you reserve a full apartment, you often have your own kitchen and TV and such so it's a little like being home.

There's Toulon (in the southeast) and Montpellier (in the middle of the southern coast)

Anywho, the first night we met up with Manu's friend from Bologna and he showed us around a little. We had a delicious dinner of Lebanese food (my first time eating it!) and went to a cool beer place, that reminded me of the Bay with all of its IPA choices.

Taking an evening stroll through Montpellier

Basically Frankenstein's castle 

Elephant themed bar called Le Rebuffy had the cutest teapots

Lebanese food: lamp, chicken, and beef skewers with yogurt and rice 

Friends! 

Looking a little ruffled from the rain, but Emma and I 

The next day we wandered around the city and saw what intrigued us on the map. My favorite parts were the Jardin des Plantes (a peaceful botanical garden that was managed by the university), watching these really animated group of boy dancers act/dance a never-ending stream of snippets of various songs at Place de la Comédie, and the Musée Fabre, which was free as well.

One of the many universities: those statues are busts of famous law-related people

Because it can't be a French city without a carousel.

Hanging in Montpellier with EMma. (so clever, i know)

Rondelet's house: "Rondelet hosted François Rabelais here on Sept. 15th, 1530" (approximate translation)

Palais de Justice

Loved the winding streets. 

Mini Arc de Triomphe 

Beautiful blue skies.

Promenade de Péyrou

Me, Emma, Helena and Manu

Promenade de Péyrou

Cool stained glass.

We all slipped a secret in this tree of secrets.

This explains the tree, which is the oldest one in the Gardens (400 years old). It is meant to be a "wishing tree" or a "mailbox for lovers." So you put your most secret desires on a piece of paper and hide it in the tree.

Emma's favorite creatures are snails!

A really lovely day for a walk in the gardens.

We found a cat!

Bamboo with more love secrets carved into it.

"Judas Tree"

Again, this is another old tree in the gardens. It is called the "Judas tree" because it was thought that Judas hung himself from this type of tree after he betrayed Christ. Rather an eerie history for a tree.

Modern art.

A painting of a room in the Louvre, the Grand Gallery. So meta. 

Really beautiful colors. Musée Fabre

Place de la Comédie 

Antigone: a neighborhood that has a ton of buildings in the Roman-style of architecture

And, the next day we set off for Carcassonne around 8:30 a.m. I liked Montpellier. It was beautiful weather when we were there and it was a much more young place than Toulon with a lot to do. Lots of fun restaurants and bars. My favorite bar that we went to was a place called Le Rebuffy (recommended by our AirBnb hosts) and it was a bar that was elephant-themed and there were board games that you could play for free. It just seemed like a fun place to hang out if I lived in Montpellier. You really can't go wrong with vin chaud and Monopoly.

My favorite picture of the city. The grooviest tram flanked by stunning buildings and blue skies.