This weekend we took a trip to the south of France!
Things going through my head while on the bus ride to France: 1: Well, I've never been to France before and I heard the French loathe Americans so this should be an interesting trip. 2: I speak NO French so I'll just be a mute for these three days. 3: Heard they eat caviar (fish eggs) so I'll just be starved for 3 days too.
Thursday night e-mail from my program: Tomorrow morning we will leave for France! Be at the bus at 9:30 A.M. BE PUNCTUAL OR WE WILL LEAVE WITHOUT YOU. "(eye roll) yeah, okay.... sure! 10 a.m. it is"!
However, we did make it to the bus Friday morning at 9:30 just because we were scared the one time we show up later the bus is going to be gone.
Bags packed and all on the bus we took a 3 and a half hour bus ride to the town of Colliure. I've never seen anything like it! As we walked across a bridge over the water of the Mediterranean sea all we could see in the distance were boats tied to a dock and the blue water glistening as the sun rose higher into the sky. We had two hours to explore the city, which for me and my friends meant sit in the sun on the rocks by the water. The water was so crystal clear that you could see to the bottom. The wind was blowing and the water was freezing, but in the summertime it'd be a great place to stay for a weekend! Of course we were late leaving Colliure and it was another two hour bus ride to Montpellier, where we would stay for the night. The bus that I was on got separated from the other and incredibly lost in the town of Montpellier. We missed the walking tour we were supposed to do in Montpellier and just checked in to our hotel right away and had free time for the rest of the night.
As we wandered around the town square to find a place to eat, we found a little Italian place that would accommodate the 12 of us. I had a 4 cheese calzone because I had been craving one ever since I left the United States and it was HEAVENLY. Then, my friend and I shared a creme brule for dessert. After dinner we walked around more looking for places to go for the night. Eventually at one of the bars we were at we met a group of French guys who showed us around to the local bars and clubs for the rest of the night. As we were talking to them other people would walk up and join in the conversation and then eventually walk away. People approached us and were so nice even after finding out we were from America! They were very interested in our culture and what it was like back in the States.
After Montpellier, the next day we headed to the town of Toulouse for cheese and wine tasting. I was super excited about this because if you know anything about me, you know that I am IN LOVE with cheese.
Side note: I was scared to come to Spain in fear of them not having good cheese. True Story. We took a tour of a few museums and then went to the marketplace where we would taste our cheese and wine. The marketplace (I don't know the exact name) was exactly like the bocqueria here in Spain, only it was in a large warehouse and the food was inside of cold cases unlike the open air bocqueria. The cheese we had was FABULOUS and I was in the restroom so I did not get a chance to taste the duck liver they apparently ate too. I was perfectly okay with that.
After the marketplace we headed over to a beautiful church to walk around and take a tour. They took us in to this beautiful courtyard and explained what everything was. The group continued on, but somehow, my two friends and I got separated from the group and lost them completely. We looked around, retraced our steps, but they were no where to be found. We asked a lady at the information desk if she spoke English? Nope. Espanol? Nope. and then she proceeded to tell us something in French. We all looked at each other after she said it, our eyes got big, and we walked away. Greeeeattt, we were lost in a country where we didn't know the language and in a city we had never even seen. After walking around deciding what we should do, we finally found someone who was in the other tour group and asked them when/where we needed to meet up with everyone. After that, it was lunch time. We decided to eat at a place called "Street Food." I ate a "kebab pita" that had some kind of meat with tomato and lettuce. The meal also came with french fries (how great! French fries in France, however, I think Americans have it down better than France) The best food I've eaten on my study abroad experience so far! Well, besides gelato. However, afterward, it made my stomach hurt, but it was worth it. During lunch we were approached by a funny French man in his 40s wearing a topiary on his head. He was speaking to us in French for 5 minutes until one of his friends got the hint that we had no idea what he was saying. As he was talking to us he was spitting like a sprinkler and his friends kept putting their hands in front of his face to shield us from the spit, it was hilarious! After he found out we didn't speak French he said "Well, welcome." Spoke a little more in French and then walked off. By the time he walked off we were cracking up. Another great experience from someone who was French and knew we were Americans and was still nice to us. The French hate us? I've had a good experience thus far. 
After lunch we headed to the buses and on to the hotel. Our hotel overlooked a beautiful waterway that went through the city. After taking a nap for a few hours we went out for dinner and ate at a Japanese restaurant. The owner didn't speak much English, but tried so hard to help us choose what we wanted since the menu was in French. I had chicken thai and my friend had ginger chicken, which were both very tasty.We had a fried banana (I think?) for dessert. After dinner we stumbled upon a movie theater and saw "Silver Lining Playbook." My new favorite movie! The movie was in English with French subtitles and only 4,90 euro!
The next day we left for Carcassone, a mid-evil city on our way back to Barcelona. We took a guided tour of the castle and then had two hours to browse and eat lunch. For lunch we had a 4 cheese pizza which was so good! Then we walked around the shops and found the French chocolate store. They had tons of free samples and after loving every single thing I tasted, I bought about 5 euro worth of French chocolate: the best chocolate I've ever tasted! Carcassone was freezing so we were glad to get back on the bus, but the four hour bus ride was a bit long.
After sleeping most of the way back, we finally arrived to Barcelona and back to our apartment. Ahhh, it was good to be home.
Oh yeah, class tomorrow, I almost forgot. Back to reality. Chao!
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