Will's Grand Adventure

I love a good challenge and an adventure, so we decided that Wednesday would be my day to get out of Montpellier by myself to visit a neighboring town. There was still plenty to do and see in Montpellier, but I am pretty confident that I'll be back at some point soon and I was up for a change of pace. My research over the previous couple of days made me decide on Nimes. It's only about a half hour away by train and it has some history. Kaitlyn and I had a quick breakfast together then each got ready for our separate days. We said bye and I was off!

I made it to the train station pretty uneventfully. I got there about twenty minutes before my train was set to depart, what I thought would be plenty of time. I went to the ticket machine, got the gist of what it said, and found myself on the payment screen. I inserted my American credit card - nothing. I tried it again - still nothing. I tried a second machine. Then I saw the picture next to the credit card reader was of a credit card with a very prominent chip thing. Damn! No big deal, I still had fifteen minutes and the ticket office was right there. I went in, explained my situation to the guy at the door, and he told me that there is a line and since they only have one English speaker, it may be a while. He gave me a ticket: Q6. I looked up at the thing: R46. I sang the ABCs to myself a couple of times to make sure that the guy gave me a ticket for an entire alphabet away. Yup! He was not the friendliest person in the world so I figured I'd just forget him and try to figure something else out, keeping the ticket in my pocket in case I was still there six months from now and they finally made it to Q6. I found a ticket machine that actually accepted cash! Too bad that the only form of cash acceptable was in coin form and I only had a euro or two, about twenty euros short. At this point, I gave up on that first train and set my eyes on the next one. I'll be honest, at this point, I was close to giving up and just spending another day in Montpellier. Determined not to be defeated though, I walked back to the grocery store in town to try to get some change. I cautiously approached the checkout clerk and asked her if she spoke any English. She shook her head no. I let the guy behind me in line go ahead while I pulled out Kaitlyn's phone, opened the Google Translate app, and explained my situation in a couple of lines. That thing was a life saver! She read the note, smiled (only my second smile of the week from a French woman!), and gave me 20 euros of coins in exchange for my bill. I grabbed a baguette and went back to the train station, bought my ticket, and then miraculously found my train. I found that showing a station employee my ticket and shrugging my shoulders while making a confused face is the international gesture for "I'm an idiot. Where is my train?"

The train ride was short and sweet. We didn't pass any scenery that knocked my socks off, just a couple of small towns, roads, and agriculture. There was a young child sitting behind me talking to his grandfather. I was able to understand a lot of their conversation! I was pretty excited to almost have the understanding of a 2 or 3 year old. The Nimes train station was beautiful, allowing it to fit in well with the rest of the city. The whole city was just amazing. It felt park-like. Everything was very clean and in great shape. Old mixed with new seamlessly, the restorations being done with the utmost respect for the past. The only thing on my to-do list for the day was to see the Arena, which is a smaller version of the Coliseum but in much better shape. I figured a structure like that wouldn't be too hard to find, so I struck off into the city. I definitely had some pep to my step thanks to the excitement of being off on my own far from anyone I know. The Arena was a short five minute walk from the train station. I did the super touristy thing of buying a ticket to do the audio tour. Yes, I'm a nerd, but I really liked it. I learned a lot about the Arena and about Nimes' history. I am incredibly tempted to go back at the start of the summer for the Feria de Nimes, a massive party and festival revolving around bullfighting, which is the primary use of the Arena today. By the time I finished, it was lunchtime to I treated myself to a massive bucket of mussels and fries across the street from the Arena. I topped it off with a couple of beers, enjoying the warmth of the sun and just everything about where I was and what I was doing.

I had four hours or so before my return train so I headed farther into the city, towards the hills on the other side. I came across the Maisson Carree, a super well-preserved Roman temple. They claim in was the best preserved Roman temple in the entire former Roman Empire. Best preserved amphitheater and best preserved temple too?! Whether the people of Nimes are really good at preservation or just hyperbole was beyond me. Either way, they really were in good shape. I continued on down this tree-lined main street with a canal running down the center. It was beautiful. That led to a park full of sculptures and ponds and little old men playing whatever the French call their lawn bowling/bocce ball. There was another old Roman temple tucked away in a back corner, this one in much worse shape. I knew that there was an old Roman lookout tower on top of one of the hills in town so I started hiking up the one next to me. I figured it had to be up there somewhere. Let the sweating begin! I actually didn't have any trouble at all finding it. All of the paths seemed to lead there, and there were signs guiding visitors to something so I figured that was it. That tower has taken some abuse over the years, both from the weather, people, and just time, but I hope it will be around long enough for you guys to get up there and see the view. It was cool imagining it as the Romans saw it, with the Arena and temples in sight and the old Roman highway from Rome to Spain passing just outside the former city walls. From up there, I saw the train station all the way on the other side of town and looked at the time and figured I'd better start moving. I made it with time to spare, allowing me to take a cheesy picture with a bullfighter statue, grab a cup of coffee, and find the old gates to the city.

Finding the proper train involved a lot of tapping on a lot of shoulders, pointing at my ticket, and making that same confused face while shrugging my shoulders. When I did find my train, I dozed off into a nap, only to be woken up by a young French boy singing "I love sexy bodies." I have no idea what song it was but I thought it was hilarious how he was chatting away in French and then in perfect, clear, non-accented English, sang that line. Who knows if he knows what it means.

I got to Montpellier as the sun was disappearing behind the horizon. I had Kaitlyn's phone so we had agreed on a meeting point earlier in the day. And to think people used to meet up all of the time like that! I went straight to O'Carolans, the Irish pub. Her friends Molly and Monica showed up first. They are awesome. Molly is from Canada and Monica is from California. Kaitlyn showed up a few minutes later. We grabbed a beer then decided on an Italian restaurant for dinner. I am convinced that being just a couple hundred miles from Italy made the food that much better. It was delicious. We were enjoying the night so much that we decided to stay in town after dinner, going to one of their favorite bars for a nightcap and some more talking while the girls spied on some bartender they were crushing on. Once their dreamboy left, their interest in the bar waned and we went to another restaurant to grab another drink and some crepes for dessert (more nightcaps!). If I lived in France, I'd probably be three hundred pounds. Finally getting our fill, we started the long walk back to the residences.

William's Tuesday

Tuesday morning was cool and gray when we woke up. We bundled up and made our way to the farmers' market that they have twice a week underneath the aqueduct. There were probably about fifty stands lining the walkway, selling everything from clothing and soaps to cheese and vegetables. Everything looked and smelled pretty good. I think the language barrier kept us from being too adventurous with our taste testing but we definitely feasted with our eyes. Kaitlyn picked up a bunch of fruits and vegetables for herself, then we figured we needed to get a pumpkin for our planned Halloween party on Thursday. Then, on the way home, we did what we did every single time we passed the boulangerie, grabbed another baguette. They were too good to pass up! I also realized I'm a sucker for the pain au chocolat and coffee combo. I walked Kaitlyn halfway to class again and then sat down on a bench on campus, feeling awfully European bundled up in my sweater, eating my croissant and sipping on my coffee.

I had another few hours to myself before I had to meet up with Kaitlyn for lunch so I figured I'd get myself lost and wander around the city some more. I felt like I had become pretty familiar with the historic district so I decided to venture beyond that. I was a little disappointed to find that things seemed pretty dirty and run down, at least in this neighborhood I found myself in. Maybe it was just the gloomy weather though and I'd have a different opinion if the sun was shining. Regardless, I was able to make my way back to the historic area and made it home seconds before Kaitlyn arrived. 

Sandwiches are so much better when they are made with great bread, and we had some REALLY great bread. They were nothing fancy but boy were they good. Lunchtime conversation consisted of Halloween party planning, Friday and Saturday day trip itineraries, and compiling a short shopping list of things Kaitlyn needed from town. My shopping list required me to stop at two stores so I had to talk to two different people. I took the easy way out and used the self-checkout at the grocery store, but I was forced to have human interaction at the 2-Euro store. Fortunately, I was only getting one thing and I knew exactly what it cost (2-euros) so even though I didn't understand a word she said, we were able to complete the transaction without a problem. I was disappointed in myself for chickening out at the grocery store and I was determined to make up for it. I successfully picked up a bottle of wine from the wine store and a baguette at the boulangerie and met Kaitlyn at home for dinner. I was proud of myself for being able to almost communicate with the last two storekeepers. Kaitlyn prepared some of the veggies we bought that morning and had some pasta with pesto sauce to go with it. She's a good cook! We were pretty tired by that point and nobody wanted to go out so we just hung out and started watching a movie before we fell soundly asleep.

Will: Full Day 2

After a solid night's sleep, we woke up well-rested on Monday morning and went for a run. We ran towards town, along the aqueduct, and climbed what seemed to be hundreds of steps up to the park that is adjacent to the historic part of town. My legs must have atrophied on the flight or something because those steps were killer. We caught our breath while checking out how anatomically correct the sculpture of Louis XIV's horse was. We ran back to the residences, stopping at the boulangerie for a quick breakfast. We showered, stretched, got dressed, and ate, then we walked to campus in time for Kaitlyn to get to class. I went because I wanted to see the school and all of that, but she was self-conscious about me walking her to class so she made sure we said our goodbyes a good distance away from her classroom.

I was on my own for the next few hours. I didn't have any plans so when Kaitlyn told me that she had some dry cleaning she needed to have picked up, I volunteered, figuring it would be an adventure. It was probably about a 15 minute walk to get to the place in a direction that we haven't walked before. I had nothing but a hand-drawn map on a post-it note and the claim tag. Miraculously I found the dry cleaner with no issues at all. Maybe Louis' horse was looking out for me from Horsey Heaven because we were so impressed by the size of his... hooves. Anyway, the real fun started when I got there. I asked the woman behind the counter if she spoke English. She said no. I handed her the ticket and she brought me the clothes. No big deal until I started playing charades, trying to act out "Did my girlfriend pay for this already?" She looked at me like I had three heads. Thankfully she was honest and pushed my hand away when I tried to hand her money.

The walk back was a little more difficult since I had trouble remembering which road I came from. I knew the general direction but I definitely took the scenic route. I didn't have any plans and I was there to see France so I didn't mind. After dropping off her clothes, I went out to explore the town, camera in hand. With no destination in mind, I was disappointed to find out that the aqueduct ended anticlimactically on one end in an ugly modern water tower in an overgrown park in a boring suburb. I'm sure it was better looking back in the 1700s. At least they kept the other end beautiful! I walked back along the length of the aqueduct, climbed those same stairs that I died on earlier that morning, and continued on to town.

I must have walked miles. I was going up and down streets, looking in stores, admiring buildings, and taking pictures. I couldn't work up the courage to talk to anyone, so I didn't buy anything or order any food. One thing that caught my eye was all of the graffiti. To be fair, I have no idea if there was any more than there is at home. If not, I think it may have just stuck out to me more because it was in such sharp contrast to the historic beauty of the city. I am also not sure if there are armies of graffiti artists wandering the streets at night or if people just don't mind enough to clean it up. I guess that's just the way things go though. Just like the city walls were built by one generation and removed by another, each generation plays a role in shaping the city. We may have to wait to see what impact Kaitlyn and her group have on the city. At the very least, from what I've seen, they've had a positive impact on the revenue for Montpellier's bars and pubs.

I met Kaitlyn back at her room at noon. We decided to walk to her "hippie" grocery store. It was like a mini Whole Foods, with organic food everywhere and all sorts of grains, nuts, and fruits. We picked up some sandwich supplies and went back to her room to spend the rest of her lunch break hanging out and making sandwiches. She had class again in the afternoon, which means some more exploring for me. As if I didn't get enough walking in that morning! I spent the next couple of hours wandering around the city some more. I even got a French girl to smile at me! I'm sure she was laughing at me for something dumb I was doing, but hey, a smile is a smile.

I lost track of time and got back to Kaitlyn's room a little late. I had her key so she had to wait for me. Woops. We hung out for a bit then went back into town (my fourth time today!) for dinner. After some meandering, we came to this small plaza where a couple of restaurants had tables. We picked the French restaurant, naturally. Our waiter didn't speak much English but thankfully he was very patient with us. I kept doing this thing where I'd be looking at him, trying to pick out a familiar word or phrase, and then when he addressed, I'd make an awkward smile and look at Kaitlyn for help. Also, he said the French word for perfect which sounds a hell of a lot like parfait, which I politely declined because I thought he thought I wanted a cup of ice cream and fruit. Not before dinner, anyway! We had a lot of wine, cheese, and bread. I discovered that I actually like goat cheese. I was convinced for the past twenty five years that I hated it, but a switch was flipped for me on this trip because I suddenly loved it. While waiting for what we'd call our entrees in America, we had some real entrees of bread and cheese. Kaitlyn prepared some goat cheese drizzled with honey on bread for me. Sooo good. Our main courses came out and they were pretty delicious too. We were really just loving life. It was great being together, it was great being in France, it was great having such good wine and that food. I know that it may get annoying reading about how much I loved everything, but I don't really think words can truly describe it. It was the best.

At the end of the meal, we walked through the small streets lined with cafes and other people enjoying the night, back to the main streets that would take us home to bed.

Will: Full Day Number 1

My first full day in France started out on time. For not going to bed until around four in the morning, we didn't sleep in too much. We rolled out of bed to go to the boulangerie. The boulangerie is a cute little store that you can smell from a couple of blocks away. Walking down the sycamore-lined street that eventually meets up with the aqueduct, plowing our way through the piles of fallen leaves, I kept getting whiffs and knew that I was going to be in heaven. The boulangerie had a big glass case filled with pastries, loaves of bread, donuts, everything carb-related that you could ever want, and against the wall in the back were baskets filled with bread that was baked in the massive ovens visible in the back room. Kaitlyn and I split a pain au chocolat, a baguette, and a cup of coffee. It was so good! Feeling energized, we went back to her room where she made a killer breakfast of eggs seasons and baked in the halves of an avocado. I definitely recommend it.

Because we were in no particular rush, we took our time getting ready after breakfast, which had the unintended consequence of giving the skies a chance to clear up. We retraced our steps back down that street, past the delicious bakery, and on to downtown. The aqueduct, built in the Roman style in 1772, became a useful landmark for me that first day or two. We followed it into the park at the edge of the historic downtown area. Even though we just had breakfast, I was easily convinced by Kaitlyn that I needed to try a hotdog served in a baguette, something that they serve once a week on Sunday mornings in that particular park, more or less in the shadows of a massive statue of Louis XIV on horseback. Knowing that was pretty much going to be my only opportunity to have a baguette hot dog, there was no way I could turn it down.

Baguette hot dog in hand, we wandered the nearly-empty cobblestone streets of Montpellier under a beautiful blue French sky. Apparently we missed the memo that we were supposed to sleep in longer, or go to church, or just spend more time hanging out at home before going out in public. It didn't affect us one bit though. We wandered up and down the streets and alleys, much like we did the day before, and I was finally starting to get my bearings. I really think having the sun in the sky as a reference point helped. When we veered off of the main streets and into the curvy side streets, it felt a bit like walking through a canyon, with white two or three story buildings on either side of us about ten to fifteen feet apart, a curvy strip of cloudless blue sky over our heads. All of the stores that lined these streets (more like alleys) were closed for the morning. The more miles we walked, the more people appeared. Sometime in the early afternoon, we sat down at a cafe for a drink. I got an Orangina (my favorite) and Kaitlyn got a coke. Pretty simple but pretty damn perfect. Ordering was a bit of a struggle again but we made it work. I think it helps that Kaitlyn's an attractive girl with a great smile. All of our waiters are a little more patient with us because of it. Our break from walking was much appreciated. I think just sitting there with her, an island in a sea of French speakers, it sank in a little more that I was finally there. The sun was out, it was pretty warm, and everything just seemed perfect. 

By the time we finished up, it was mid-afternoon. We walked around a bit more through town as we started to head back to the residences. We were pretty wiped out by the time we got back. After the late night the night before and with a day of class the next day, we decided to just chill out and hang out in her room. I did some research for things to do while she was in class and she did some studying. We cooked dinner using some of the produce she bought at the farmers' market the day before. My favorite thing was the zucchini. I don't know how to describe it really but it is so good! I guess I'd just say it's sauteed zucchini with garlic and other herbs. So simple but so delicious. We watched a few episodes of the Big Bang Theory and then passed out, exhausted from the night before.