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.
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