Day 4 - Lessons, exploring, treasure hunt, cinema and clubbing

 Salut!

 Today was a very busy day! But also extremely enjoyable.

 In the morning we had lessons in the language school, l'Ecole Klesse. I fould the lessons quite challenging but really enjoyable and beneficial as well. In my group we learned about transport, and had a debate on whether cars should be banned for a day (all in French of course!). I learned a huge amount of French in one morning!

 After lessons we wandered off in groups; I was with Sam, Niamh, Becky, Stephen, Tom and Reece. We had a good look around the Montpellier city centre; c'était fantastique!

Café Firenze! What a great name : )

 Then all the group met up for the treasure hunt. We were put into teams: I was with Zoe, Jagen and Liam M. We called ourselves, "Mon Pelli Equipe".

 The treasure hunt was really exciting and we discovered many new places in Montpellier, such as the beautiful church:

 And this cool building opposite the church; this wall is actually painted on:

After the treasure hunt we relaxed in Montpellier for a bit, and some of the lads played football:

Part of the treasure hunt was to find an object for each letter of the word, LANGUEDOC. (Montpellier is in the Languedoc-Rousillon region of France).

Somebody bought a pineapple - un ananas - for the letter A, which Flo attempted to balance on her head:

We didn't yet know who had won the treasure hunt; we would be told on Friday. The suspense!

We then went back to our families to have tea, then we rendezvoused in the centre of Montpellier to go to the Gaumont cinema (which is in the background on one of the photos earlier in the post).

The film we watched was a comedy called, "Les femmes de 6ème étage". It was mainly in French (with a bit of Spanish) and we managed to follow it! In my opinion it was a really nice film, especially for me as I study both French and Spanish. I think everyone enjoyed the film.

Afterwards we all went to an Australian bar.

 It was amazing seeing Montpellier by night, including the beautiful angel statue (above) all lit up.

 The bar was a first for me; clubbing and going to bars are not things that I do on a regular basis. However, it was nice being with the group and making some new friends. Everyone was so kind, so thank you.

 Afterwards we walked home under the stars, which were gloriously bright considering that we were in the middle of a big, busy, well-lit city. I walked back with Niamh, Sam and the two Liams, just us and the bright shining stars, and it was just magical. It was the perfect end to a lovely day.

 Merci de lire.

 Liz x

Day 3 - Arles and Saintes Maries de la Mer

 Bonjour!

 Today we went on an excursion to Arles and Saintes Maries de la Mer, in Camargue.

 We went on a coach with another group of students who were on a trip. We also had Jeremy, our very helpful guide, who told us about the salt marshes of Camargue, and told us to look out for the three animals that Camargue is famous for- the flamingoes, the bulls and the white horses. I certainly saw the horses and the bulls out of the coach windows, and I think I saw a flamingo! But I'm not completely sure.

 We reached Arles, and looked around some of the Roman architecture there:

 As well as the magnificent cathedral:

 We also visited some of the places that Vincent van Gogh lived in or painted. Then we went and ate and practised our French in a cafe in Arles:

 Next we went to Saintes Maries de la Mer, where we had a great time on the beach:

 And explored the town.

 There was a very beautiful church there, and I found the town very quaint and pretty.

 We sang some more French (and English!) songs on the coach on the way back to Montpellier:

 All in all, it was an enjoyable day, and we visited a lot of interesting places.

 Merci de lire,

 Liz x 

Some more photos from our first two days

 Bonjour!

 Last night I had a complete revelation: why don't I use print-screen to get some nice photos from my video footage? So here they are! Most of the filmimg was done by me, some by Flo. I am working on making a video about our trip to Montpellier and Carcassonne, which I will put on this blog when it is finished.

Outside the hotel in Carcassonne:

Climbing the hill to Carcassonne:

Exploring the castle in Carcassonne:

Singing on the coach on the way from Carcassonne to Montpellier! 

"Aux Champs-Elysées..."

       

 Au revoir pour le moment!

 Liz x