Six months later...

 Bonjour.

 I can't believe it. It's been six months since we set off to the South of France, on the trip that in many ways changed my life. It confirmed so many things for me - that I want to study langauges at university, and then live and work in France and speak this beautiful langauge every day.

 That's my dream. That and becoming a writer.

 Maybe I'll write a book about Montpellier.

 Anyway, thank you so much for reading this blog. I may add more to it if anything relevant comes up. Otherwise, this may be goodbye from me.

 So, if anyone from the trip is reading this, I just want to say...

 Merci. Pour tout.

 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

Day 2 - Exploring Carcassonne and then to Montpellier

 Salut!

 On Day 2 we woke up and went downstairs to a gorgeous Continental breakfast in the hotel. We had croissants and pastries of all sorts, with jam and Nutella, and cereal, and I had some lovely apple juice to drink.

 We then went back up to the walled town to look around the castle. C'était chouette!

 Here is my travelling bear, Cashew, in front of the castle:

Here is Stephen:

Here is a nice bit of woodwork on the castle:

Here is a cool tree in the courtyard:

We had a great time looking around the castle; there was a lot to see and learn, and the views from the top of the castle were just lovely. There was also a nice little gift shop. 

Here I am in the castle:

And here I am again with Emily and Becky:

 When we left the castle we had a lovely time exploring Carcassonne; I went around with Becky and Charlotte and we had a great time; we bought crepes and impressed the vendeur with our French!

 We then met up with some of the others...

 As you can see it was a beautiful day. I saw some gorgeous woolly dogs; I wanted to take one home with me! (Though I doubt I'd have got it through customs!)

 We then went back down the hill and got on a coach to go to Montpellier! And oh, the scenery that passed us was just so beautiful! It was then that I realised that I wanted to live in the South of France, and as the week went on I became ever more sure. It just seems like Paradise.

 We reached Montpellier and met our families. As I have said before, the lady Niamh and Sam and I were staying with is really lovely. The three of us went with her back to her apartment and got settled in. We had a really nice first evening in Montpellier.

Liz x 

Day 1 - Liverpool to Carcassonne

 Bonjour!

 Now that we are back, I have time to tell you about the trip in more detail. So, Day 1!

 We set off on a coach from college to Liverpool Airport, checked in, sorted out luggage etc, then I and some of my friends ate in a restaurant. I imagine everyone had their lunch then in various places around the airport. Eventually the time came to get on the plane; the journey was longer than I had expected but was really enjoyable. The best bits were seeing the clouds from above...

 ... and also seeing the beautiful fields of France, which looked like molten gold; truly stunning.

 We arrived in Carcassonne; it was a lot warmer and sunnier there! The landscape was gorgeous, all fields and mountains. We got into a coach which took us to our lovely hotel. The hotel was brilliant; the suites were huge! I think technically they were apartments. I was with Niamh and Sam as usual, and we became really good friends.

 Here are some shots of the lovely view from our window:

 That evening the whole group went up the hill to the old walled town of Carcassonne...

 ...from which the view was lovely!

 We had a little look around the town and then had a meal in a restaurant in Carcassonne. C'était délicieux!

 I had a starter of onion soup, a main course of duck casserole, and a dessert of chocolate truffle with cream and raspberry sauce. It was all wonderful; French food truly is the best.

 After a lovely meal we went back to the hotel and back to our rooms; a group of us played cards in our room for a bit which was brilliant.

 Eventually we went to bed after a really fantastic first day in France.

 Liz x 

Dimanche

 Salut!

 It's Sunday, over two weeks since we set out for the South of France, and over a week since we got back.

 It's lovely to be back home, but I miss France so much! I want to go back there!

 I also miss being with everyone who went on the trip; such a wonderful group of people. I hope that I can stay in touch with you all.

 I have gained such a lot from this trip. I feel that my French has improved hugely, and that I have truly experienced another culture - it was only for a week yet I got fully immersed in it and I love it. Also, I have made some amazing new friends.

 I have seen some fantastic places and sights, and now I am determined to visit France more often; maybe even study there or go to live there one day. The French language and culture are now among my greatest passions; I spend all of my free time listening to French music now!

 It was one of the best weeks of my life, and if I can go on the trip next year I will! Montpellier and Carcassonne are two amazing places, in fact most of the South of France seems to me to be incredibly beautiful. For me it was a paradise, and I am desperate to return!

 I am working on making a little video about our trip; I will put it on here when it is done. I will also try to get as many photos of the trip as possible on this blog. So if you are reading this and you went on the trip and you have photos, could you please consider adding them to the blog sometime? Merci beaucoup!

 J'adore Montpellier et Carcassonne!

 Merci à tout le monde pour un voyage merveilleux et vraiment inoubliable.

 Liz x

Some photos

Liz, Emily and Becky in Carcassonne

Flo avec un ananas

Chilling in Carcassonne

Zoe having a whale of a time

Tourist, mini tourist

                                                                      Montpellier crew

The future French national team

 Hope you enjoyed them! We are having a great time!



 Liz x

The trip of a lifetime

 Bonjour!

 Liz here, and I'm sorry it's been a while since the blog was last updated, but I have had trouble getting on a computer for long enough. There is so much to do here there isn't that much time for blogging! It has really been an action-packed trip.

 I really love France. Carcassonne was truly beautiful and Montpellier is amazing. On Friday we flew to Carcassonne and stayed the night in a really fantastic hotel there. J'adore Carcassonne! We had a wonderful meal at a lovely restaurant there.

 On Saturday we explored the walled city of Carcassonne; it is truly amazing. We then met the French families we would be staying with for the rest of the trip. The French lady I am staying with is wonderful, really kind and an excellent cook. There are three of us staying with her; me, Niamh and Sam. We are very lucky because we are very near to the centre of Montpellier.

 On Sunday we visited the Roman city of Arles, and then the town of Saintes Maries de la Mer. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great, but I found that the places were generally nice. There was a very beautiful church in Saintes Maries de la Mer. We sang a lot of French songs on the coach!

 Yesterday we had our first lessons in the language school, and I found mine challenging but enjoyable. We also did a treasure hunt in Montpellier which was really exciting. We then went to watch a film, Les Femmes du 6ème étage. It was really good, and it was a really amazing experience watching a French film in France. After that we all went out to an Australian bar, which was a new experience for me, but seemed to go down well with everyone!

 Today after lessons we went to an aquarium: it was great; they had a huge variety of fish, sharks and some very cute penguins!

 I am really enjoying France, and want to stay here forever! I definitely want to live here some day; maybe study in France.

 Au revoir pour le moment.

 Merci de lire

 Liz x

Salut!

 Bonjour!

 We are now live on the web thanks to the wonderful Anthony Critchley. If you are on this blog for the first time, then welcome! I hope you enjoy reading about our trip to France.

 We are flying to Carcassonne tomorrow morning. Carcassonne is a stunningly beautiful walled town in the south of France.

 We are then going to the magnificent university city of Montpellier.

 I will be blogging regularly, and will try to add photos and video clips of our trip to the blog.

 Merci de lire,

 Liz x

Bonjour!

 Salut!

 Welcome to the blog Charlotte!

 I am very pleased because I have just found out from my Auntie Fanchea that Carcassonne was used as one of the filmimg locations in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves!

 I saw that film a few years ago and from what I remember it's really good. According to IMDb loads of movies have been filmed in Carcassonne; I am not surprised as it is such a beautiful and historical place.

 On Friday we set out for Carcassonne; I am so looking forward to it!

 Au revoir

 Liz x

11 days to go!

 Salut!

 My name is Liz and I am delighted to be going on the French trip to Montpellier and Carcassonne, which is from 25th March to 2nd April.

 I will be doing this blog mainly in English, with a bit of French. It is a French trip after all; however I know people who want to read the blog who do not speak French. So I will try to reach a happy medium; mostly English, and French occasionally!

 I love French, and am really, really looking forward to this trip! I have never been to Montpellier or Carcassonne before; in fact I have only ever been on holiday in the north of France, so it will be amazing to go to the south and experience the different places, culture and climate there.

 I have been told that Montpellier is a lively, exciting university city, and that Carcassonne is a beautiful fortified town. I cannot wait to visit them both!

 I will update this blog as regularly as I can, so that you can keep track of the wonderful times we are sure to have on the French trip.

 Au revoir pour le moment.

 Liz