Provence, and then some...

So, it's been two weeks and Montpellier is starting to feel like home. It still doesn't feel like I'm actually going to be living in France. I still feel like this is just vacation, and I'll have to go home soon.
I have met some pretty amazing people here. They are some of the sweetest smartest most ambitious people I have ever met. We've been doing a lot of shopping and wanding through the city.
Last weekend the program sponsored a trip to Provence. I think I may move there. It is the single more gorgeous region of the world... We started our day with a visit to Pont du Gard. There is an aqueduct that the Romans built more than a century ago, and it's amazing. We climbed to the top and were able to see for miles. The French countryside looks like something out of a fairy tale. Little houses and villages nestled into mountains and hillsides.
Our next stop was the Fountaine of Vacluse. So far, it has been my favorite spot in France. There is a small village which is built around this beautiful river which comes from underground sources. It looks like it literally appears from nowhere. There is giant cliff, a small lagoon, a bunch of boulders, then this surging river.The village looks like it hasn't changed since the 19th century, it's a very provencial town. The stucco houses have bright blue shutters and clay roof shingles. We pickniqued on the river, then boarded the bus to our next stop, Les Baux de Provence. The village deated back to 6,000 years BC and many of the houses and churches that remain were built in the 16th century. The village it self was pretty, there were a lot of modern shops selling postcards and handmade soap. But the view was amazing. We were above everything, and you could see for miles (most of which was vineyards). Our last stop was Le Moulin de Fontvielle. Which was a windmill. on a hill. Nothing spectacular, but apparently it's a huge tourist attraction, someone was even getting married as we were leaving the sight. I'm not sure I would choose that location for my ceremony, but hey whatever makes you happy. The week since our trip to Provence has flown by. We started classes on Tuesday, and I'm pretty excited. I have 13 hours of French Language a week, and hour and a half of litterature, and an hour an a half of art history. I don't have classes on Mondays, which is going to help a lot with the travelling. :) My daily routine consists of getting pain au chocolat at this little patisserie close to campus. Then heading to school class, then usually out in the city for a while, before coming back to my place and eating dinner with Andrea and Fanja. Leah is still pretty shy and stand-off-ish. I wish she would be more sociable when we were all home, but oh well. Fanja is super helpful, and I love Andrea. Over all, I really lucked out with my living situation.
Today some friends and I went shopping downtown, and found this English bookstore called Book in Bar. It's the most charming bookstore I could ever imagine. It's tucked into a charming little side street, and the building is still very medeival lookding, most of the walls are stone and wood. They have two floors packed with wooden bookshelves and cafe tables. The barista is British and speaks french with a british accent. Plus, they have lattees, english style. I believe I will be spending a lot of time in this place.
Tomorrow is the Superbowl, I'm going to be proud to be an American tomorrow night, something that I try not to flaunt normally. Then we are going to try and plan our weekend travels. Ideally, I'll be going somewhere almost every weekend. I'm not sure if that is logistically or financially possible, but we shall see.

Well, I believe you are all updated now. So abientot mes amis.

Bisous,
Ash