Re-do

Besides my reading on Montpellier's history, I'm borrowing this little gem to brush up on my french:



I figure already knowing the plot will help me with vocab ;)

xoxo
Caitlin
caitlinboyd72@gmail.com

chez moi

As most of you know, I'm studying in Montpellier for the next 4 1/2 months. Actual school hasn't started yet, but I'm enrolled in an intensive orientation to refresh my language skills and place me in my classes for the fall. I have class for about 5 hours a day (even the weekends) and we've gone on a few excursions to see the surrounding area like the Pont du Gard, Avignon, and Nimes. My entire program is full-immersion...which means my classes, my administrative stuff, my tests, and most of my conversations are in French. That's part of why I chose the south of France instead of an English-speaking program in Paris or Bordeaux- because I want to challenge myself and become fluent in French.

With that said, the last 2 weeks have been kind of a roller coaster. I've felt the spectrum of emotions, but things have finally settled and I feel like I can blog now haha.

Quick facts about Montpellier:
-It's the 8th largest city in France
-It's pretty arid here...with the exception of one storm, it's been quite desert-like and I'm LOVING the sun
-It's 20 minutes from the Mediterranean by bus
-It's located in the region of Languedoc-Roussillon, just west of Provence
-It's famous for goat cheese, wine, olives/olive oil, and architectural remnants of Roman rule


I'm attending St. Paul Valery Universite, which is one of the three universities in Montpellier. Instead of having all specializations at one school like UW, there is a University 1 (for medicine), University 2 (for law), and University 3 (for arts). I'm at number 3 since I'm primarily studying language over here.

My dorm is about a 15 minute walk from the campus itself, with two cafeterias, a mailroom, and a laundromat. Each person gets their own room with its own bathroom. Even though they're small, I'm very comfortable and happy with the privacy. We also have maids who empty the garbage, clean our bathrooms, and sweep. No complaints here!

Another perk of French culture: Bowls of coffee for breakfast!!


I'm off to class now! But I can assure you entries will be more frequent these days :)

xoxo
Caitlin
caitlinboyd72@gmail.com

i know, i know,

I'm slacking on the blogs...



...patience is a virtue?

xoxo
Caitlin
caitlinboyd72@gmail.com

City of Lights pt. 2

Our second day in Paris was spent in part at the Louvre. I actually saw a lot that I missed last time and we poked around in the Africa/Americas/Islands exhibit, where one of the Easter Island heads is kept! Of course, seeing Mona and Aphrodite was good too :)





In the park outside, we had the MOST delicious gelato I've ever had. I got mango and coconut (goooood choices) and they scooped them in the shapes of flowers!



That night, we went to the Eiffel Tower and picnicked below it just to watch it light up every hour on the hour. It was such a good time that we went back our last evening after exploring Sacre Coeur and actually went to the top! Last time I had only seen the 2nd floor, so it was fun to get to the top where they serve champagne and where each major city and its distance is above the view. Did you see me waving home?!









Saying goodbye to Dillon was extremely difficult. He came to the train station to see me off and I cried while saying goodbye and even for a while on the way to Montpellier. I haven't had a meltdown since arriving though, which is a promising sign.
So, I'm finally here! After a round-about two weeks, I'm at my final destination. And let me tell you, il fait tres chaud.

xoxo
Caitlin
caitlinboyd72@gmail.com

City of Lights pt.1

To begin with, Happy Anniversary to my parents! (it was yesterday)
I am thinking of you guys and hope you had a great time celebrating.


Paris was absolutely amazing once again. I wasn't sure I would get that magical feeling for a second time, but walking into Notre Dame put me right back in that place. Dillon and I went there first thing when we arrived, after checking into the hotel (if you ever go to Paris, I would highly recommend staying at Hotel St. Sebastien: cheap and quality). We also visited Shakespeare & Co., which was a walk down memory lane, but I do have to say I was a bit disappointed with how crowded the bookstore was...it used to feel like my own personal paradise! That's just me being selfish though.

Also, we ate a big lunch at La Maison Blanche, decorated with American flags. Ironically, it was such good French food!!






After our venture, we went back to the hostel to nap and shower. The morning was a really early one for us since we took the first flight out of London...waking up at 4:30 to be ON TIME! haha lesson learned. After resting, we ventured out on the metro to see Moulin Rouge at night and have some dessert. We really wanted to see a show there, but the cheapest tickets go for 90 euro. Ouch. Instead, we walked around the district and had tea, ice cream, and crepes at a local restaurant. Moulin Rouge was pretty, but otherwise we weren't too impressed with the 'Red Light District'...Amsterdam wins by a landslide in that department!


Afterwards, we wandered around, trying to embody the movie 'Midnight in Paris' and we actually did! We thought we were super lost and started following these spotlights which led us straight to the Champs-Elyses and the Arc de Triomphe!





More to come...

xoxo
Caitlin
caitlinboyd72@gmail.com

A Royal Time

It turns out, we spent more time in London than expected...bringing our visit to an end after six days. We missed our flight on the last day by about 10 minutes because we underestimated the time it would take us to get to the airport on public transit. Both of us were frustrated with the extra 100 pounds to fly out the next morning and the extra 73 pounds I spent on a hotel next to the airport. I guess one or two glitches is expected though...

Which brings me to our first night in London. When we finally arrived at Hyde Park, it was 1am, and after walking around the entire park we made it to the worst hostel I've ever seen. Apparently there was a mix-up with bookings so we walked into a room with 25 sleeping people and had to climb the 3-tiered bunks to find available beds. It felt like walking into an orphanage.

Dillon, my hero, found us another hostel with a 6-person room and our own bathroom within the first two hours we were there...by running around in the middle of the night while I obliviously tried to sleep.

Once that got figured out, London was great. We spent the first day walking through Hyde Park and the string of parks that led to Buckingham Palace.













The next day, we ventured out on the metro system and found Big Ben, the Tower Bridge, and Parliament.





Other than walking around and sight-seeing, Dillon and I went to the market in Camden, which has renovated old horse stables into somewhat of a flea market. We met up with my friend Mariah Louie from Island Lake and her sister who has lived in London for about 5 years. It was nice to hang out with them and get insider advice on what to do in the city. She gave us a heads-up on where to find half-price theatre tickets and so we went to CHICAGO that night! I'd never seen it before, but I recognized all the songs :)



London is such a huge city, I'm glad we covered all the ground we did. AND we finally made it to Paris!

xoxo
Caitlin
caitlinboyd72@gmail.com

I.Am.Sterdam.

Amsterdam is one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen. It's got that romantic quality to it with its cobblestone, endless seas of bicycles, and crooked houses along canals.



(btw, Mom, I've been killing Dillon at the slug-bug game over here)

Out of the 4 days we were in the city, 2 of them were sunny. The weather reminded me a lot of Seattle...and so did all the coffee shops until I learned the difference between a 'coffee shop' and a 'cafe'...hint: they actually serve coffee at cafes ;)

Dillon and I did a lot; we toured the Royal Palace and the Rujikmuseum, walked through Westerpark, biked along the waterfront, went dancing, and enjoyed the annual Gay Celebration festivities of the weekend.

The Palace right across the street from our hostel:






There was a lot of drag over the weekend...Dill and I both got hit on by members of the same sex, which was really funny




Our hostel, the Hotel Tamara. We shared our room with a couple from Germany, three guys from England, and a group of kids from Hong Kong while we were there. It was my first REAL hostel experience since I've had private rooms at the last three I've stayed at. Before our trip we decided to book rooms for 6 people or less so we could actually get to know the people sleeping in our room, which has proved to be a good idea since some hostel rooms can sleep up to 24


Our favorite breakfast cafe...with singing waitresses!


We've made it to London now. And don't worry, I'm not anywhere near the riots, though the Hyde Park neighborhood has taken more security precautions than usual.

xoxo
Caitlin
caitlinboyd72@gmail.com

Dublin

Hello!
Internet has been patchy, but I'm FINALLY able to blog and catch you up!

Currently I'm writing from Amsterdam, but I'll save those adventures for tomorrow now that I know where to pick up Wi-fi.

Flying into Dublin was a whirlwhind. Dillon and I flew from Seattle to Toronto, where we had a 4 hour lay-over, and then from Toronto to Dublin. For about the first two days, we were completely disoriented as to what time or what day it was. We left August 1st at 8:30am and landed on August 2nd at 8:20am.



Overall, our flights went smoothly. We had a short delay, but otherwise we occupied ourselves with crosswords and the books we bought for the trip. And for the record, my backpack is exactly 22lbs. even though no one has checked haha.

On landing, we were told about a deal for a 'hop-on, hop-off' style bus which would give us a free ride and tour around the city, as well as a ride to and from the airport. An option like that was very relieving since we hadn't planned anything.

We stayed in a hotel called The Durban House, which was pretty central and just off the main drag in Dublin.




Dublin proved to be a pretty quiet city. Highlights included:
1) drinking my very first Guinness at the first Guinness brewery






2) delicious scones at the Queen of Tarts


3) drinking at the Palace Pub, where we got to hang out and talk politics/agricultural standards/human rights with an Irish man named Dez


and 4) the Dublin Castle, which is not medieval like I thought it would be, but a Georgian-style, built on the remains of the medieval castle. The cool part about our (free) tour was going underground to see remnants of the old castle they had unearthed.






I'm so glad to finally be in Europe. Dublin was a good time and it can only get better! Feel free to e-mail me or leave comments :)

xoxo
Caitlin
caitlinboyd72@gmail.com