Coldest July 30 I've ever experienced

I dont hate it

Amsterdam

Le Agenda

Tomorrow I will be boarding a train to Amsterdam!

Thursday is the program's going away party :(

Friday I will be heading to Paris!

I will (maybe) be back in the states on August 19.

Au Revior

St. Emilion

During my stay in Bordeaux, we took a trip to St. Emillion, on the right bank of Bordeaux. The ride from Bordeaux to St. Emillion is beautiful, on each side of the winding roads is a sea of wine vineyards stretching as far as the eye can see.

Bordeaux is a realitivley flat area, but St. Emillion is pearched on a hill high above the vineyards.

It is a small town consiting of 300 inhabitants and too many tourists. Our trip to St. Emillion included a trip to the catacombs underneath the city center, and an underground church carved out of one giant limestone rock.

After a morning wine tasting, we headed to a wine lunch which included a lot of free wine and a lot of authentic delicious southern french dishes.

After the wine lunch we headed to another vineyard, for another tour and tasting.

After that I'm not quite sure what we did, I think it involved sleeping. I've found that visiting Bordeaaux is best done with 30 twenty year olds, a bus to chauferre you around and someone else planning it.

Pit Stop in Sauternes

Before hitting the main area of Bordeaux on my weekend wine adventure, we took a stop in Sauternes, a wine region in South Bordeaux known for its sweet wine that is made by waiting for the grapes to be attacked by Bostrytis, a type of mold (Known to the Frenchies as "Nobel Rot"). It is a white wine that is usually made from two common grapes to that area, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillion. The grapes are attacked by the Nobel Rot in this area because of the climate, which is foggy and damp in the morning then turns very warm.

I was excited to visit this area because my GM made a big to do about this wine when we added it to the wine list at the restaurant and I quite enjoyed it when we had a tasting at pre-meal one day. And its sweet and very expensive so it's right up my alley.

We took a tour of the sprawling Chateau Guiraud, a beautiful vineyard in the heart of the Sauternes region.

After the tour of the bottling room,

and the barrel room

and vineyards,

we finished by sampling two different Sauternes wine, which were both delicious.

(Best Giftshop Ever)

More Adventures in Wine Country coming soon

The Weekly Market

Every Saturday morning, vendors from all over Montpellier set up shop under the town's ancient aqueducts for town market. The market is home to the run of the mill market goods such as fruits, veggies and cheeses,

but also whole chickens roasts over open fires, cooking potato halves in its dripping juices, giant pans of fresh paella, and cans of foie gras.

While the market closes at 2, one can easily spend days going from vendor to vendor, eating samples of fresh cheese,

smelling huge assortments of spices,

and drinking freshly made green tea from a strange little man with a mandolin.

The market is crowded with locals, getting their fix of everything they need for the week ahead.

While I was there, I bought a delicious still warm baguette, goat cheese topped with rosemary and bursting with flavor, sweet and salty green olive tapenade and an ear of corn. It was delicious.

I would have gotten more things, but my arms can only carry so much and saying "Je vodrais..." and then mimicking the way you eat food you'd like doesn't get you very far. Being in France, I have also realized how much Spanish I actually know. And also that French is not Spanish. But sometimes it doesn't matter if you can tell a "droit" from a "droites," meandered on home, my fresh baguette sticking out of the top of my bag I felt very French anyway.

ESTIVAL

Every friday night during the summer, Montpieller is host to a wine festival (Or as we culture drained Americans say it, LE ESTIVAL) The festival takes over the center square of the town with stands to get food, wine, antiques, hats, and anything you can think of.

For 4 euro, you get a pretty little wine glass (Which I lost a mere hours later in an unfortunate bar table clearing incident) and three tickets to sample any wine you want.

All of the wines are from local vineyards (which includes Burgundy and Bordeaux) and are served with pride by a vineyard worker.

ESTIVAL is also home to some of the best street food on the planet.

Moules Frites served straight out of the steamer and doused in a healthy serving of onions and delicious broth.

If Moules Frites aren't your style (anyone? anyone?), you can wander through a seemingly endless maze of food vendors selling everything from steaks to paella to falafel.

After indulging in the delicious food and the wine, and more wine, and some more wine, the townspeople, and some drunk americans yelling "I love ESTIVAL" can gather around the town pond, or infront of the large stage to watch a variety of jazz performers.

They also flood the streets to wander through stands selling all sorts of things. In one block, a determined shopper can buy nougat, books from the 1800s and antique china.

The ESITVAL is a great time, a cheap night filled with culture and entertainment, and a mainstay of Monpieller for hopefully years to come.

Tour De France!

Today was one of those "in the right place at the right time" kind of days. Because of convenient timing and perfect placing, I got to see the Tour De France, which came flying through Montpieller, right around the corner from where I live.

We all went down there to watch the race, which involves a lot of waiting and about 30 seconds of a blur of bikes flying by, narrowly avoiding spectators toes.

Before the race starts, a caravan comes through and throws useless items into the crowd. I made off with a bottle of water and an umbrella hat.

After the caravan, people come through in cars and yell at you in French until you get off of the street, then they go around the corner and everyone gets back on the street.

Finally, the dim chopping of a helicopter signifies the coming of the bikes, and they all come at once, flying by, ducked low through the screaming and cheering of the people flooded in the streets.

They're followed by the cars with extra bikes on top and some stragglers.

It was very interesting to watch, for the second that they were there. Now all I have is an umbrella hat and some whiplash.

Canoeing on Bastielle Day

Yesterday was Bastielle day, and the entire country shuts down. So we took a trip to a mountain range north of Montpieller where we took a 5km canoe trip down a picturesque river carved from between two mountains.
We stopped along the river to eat lunch and swim in the river. After canoeing we had a little time to explore the mideval town and a few of us got lunch at a little restaurant on the side of a cliff which may or may not have just been a house with a large grill. I had delicious giant shrimp on a kebab, eyeballs and all, and I was taught by a new orlenian how to peel and eat. That evening we went down town to watch the fireworks and partake in Bastielle Day festivities.

Paris Street Food

Paris is a melting pot of old world and new world, and sometimes those lines get blurred together. Take a stroll down the famous Rue Cler to understand.

Rue Cler is a classic Parisian street, known for its abundance of food markets. The smells of fresh foods that waft from the open doors change with each step taken down the cobbled street.

The French have a different way of thinking and buying food. Instead of a mad dash to the nearest superstore to stock up on all of the boxed and shrink wrapped necessities needed for the upcoming week, they shop more often for more specific items. Each store of Rue Cler is a specialty shop full of fresh, gourmet items.

In one block, you'll stumbled upon a store for honey, bread, cheese, chocolates and meats. Each item in the stores was made mere hours before and sometimes you'll be lucky enough to still see steam rising from a fresh baguette.

Along the more populated, but still picturesque, main streets you can find everything you need for a quick lunch. Giant sandwiches consist of entire baguettes cut in half and stuffed with the most fresh vegetables, meats and cheeses. For a few euros, you can eat for days. In the open windows of the famous boulangeries, you can order world famous crepes that are made fresh for you in the paris sun.

They are filled with multiple french sweets, like lemon zest and jams, and their favorite, Nutella. The familiar jar takes on a classier and more delicious air when the contents are spread on a steaming crepe.

A perfect day in Paris can be spent strolling down the ancient streets, soaking up the scents and flavors of the classic city.