On the Streets of France...

Toulouse

It's not good quality or anything special by any means, but I love the accordion!  Also, it kind of reminds me of how I used to dance as a kid in home videos! 
You can get a sense of the French city just by the surroundings as well.  Mopeds zooming by, bundled pedestrians, the narrow boulevards, little shops, and the like. 
(If anyone knows of a video editing website that's free and easy, please let me know!)

Museums & Theaters

Thursday, on an excursion, I went to Toulouse and explored the Toulouse Basilica, a pilgrimage church.  Again, I enjoyed the trip for its grandeur and magnificence.  We went to a museum prior to, and the pictures are plenty.  We were given a thorough recap of the history of Toulouse and the Basilica while there!  On Friday evening, we went to see Cyrano de Bergerac (A modern rendition of this play is the film, Roxane)!  The play was splendid, and very entertaining even though it was completely French (I, surprisingly, could follow along pretty well with a little briefing beforehand).  It was also an excuse for the girls to dress up! 

 

 Toulouse Basilica

 Raise the Roof!

 Toulouse Museum snapshots

 On the streets of Toulouse

 A night at the Theater

 

Cyrano de Bergerac

 

Kellie and Colleen at the Theater

Random Snapshots

 Doing homework snapshot

 Random snapshot

Found on my hike today

Crepes and Cathedrals

Today was my first excursion for my Special Topics Religious Studies course! We went to St. Cecilia Cathedral in Albi, France, and we studied the general architecture of the building, inside and out.  Because it is such a dominant landmark, it was made to be a statement.  It's dominant, bulky features represent the importance of religion on the city.  It's overpowering presence is blatant.  The majority of the structure is plain and simple with brick to say that the Church took the vow of poverty and charity literally, but its intricate detail in stone, which was later added on, declares its power.  The bulk of the church is built in the Romanesque style of the early middle ages, and the added on stone and pinnacles was built in the Gothic style years later.  It was a fascinating trip, and you can see for yourself the intricacy and the enormity. 
Of course we had some free time in the town, so we got lunch at a little shop on the corner and ate our baguettes and eclairs at a quaint outdoor shop, and we did a little window shopping in the boutiques.  You can't go to France and not have a crepe (pronounced [krep]), so we stopped at a cart for some nutella crepes before we got back on our bus.

 (I'm backed up against a wall looking straight up here)

 You can see the difference between the Romanesque style (left) from the Gothic style (r) here.

Picturesque

I went on a run this morning (going on runs helps me find my way around, and I discovered a few new places to explore), and then after lunch, we all started to plan our spring break trips.  My plan is to travel out of Paris to Ireland, from Ireland to Edinburgh, Scotland, from Scotland to London, England, and then back to Albi, France all in 11 days.  After we planned, just a few of us went on a short hike.  After our hike, the anatomy students got together to set up our lab equipment, and continued to study for lecture.  Although I mostly only publish the exciting happenings, schoolwork is a large part of why I'm here. 
Anyway, here a couple of pictures from the hike around the cliff-sides of Ambialet.  (The hike also consisted of a couple daring guys crossing the Tarn River barefooted.  Some local passersby stood by and pointed as we young whipper-snappers became the talk of the town).

I love Ambialet!

A Day in Cordes & Albi

Please forgive me for my lack of discernment... I just can't say no to uploading a picture that I like. Thus, there are millions.  Today, was full of excitement!  I woke up early to bake some apple tarts for a birthday girl.  After lunch, we took the bus to Cordes.  It's a town that was added on to every century for five centuries.  It started at the top of a mountain, and each new century meant a new fortifying wall at a slightly lower level.  When the weather is just right, when it's summitted, you can see over the clouds.  It happened to be an absolutely beautiful day, today!  There is so much history there, and it is breathtaking.  I'll let you see for yourselves:

 This took incredible zoom from inside the bus as we were approaching the city.

 I'm in love with this picture^ (The one below it, too)!

 More shutters!

Beautiful Cordes!

While in Cordes, we stopped in an antique shop, and since antiquing is one of my favorite hobbies, I took advantage of the picture taking moments.

 

 Favorite! Love the bicycles!

 Antique radios and clock.

 After leaving Cordes, we went back into Albi to watch my very first rugby game.  It was frigid! but the game was a lot of fun! It is definitely a contact sport!

Once we got back to the monastery, we got the feeling in our toes back, and we heated up dinner.  To finish off the day, we got to celebrate a birthday with some tasty apple tarts:)

What a lovely day in France!  Not too shabby for my first weekend abroad.
Bon nuit!

Randonnée

Today some of us adventurous people went on a magnificent hike (randonnée)! We faced narrow paths, steep ridges, winding trails, the whole nine yards... or... seven miles!  It was absolutely wonderful!  I'm so alive out here! The fog and mist hid in the mountains just perfectly, and as it burned off, the colors were utterly spectacular.  The landscape is very reminiscent of the backdrops of many European scenes.  It was very Lord of the Rings-esque.  Looking out over the rocks and ruins was breath taking.  When on the mountain of the monastery, it seems so high, but looking down at Le Prieure was incredible.  I thought I was at a high altitude before, but seeing it so far down made me feel on top of the world.
Tonight was a fabulous night for the stars!  It's so odd to see them in a different arrangement.  Orion is the most prominent constellation in my night's sky, and it's strange that the Big Dipper is so misplaced.  However, the stars never cease to amaze me... despite any location!
There is so much more to tell, but this will suffice, as it is difficult to express every activity with it's proper credit. 

Au revoir!