"Vous sortez demain soir?"

This will probably be the only time I ever post twice in a day, but with everything having been so busy recently, there's a lot to catch you up on! 

Since moving in with Barbara, things have just kept getting better. With my housing now also sorted, I was really able to relax and enjoy a bit of the Montpellier lifestyle, starting with "Les Estivales". Every Friday night of the summer Montpellier holds a wine festival in the city centre (Place de la Comédie and L'Esplanade), and this year it's running from the 28th June to the 6th September, so I'm lucky enough to be catching the end of it! Basically imagine the Manchester/Birmingham Christmas market at night, but add dancing, live music, warmth, and of course, A LOT of wine :) 

         

It was my first chance to really get out and about and see the city, and my first real taster of authentic French wine. The verdict? I need to try a lot more ;) 

* * *

Today was busy again. After a gym session in the morning (try not to faint from shock) and a late lunch, I was able to spend a couple of hours exploring the city centre. Turns out Montpellier is even more beautiful than I thought! I took a wander round the older part of town...

 ...past Le Corum...

...back down L'Esplanade, through Place de la Comédie...

                        

...and all the way through to the River Lez.

I love this city!!! :D

But after an hour in the gym and two hours of walking, I'm ready for a night in :P Barbara has a French comedy on the shelf and some popcorn in the kitchen, so we're pretty sorted.

A tout à l'heure,

Sarah

xx

Bonjour/Hello/Salut/Hi

For those of you who don't already know (of which I doubt there are many!) my name is Sarah. I've just moved to Montpellier to start my Erasmus year, and thought a blog would be the easiest way to keep those who are curious up to speed with what's going on this year, and how much cheese I'm eating (that being the main objective of any year in this country).

I arrived here on Monday after flying to the nearby airport of Beziers, catching the shuttle to the train station, realising that ticket machines in train stations dislike my debit card, missing my train and replacing my ticket, and finally arriving at Montpellier St Roch, a helpful 5 minutes away from hostel number 1. Sadly, hostel number 1 was only available for a night, so the next morning it was straight up and out, round the corner to hostel number 2, and then out househunting. I saw 5 places on Tuesday and only liked one of them, but it was living with a family which I wasn't sure would be the right thing for me. So I headed back to the hostel and realised that the internet didn't work in my room, so set up camp in the breakfast room where one of the very nice staff members befriended me. Sent out nearly 15 emails to housing adverts but had received no replies by the next morning, so started making phone calls. Eventually managed to set up 2 house viewings for the day, and fell in love with the first one, which is a little 3 bedroom flat underneath a family home. However, the guy who is currently in my room isn't moving out until the 15th, so that put me back in a pickle as to where I was going to be until then.

Mercifully, mums know people who know people who know people, and my mum put me in contact with a lady called Barbara from a local church, who lives not far from the centre of town. She is now more than kindly housing and feeding me until Thursday, when I have arranged to move in to the downstairs bedroom of my landlady's house to stay until my room for the year is available.

Possibly the most difficult and stressful 3-4 days of my entire life, but definitely worth it for how happy I now am with where I am, and where I'm going to end up :)

Boring house part over, I'll post more about local life and exploration later on. It's nearly lunchtime!

A bientôt!
Sarah
xx