When I said "I'll be back," I meant it!

Well, if you read my last post about Montpellier, you know that I had decided I wanted to go back. Well, surprise! A mere two days later, I did.

Let me explain. On Wednesday, I met a lot of assistants, including Kimberly, who is from Louisiana/Texas and who just finished her Bachelor's degree at LSU, where I got my Master's. I love meeting people from all over, but it's also great to meet someone from home! We have a lot in common, and she mentioned that she could possibly welcome me if I came back to Montpellier.

Fast-forward to Friday night. Violeta told me she'd be staying the night in nearby Béziers to visit her mom, who was passing through. I realized I could either stay in Narbonne, or try to contact Kimberly to ask if I could perhaps visit for a night. I knew it was really soon, and that she might be busy, but I figured why not? I asked and it was worth it; we worked out a plan to where I could come up Friday night, hang out, go to a picnic for some of the assistants on Saturday, and then return to Narbonne. I was excited to both see Montpellier again and to get to know Kimberly!

I really do love this statue of the Three Graces. I'm sure you're tired of it.

J'adore les fontaines. :)

l'Église de St. Roch, Montpellier's patron saint

There are murals and eye-deceiving paintings everywhere in the city.

(A painting that intends to deceive the eye is called a trompe-l'œil.)

Here's a little video of the Place St. Roch, which includes 

the church and another trompe-l'œil (it looks like a building 

with windows but it's not).

back of the Église de St. Roch

This fountain was on the grounds of the church, but the gate was locked.

It seems so quiet and serene... somewhat hauntingly so.

Quartier de l'Ancien Courrier

first Amorino trip of this particular Europe trip

(If you're unfamiliar, Amorino is a chain of gelato shops where,

obviously, they make your gelato in the shape of a flower.

I pretty much love it.)

Later on, we met up with two assistants who work with Kimberly,

an Italian girl and a Russian girl. We hung out at this café for a while,

listened to the live music, and spoke (en français, bien sûr) all about our

adventure in France thus far. (And also about how, because we are animated

and loud, we stick out really obviously here in France.)

the little lake in the park along the Esplanade

In the morning, we took a walk in the Antigone District,

and it was beautiful outside!

more Antigone

I dunno who this guy is, buy I like his style.

replica of Winged Victory of Samothrace, which happens to be

one of my favorite sculptures (The original can be found in the Louvre,

at the top of some stairs at the end of a long corridor, all epic-style.)

the Polygone, which is a legit mall (not like our little Carrefour)

after our walk, we headed to the market in the Place de la Comédie

(video of the Saturday morning market)

We picked up some white peaches from this fruit stand and some

chaussons from the baker immediately behind (the guy with the khaki shirt) for our little picnic in the park.

de jolies fleurs

Check out the Gendarmerie! 

(You'll see why they were gathered in just a minute.)

I may have a visa, but I'm still (kind of) a tourist.

Sometimes.

the Saint Clément Aqueduct

entrance to the Place Peyrou with the arch in the background

our little picnic 

(a big merci to my new friend Natalie; I stole this photo from her!)

my pêche blanche and my chausson de chorizo from the baker

...and then, during our peaceful picnic in the park, what happens?

A (protest? demonstration?) about who knows what. Liberté, obviously.

(This is why the gendarmes were gathered.)

Video evidence, bien sûr.

Guess who has the same cell phone?! Yup.

Kimberly and me on the Esplanade

I had such a good time with Kimberly, and I'm so glad I took the risk and asked if I could visit. I got to know Montpellier better and I got a new friend, which is an all-around good day in my book. À bientôt, Kimberly!

In unrelated news, today marks one month since I left the States. Crazy! I've yet to be homesick (or to have an intense TexMex craving), but that's probably because I've been running around like crazy trying to figure everything out and I don't have time for homesickness. I'm sure it'll come at some point. But for now I just can't believe one of my eight months is already gone!