Montpellier, Italy, Sara.

Whew.  Time is flying.  This Thursday marks the t-6 weeks mark to my arrival back in the States.  Ahhhhh!!!

 Time went particularly fast these past two weeks because I was traveling.  Most French students (from 3-year olds to college students) were on a two week "Easter" (really Spring) break these last two weeks.  Perhaps you remember my last post in which I cursed a volcano in Iceland for preventing my parents from visiting me the first week of that vacation.  A few days ago my friend Vicky, whose parents' trip also was cancelled, forwarded me this article claiming the ash cloud was nowhere near thick enough to merit all the airport closures, and stating that the ONE plane in the UK which is supposed to test conditions at times like these was being repainted and therefore couldn't be sent up for 5 days (which happens to be the duration of the ban...).
My parents took a little tour of the Texas hill country and went to Dallas (they live in Houston).  They actually met some Europeans who were stranded in Texas (sounds like a movie plot); my dad told them that he and my mom had wanted to go to Paris, but Dallas was the second choice.

On Wednesday the 21st I hopped on a TGV (fast train) to Montpellier, a cute university-ish city in the south of France.  I was accompanied by my Italian friend Simona, probably the easiest person to travel with EVER (because she's so laid-back).

She was nice enough to let me practice some Italian, especially on the crowded train (perhaps due in part to the air travel disaster, but mainly due to a train-company strike...of course...).  I guess she'd rather put up with me butchering her language than put up with the strange looks of French people listening to us butcher theirs ;)
The first day in Montpellier was HOT (finally!) but we spent a lot of time walking around, checking out the city's monuments, the famous school of Medicine, and the beautiful Jardin des Plantes (Plant Garden?  It just doesn't sound the same), of which there is also one in Paris.  There are actually a lot of the "same things" in the two cities - an Arc de Triomphe, similar street names, but Montpellier had that laid-back, Austin-y vibe that's almost impossible to find in Paris.  I read in the guidebook on the way there that one French person in three surveyed said he would like to live in Montpellier.  It's population has doubled in the last 40 years (currently around 250,000 inhabitants, over 60 percent of which were not born in the region, and over 40 percent of which are less than 30 years old).  It's the capital of its region (Languedoc-Roussillon) and, like Austin, is also a technology hub (IBM and Dell have offices here).

One of the in Montpellier "Tricks of the Eye"

My trip to Montpellier also marked my first experience with Couchsurfing.  For those of you who haven't heard about it, couchsurfing is a project (in the form a website with many registered users, like facebook) started in the States; the name implies the basic idea: sleep on a friendly local's couch (or extra bed, or air mattress...) when visiting a city.  Parents and the like, don't freak out just yet - okay, okay, this could be really dangerous, but the people at www.couchsurfing.org are obviously aware of this and have created many security measures, such as "verified members" whose identity and location has been checked, ways to "vouch for" people, and tons of references.  If you're still not convinced that this might possibly sometimes maybe be an awesome thing to do...you've got a right to your opinion.  But I was incredibly happy with the way things turned out.  Simona and I first stayed with Jeff, a couchsurfing "ambassador" in the city (this means he's seriously involved in the project) - he met us in the center of town on his lunch break, and walked us back to his apartment, where he cooked a delicious lunch and provided us with all the information we would need to explore the city and discover some of the "local secrets".  After lots of tourist activity, we returned to Jeff's that evening to make ratatouille!

Mmmm.  Later we went to a bar to meet up with other couchsurfing fanatics for a monthly language meet-up they host (sort of like the French and Italian meet-ups in Houston; here there was lots of Italian, Spanish, and English being practiced).  The second night we stayed in the apartment of several students who made sure to feed us well and take us out to some of their favorite places.  On of them, Rostan, even accompanied Simona and me to his native town of Sete (about 20 minutes away by train) the next day, where we saw the beaches, tasted local cuisine (um, seafood!), and met his family!  Rostan was obliged to stop about every 3 minutes as we walked around town to kiss the cheeks of old high school buddies and other friends.  Thanks to couchsurfing, I definitely feel like Simona and I got the local perspective (of Montpellier and Sete!).
Check out my Montpellier photos here.

I had a 12-hour "layover" in Paris Friday night before heading to Italy Saturday morning.  On the agenda: 2.5 days in Milan, 2 days in Parma, and 1.5 days in Bologna.  Wow.  This trip to Italy was definitely one of the best weeks of this entire year.  In Milan I was oh-so-kindly hosted by my friend Stefania,

a Milan-native who studied in Paris last semester (and who loves it so much that she returns about once a month).  She made sure that we conquered the main aspects of the city: the Duomo,

shopping,

 and Brera, a ritzy, cute neighborhood which is home to the Pinacoteca di Brera, a fantastic museum housed in an old monastery.  We also checked out the Parco Sempione and participated in the fabulous Milan tradition of aperitivo, which is technically the little snack you eat before dinner, but which, done Milan style, is basically a light dinner accompanied by cocktails (and followed, in our case, by gelato!).  I also got to meet up with Antonio, a student at the Politecnico in Milan who studied for a semester in Austin for fall 2008.  He said I was officially the first person from Austin he had seen since leaving.  Yeehaw!

My main reason for going to Parma was to visit my high-school friend/counterpart Signorina Adelina Solis,

(she'll love me for posting this picture)

who is studying there this semester.  But I of course took advantage of the visit to see some of the beautiful religious and cultural sites, including the Duomo,

a puppet museum, the Camera San Paolo, etc...  Back in Houston last summer, Adelina and I frequented the Houston Italian Language Meet-up, although we would often end up grabbing a table for ourselves and conversing in Italian.  When I arrived in Parma after three days of Italian conversation in Milan with Stefania, I just kept speaking it with Adelina.  After a few minutes I asked if that was too weird, but she also preferred slightly slower but more challenging (and therefore beneficial) conversations.  Yeehaw again!  It was cool to meet the host family I've read so much about (in her blog) and show her the city through the eyes of a tourist.  Adelina's program is already done and she leaves for a big Euro adventure tomorrow. Buon viaggio!

(she'll be as cultured as this little guy!! spotted walking into the Duomo.)

Finally, Bologna.

views/torre Asinelli

I know some Italian students who used to study at the (famous) university there, but they had all moved on, so I decided to try my luck with couchsurfing.  Could I possibly have three incredible hosts in a row?  Si!!  I stayed with Cristian, a graduate of the Università di Bologna, and his housemates (two girls and another guy, also Bologna graduates).  My adventure started when Cristian met me at the train station to take me to his place - via scooter!  I guess I'm really lame, because I hadn't even been on a scooter and, perhaps like many Americans, mainly see them as dangerous and something that other people drive.  When we got to his ride, I guess he saw the slight surprise on my face: "Problema?"  Well...having a problema didn't seem like a very feasible/convenient option.  I put my bags in the little trunk-thing, strapped on his extra helmet, and we were off!  I was surprised at how secure you feel in what is actually not a very secured seat (obviously no seat-belt, etc).  As he pulled off the curb I had a brief image of me flying off, but as we started going I was amazed at how smooth the ride was.  Scooters are really popular in Paris (in Europe?) - my host-mom Laurence, who is nearing 60, just bought one - and being on one I started to really notice just how many of them there are on the road in Bologna as well (in Italy in general).  I really liked getting around by scooter, and if anything ever happens to my car (she may be a Nissan, but she's also 14 years old), I might consider getting one...mom and dad, I wish I could see your expressions right now.
Cristian walked me around the center of town before we headed to a puppet-making workshop that was part of this association he's in.  I obviously didn't have the supplies necessary, nor am I a paying-member of the group, but when they saw that I was merely helping Cristian with his, some of the girls in charge went searching for make-shift puppet material.  Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to present Olivia (christened by one of Cristian's friends):

Afterwards we grabbed dinner with several members of the group, where we encountered MORE of Cristian's friends, who then accompanied us on a night-tour of the city (for my sake) and then to a couple bars.  It was a hilarious, Italian-filled (and therefore sometimes hilariously confusing) night - I can't believe how welcoming everyone I met was.

  The next day I got up early-ish to do some touristy stuff before meeting Cristian and yet another friend for lunch.  My last act in Bologna?  Gelato of course!  

That brought my total up to 6. Then we scooted off to the airport and in no time I was back in Parigi...

flying over the Alps to get home

Just in time for Sara 

(another American high school friend who's studying in London) to arrive Friday morning!  So, more tourist activities, including the Tour Montparnasse, which I'd been wanting to check out.  It now goes on my top three things to do with visitors in Paris, alongside the Sacre Coeur/Montmartre and the Pompidou (close fourth would be the Luxembourg Gardens...).

Click here for my Italy album.

And go to page 8 of this album to see the Luxembourg Gardens in bloom and some views from the only "skyscraper" in zone-one Paris.

Next up?  Lots of studying and working, maybe a concert or two, and a final baseball game (to see my little Camille and his cousin Bertrand play with the elite team)...and Nicole, who gets in from Houston a week from Thursday.  Ay yay yay!  I better get moving!!

xoxo

Alina :)