Parents en France.

Note: this post is very abbreviated! My blogging efforts have been tapering off... here we go.

After galavanting off to Paris for a weekend, I had exactly four more days until my parents would be arriving in the land of frogs. I endured a quick work week and I met them in Montpellier on Friday where we explored the city and met up with my cousin Amanda who is currently studying in Aix. My parents are fortunate enough to have found excellent travel companions in their voyages to France, Mark and Sally from Oregon, who endure the rigorous itineraries that my mother plans. After long flights and jet lag, the oldies were ready to hit the hay. Rest was needed for them with the week they had planned ahead of them!


The next day, we drove to Gignac, about an hour outside of Montpellier, to explore more of the Herault region. We saw the Grottes de Clamouse, an amazing series of caves buried in the mountainside. It was... insane. Neither pictures nor words could describe the rock formations, the crystals and the stalagmites/stalactites. After busting around the caves for a good hour tour, it was definitely lunch time. Struggling to find a grocery store open at 2pm on a Saturday in France, we finally gathered the goods for a picnic and enjoyed the sun, though the wind was another story. We then went wine tasting at Mas Daumas de Gassac, a vineyard whose wines I sell in the summer. Exquisite. By the time we reached Montpellier, it was time for dinner and time for an over the top five course meal which rendered us all immobile.


Sunday, we bid adieu to Amanda and I was lucky enough to receive a CAR RIDE!!!!! back to Marvejols. No awful train with awful teenagers smoking and blasting music!! We took the scenic route and ended up in Millau to see it's viaduct, or really big bridge. It's huge and impressive, but not really a "site to see" for me since I take a train underneath it twice a week. I mushed my parents on and back into the car to get me back to Marvejols. We found the one business that is open in Marvejols on Sunday afternoons, a single boulangerie, and got some baguettes. We enjoyed another picnic lunch, but from the confines of my gorgeous little room in the middle school. Sighh.

The parents and Mark and Sally then set off to the Dordogne and... did some things. Meanwhile I taught for two days that week and made it down to Montpellier by Tuesday night in time for quiz night and some visitations with friends I hadn't seen in quite some time. Wednesday was St. Patrick's Day and filled with green food and green beer. I wore nothing green but avoided all pinching just the same. Thursday morning, I was at the train station by 7am and ready to meet my parents in Carcassonne. This city is marked by an enormous walled city or castle, really. It was quite breezy and cold so a lot of the ramparts on the castle were closed. It was all the same, very impressive.


Friday, we drove all around the region of Aude and eventually made our way to some Cathars castles built on the top of mountains. Huge castles, precariously built on cliff faces during the 12th century. Crazy. After a short hike (in heeled boots, of course) we explored the castle of Peyrepertuse which was soon enveloped in fog. Eerie and extremely unphotographable. We picnicked at the base of the mountain and set off again for a new town, Collioure.







Collioure is a small seaside town just outside of Perpignan and so close to Spain you can smell the ham. The buildings are all brightly colored and people are even wearing color! It was easy to forget we were in France. The town was small and definitely meant for vacationing. Matisse lived in Collioure and it was really cool to be able to recognize some of his paintings just by looking at the scenery. After yet another picnic, this one on a beach, we boogied on to Montpellier. After a lovely dinner of crepes, it was time to say goodbye to the adults, and goodbye to eating delicious food for a week.