St Guilhem

The village St Guilhem has quite changed since the rain. There's a torrent going through it now. We also were more energetic in the cooler weather and climbed to the top of the hill behind the village. La vue etait formidable!

Stormy Weather

These photos were taken after the storm. The sky is clearing enough to see nearby Palavas Tower, but is still threatening further downpours. The field is flooded, "inondé", and those puddles are called "flaques d;eau." There are many of them. We were confronted with many closed roads, "car inondé", for they were flooded. The sky was "gris", grey, et apres les "eclairs", after the lightning flashes, "on a entendu le tonnerre", we heard the thunder. Not cold but very windy, expected up to 100km/hour. Le vent ici est violent.

Larzac

There was a national holiday on Tuesday 1st November to remember the dead. The shops were full of flowers and everyone had the day off to visit the cemeteries and leave their bouquets. Chrysanthemums were the favourite choice as they lasted longer. The cemeteries were indeed covered in flowers that day.
The language school arranged for us to visit a region known as Larzac, just north of Montpellier, about one and a half hours from here by motorway.
I was particularly interested in the walled village of La Couvertoirade, built about 1200 by the Knights Templar, as their base before fighting in the Crusades. In this small space you have a concentrated view of how people lived at that time, surrounded by ramparts and knights. There is a large lavogne, a stoned watering hole for the sheep, just outside the walls. This was a clever way of collecting rain water as it is a dry, barren area. You can see in the photos some of the stone steps up to the houses where people still live and have been living for over 800 years. Fascinating Place. The posters show some of the activities held here, similar to the jousting and other games of long ago.
Then I had another opportunity to see the famous Viaduc Maillau, this time from underneath. Well, I couldn't see all of it. Quite a lot was in the clowds. After all, it is higher than the Eiffel Tower at one point. I  am really amazed when I look at it, how it was possible to build such a bridge. Quite spectacular.
Our final stop was the village of Roquefort, where we were able to take a tour right into the heart of the mountain where real Roquefort cheese is made. It was cool and humide inside the caves and this temperature is carefully monitored to produce the most famous cheese in the world. There is quite a story behind its inception as far back as Roman times but I'll let you google that yourselves.
We returned to Montpellier tired but very pleased with our outing only to find that there had been a once in 50 years storm in Montpellier. There were floods everywhere, roads were blocked and traffic jams on all the roads into the centre. The river recorded 70 cm rise in one day. We eventually abandoned our bus and walked the last part. Tram lines were submerged and the underground tunnel was closed, causing mayhem. This stormy weather has lasted 4 days now. Hopefully we will have a dry day tomorrow. I have been returning home each day soaked. All part of the adventure. I have notice that no one lives on the ground floor in central Montpellier. Here's some weather report for you French students.
La pluie! Il y avait ici des orages violents qui ont provoque un episode pluvieux qui n'arrive que tous les 50 ans. On dit que la pluie ne dure longtemps. J'espere que c'est vrai. C'est aujourd'hui le quatrieme jour. Mardi on a eu les pieds dans l'eau, la circulation a ete arretee pendant des heures avec des embouteillages partout. Les rives de la riviere Lez ont ete interdites aux voitures car inondees. La hauteur du Lez a augmente de plus de 70 cm pendant une journee. Et ce n'est pas fini. Le vent continue a venir de la mer en rafales. Je suis arrivee chaque jour de l'ecole trempee jusqu'aux os. Mais c'est une aventure. J'adore les orages, surtout quand je suis a la maison!

Avignon

Samedi, j'ai passe toute la journee en Avignon. Le petit train m'a emenee autour de la ville, dans les petites ruelles et le guide etait tres interessant. Avignon est une vieille ville du moyen age et on peut voir les murs qui protegaient les peuples de cet epoque. Ce qui m'a donne beaucoup de plasir, fut ma visite au Palais des Papes et apres j'ai marche sur le Pont d'Avignon. Non, je n'ai pas danse, mais j'ai chante. C'etait super formidable, toute la journee. Quelle belle ville!
I accepted a lift from my hostess to Avignon on Saturday and spent a fabulous day wandering around this amazing town. There are signs of Roman, middle ages and modern buildings functioning together side by side. I was particularly fascinated by the way the builders in 1300s just built on top of huge rocks, as seen in the Popes' Palace, and nearby there were apartments on top of another rock. I loved wandering around the palace, learning about its history and seeing the huge rooms and imagining all the people going about their business there. We were directed to the top of one of the towers. The view was spectacular. I have included quite a lot of photos of this visit, as it was hard to decide what to leave out.
 A short distance by foot took me to the famous bridge. Very interesting how this bridge came to be built. It would be worth your while to google it and read about its history. Its real name is "Pont Saint-Benezet" and there are still signs of its original Roman predecessor.

At the end of the movie, you see windows with people. Actually it is a "trompe de l'oeil", which means it is an optical illusion, as the windows and people are actually painted on a flat wall.
A quick train trip and a tram ride to ease my aching feet, and I was home. What a fabulous day!

Lycee Joffre

This is Lycee Joffre, the high school I visited on Tuesday. It's an amazing place for a school and has quite a history. it used to be a citadelle centuries ago, where the soldiers lived. Then it became a military academy before being a school. It is huge and takes a long time to go from one class to the next. In the distance you can see the entrance to the school. with its white gates closed to anyone who is not meant to be there. Students must show their ID cards before being allowed in. I felt very privileged  to be welcomed here. On Tuesday I visited a Premiere class of 12 girls. They listened attentively while I spoke about my school and were honest in their opinions of a school without boys and also about having to wear uniforms. Some thought both conditions had merit. They are very keen to have pen pals in NZ and I will pass their email addresses on to those of you who would like to write to them. Yes I do have boys too, from another school and will be returning to this school after their mid-term break. School has been going for 6 weeks and now will have a 2 week break.

The House and the Bridge

Here's a look inside the house. The bedrooms are on the third floor and lounge and kitchen on the middle. It was warm and comfortable.

There is a fabulous viewing point for the bridge and just to prove I was there....

Some of the most beautiful villages in France

These are some of my favourite photos of this area..So many stone houses have been renovated in the old style and look really beautiful. I love the old stone steps and took lots of photos of them. Then I was fascinated by the  doors and windows. The river runs through the village where I stayed. It looked quite harmless now but I was told it floods regularly, reaching right up to the second level. The people just clean out the basement, which is not used to sleep in, and get on with their life. The house I stayed in looks like one of those old houses you see in a historic village or museum, not allowed to touch. Here I was living in one, sleeping in one of those beds and looking out one of those tiny windows. Our house is the one with green shutters. Also see if you can spot the two cats. You can see inside a courtyard and the date on the outside is 1032. This gives you an idea of the age of this place.
I enjoyed the walks along the banks of the River Lot and we picked up some last walnuts left behind after the harvest. The market was charming, offering produce from the area. The streets were narrow but everyone seemed to manage. We visited a cemetery and I enclose a photo. The flowers are all artificial and it looks like a competition to see who can put the most memorial plaques on the tomb stones. The area is famous for its trout and salmon fishing. The fishing competition going over two days attracted many participants and viewers.
On the way home, my hostess had a special treat in store. We went over the famous Millau viaduct. This part of the motorway spans the two hills above the town of Millau and is higher than the Eiffel Tower in places. I was so excited to go over it.

I am back at Language School and this week and the special course for teachers has started. It  was great today and I already have so many interesting ideas to try out on my classes next year. We five students enjoyed the activities. The programme involves both morning and afternoon for two weeks. Hope you enjoy the photos. If you go into Google maps and zoom to maximum, you too can drive over the Millau viaduct. Let me know what you think.
Till next time.