Barcelona, Spain!

My first French course at the Alliance Francaise in Montpellier ended on Friday, June 22, and my second course would not begin until Monday, July 2. Since I had the week free, I decided to hop a train down to Barcelona to hang out for a few days and pay a visit to ESADE, an MBA school with which I'm toying with the idea of doing an exchange while I'm at HEC.



In honor of returning to People Lounge for the first time since I was there with Miguel last September, I had my first cosmopolitan since arriving in Europe. Sadly, it wasn't very good, and made me long for those fabulous $6 Ketel One Cosmos at Therapy on monday nights.



While I was in Barcelona, I popped down to the beach at Sitges for a daytrip. Here I am wearing a characteristically subtle outfit, with the Mediterranean behind me.

Me in Sitges with the church and LaPunta stairs behind me.

Then it was back to Barcelona for my visit to ESADE. ESADE was the only other European MBA program that really appealed to me as I was applying to HEC (where I have now committed to attend starting this fall). But given the fact that I speak a a little bit of French but no Spanish, I thought France would probably be the more logical choice. I was really torn about the decision, however, and after sending in my tuition deposit to HEC, I started percolating on the possibility of pursuing either an exchange or dual degree between the two schools. So I decided to embark on a little reconnaissance mission and check the school out. I visited the campus and met with representatives from the admissions office, and was very impressed and got a very good vibe of the place. The school's reputation and curriculum both sound great to me, and the facilities and location and views from the school are all pretty fab. And of course Barcelona is extremely appealing in its own right. So there you have it. I'm definitely strongly considering the possibility of a dual degree or exchange between HEC & ESADE, but fortunately it doesn't look like I would need to do anything concrete until the very end of the year in terms of applying, so I have some time to mull it over. (One rather intimidating aspect of such an undertaking is that it would probably require becoming proficient in not only French, but Spanish as well...)


One thing Barcelona has in spades is innovative architecture, and ESADE is no exception. Here's the entrance hall to the MBA building. (It was even more George Lucasy in person...)

After my ESADE visit, I did a little sightseeing around Barcelona, riding in my very first topless bus:

Here's the topless bus I took to tour around Montjuic.

View to the Mediterranean from Montjuic.

Here's a shot of me taken at Castell de Montjuïc, with the city of Barcelona in the background. The views from up there, overlooking the city and the sea, were incredible. Of course it was also pushing 100 degrees and I was -- as usual -- dressed inappropriated in black jeans.

One of the odd things about Barcelona was that there were a number of splendiferous fountains -- such as this one -- in the large central plazas. What's odd about them is that they appear to be filled with urine. (Maybe it's to discourage someone, such as myself, who might be jonesing for a quick cooldown in the intense heat. )

The only eventful part of my trip back to Montpellier was that our train broke down in La Franqui, a tiny village 1.5 hours west of Montpellier. It was mid-day, well into the 90's, not a cloud in the sky, and for all of these reasons, unbearably hot. We were all forced to get out of the train, cross the bridge to the other platform, stand in the sun for an hour and change, then cross back to the other side, stand in the sun for a while, then cross back, wait a bit, then cross back again. Everyone tried to huddle under whatever little shade there was, but there just wasn't enough, and in the end we waited about 3 hours before a train finally arrived to bring us the rest of the way to Montpellier. Kind of a pain in the tuchus, but given other folks' reactions, it clearly was not that much of an anomoly.

Stranded in La Franqui.

Next up, a visit to Salon-de-Provence and final weeks in Montpellier!

More on Montpellier, France

When we last left our hero, he was snarfing some puffy pink barbe de papa during gay pride. Despite this, we rejoin him anyway, as he continues to savor every fantabulous moment of this fantabulous summer in the fantabulous city of Montpellier.


Denis and me at Nicholas' apt. This is an absolutely horrendous photo of me, but Denis, of course, is adorable and I'm smitten, so I'm including it anyway. :-)

In honor of the end of my French class at the Alliance Francaise, a bunch of us got together for a farewell dinner on June 20.

Nicola and me at dinner

Me and Antonio, who turned into a great friend over the 4-week course. He and I both resided at the Protestant Theological School (yes, I know...) and got to hang out quite a bit. He was also horrified by my preternatural daily consumption of cereal, and insisted on making me authentic Italian lunches from scratch more times than I can count. After our French course, he was going to head back to Italy for a week before going to London for an English course, all in preparation for his bright future career in international relations. I hope we get to hang out again sometime soon, which seems likely, as I'm learning Europe is a very small place. :-)

Some more Alliance Francaise folks, representing USA (duh, that's me), Hong Kong, Brazil and Italy. I was really impressed with the diversity at the school, and was surprised that I always seemed to be the only American (but I suppose that's a good thing, as it just forces me to really only speak French).

The next day was perhaps the biggest party night of the year for Montpellier: the Fete de la Musique. In honor of Summer Solstice, the whole city becomes a massive dance party with every type of music imaginable, most of it live, being performed in the streets, in the plazas, in the courtyards, etc. If you're not a huge fan of what you're hearing, just walk a few feet further on and you'll hear something completely different. Evidently, this goes on in lots of cities around France, but I'd never seen anything like it. I hit the streets with Denis and his awesome rocker-chick friend, Christelle, to take it all in. We were soon joined by Nicholas and another friend of ours, Laurent, and basically had a blast until the wee hours. Here are some pics from the evening:

Denis and Christelle

Nicholas and Laurent

VIDEO

Here is a little video I took of a particularly trippy corner of the fete, at the Tour de la Babote in Montpellier.

Christelle, Denis and me at Fete de la Musique, ushering in the summer in style! (Apparently, we all felt the need to smush our heads together for fear of not making it into the photo.)

Next up, trips to Barcelona and Salon-de-Provence!

Gay Pride in Montpellier!

The week of June 5 - 10 was Gay Pride here in Montpellier, highlighted by a big march on Saturday, June 9 (see photo above). It was actually an amazing event -- I was in shock at how huge the crowds were for a city this size!

The other fabulous thing that happened that week was that I met a totally adorable French guy named Denis (pronounced "Deh-nee"), and was immediately totally smitten. (So much so, I've nearly completely forgotten all about Harvey.)


Me and Denis the night we met. And no, he is not sitting on my lap! (He's sitting on the arm of the chair, and I'm kneeling alongside.) Anywhoosie, the low-down on Monsieur Denis is that he grew up in Uzes, in the south of France, and just finished up his studies to become an accountant. And did I mention that he is totally adorable and I am totally smitten? Well, that just about covers it. :-)


Me and my friend Nicholas, the same night. (Doesn't my thigh look ginormous???) I met Nicholas the first week I was in Montpellier and he has been totally awesome in introducing me to lots of folks (including Denis) and having me over for drinks many an evening before hitting the town. The other great thing about Nicholas is that even though he is French, he speaks perfect English, so it's nice for me to be able to be lazy and slip into my native tongue every now and then.

Anyways, back to the Gay Pride March:


The march kicked off from the Arc de Triomphe...


And the throngs just grew and grew...


...and grew...


...until there was quite a crowd assembled in the Place de la Comedie, where the mid-march rally was held. This quick video clip gives some sense of the size of the crowd:



But if you're interested in seeing a short photo montage with far better production quality, check out the clip my friend Antonio (you saw Antonio in my last blog post) put together. (I'm sure if I had an iBook, I'd be able to do something like this, too!):



As could be expected with a gay pride march, the day was marked by:


...completely outlandish outfits, like this guy in the orange plaid -- I mean, you have to be crazy to leave the house wearing that -- and...


...really shocking and militant signs like this one. We're clearly dealing with some particularly uppity queers here. :-)


The Pride float for Le Heaven, the Montpellier bar where I probably spend a little too much time.


Folks choose to show their gay pride in many different ways; I, for one, like to eat lots of puffy pink cotton candy (or Barbe de Papa -- literally, "Poppa's Beard" -- as they call it in France). Here's me with Nicholas and Denis and some small portion of the total quantity of cotton candy I consumed that day, because, yes, I'm 5 years old.

Next up, more on Montpellier!

Day trip to Sete, France

On Saturday, June 2, a bunch of us from the Alliance Francaise took a day trip about 35km west of Montpellier to the small city of Sete. I sort of lead the group on the walking tour of the city, as described in the Michelin guide, but I don't think everyone was entirely happy with me, as the walking tour proved to be miles and miles long and involve hiking up the rather steep Mont St-Clair. Oops. At least we all got our exercise for the day...


View of Sete and the Mediterranean Sea beyond, from the summit of Mont St-Clair


Our motley crew on the summit of Mont St-Clair, representing -- from L to R -- the Czech Republic, Sweden, Italy, Germany, Hong Kong, England and Switzerland. A mini-UN!


View down the steep steps from Mont St-Clair towards the village of Sete.

Dancers in the city center. I assume this was some sort of traditional dance of the region -- which is why I took the photo -- but I didn't stay long enough to find out...

The marina at Sete

Back in Montpellier, that same evening, having a drink at Place Jean Jaures: myself, Antonio (from Italy) and Nicola (from Germany).

Miriam (from Sweden) and me at PopArt in Montpellier the same night.

Next up, Gay Pride in Montpellier!!!

Montpellier, France

I arrived in Montpellier on Friday, May 25, 2007. To be completely honest, my first impression was that is was not quite what I expected. I had this image of a charming little city in my head, but Montpellier seemed to be big, congested, and radiating urban sprawl in every direction. (Ultimately, my opinion of Montpellier would change dramatically, but more on that later...) My French class at the Alliance Française would be starting Monday, as would the housing that they had arranged for me, so I checked into a hotel for the weekend and took stock of my surroundings. I wasn’t alone for long – Robert decided to take a drive down to visit Montpellier over the weekend with Brian (another guest from the Lotus Tree) and Jean-François (a Canadian guy was working at the Lotus Tree).


Brian, Me and Jean-François over dinner in Place Jean Jaurès in Montpellier.

And of course, before the weekend was out, the barstaff at my two instantly-favorite watering holes, Le Heaven and PopArt, all knew me by name as well as my favorite cocktails. How welcoming is Montpellier?!?! And while we’re on the topic of drinks, remember the various accoutrements adorning the Smirnoff Ice bottles throughout South America? In France, dressing up the Smirnoff Ice is unnecessary, as it simply radiates with an inner glow:


Smirnoff Ice at Le Heaven

Other cocktails, however, can be downright tacky – but deliciously so – such as this concoction at PopArt.

I won’t do the full overview of Montpellier just yet, but suffice it to say I quickly became immensely fond of the city. Here are a couple of snapshots to tide us over:

L’Arc de Triomphe

Tromp l’oeil just outside the city center. There are a few really impressive examples of this type of art around the city.

L’Opera de la Comedie

Place de la Comedie, with the Fountain of the 3 Graces

And here’s a photo of (most of) my French class. Being the only American wasn't enough -- had to stand out even more by once again wearing my colorful floral-print shorts.

Next up, a day trip to Sete and more on Montpellier...