http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , France , Languedoc Roussillon en-us Fri, 05 Dec 2008 04:03:36 UTC Fri, 05 Dec 2008 04:03:36 UTC Ok so it turns out I'm atrocious at keeping a logdiaryblog thing. Very sorry much apologies and all that.I realise I haven't written anything for about a gazillion years so there's tons to catch up on but to be honest I don't relish the thought of doing that so I'm gonna try to be good starting from today.Um let's see. Ok I'll start with Saturday night slight catching up which was pretty http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Montpellier/blog-350636.html alas i have decided not to continue with this blog...if you are my friend..i will see you on facebook http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Montpellier/blog-348529.html Once again a rush blog entry. Sitting in a Mcdonalds in Carcossonne....why....It has free internet access and those train tickets are getting expensive. Going to Nimes tomorrow but there are no buses only trains so a daytime ride on the TGV fast train will have to be the way. At least it will be fast and comfortable.Brian and I spent 3 nights in the very quiet seaside town of Cadaques http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Carcassonne/blog-348212.html Just as you start to become disenchanted with this place it has a way of making you fall in love with it all over again. I was desperate to throw myself into things partly to take my mind off leaving Britain behind and partly to make the most of my time here. We'd been told that there was a fair in town and following Adam's vague directions You head towards the castillet and then carry on out http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Perpignan/blog-347787.html Carcasonne cit medivale par excelence avec son incontournable muse de la chevalrieNous sommes arriver a carcassone avant midi et avons consomer un petit hamburger du Mac Do ensuite nous sommes rentrer dans carcassone par la porte de laude le fleuve qui passe dans carcassonne.Carcassonne tire son nom de la Dame carcas qui etait la femme dun des Seigneurs Sarrasin qui occupait la forteresse a le http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Carcassonne/blog-341846.html As my fifth week abroad draws to an end on this most Hallowest of eves I must report that I am still alive and well abeit I have many new leg and arm scratches from wretched brambles Holly oaks and other fun prickled trees and a scratched eye from a Mimosa tree. Could be in worse shape I suppose.The trials and tribulations of an olive farm worker. Life here in France is good I am building an http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Perpignan/blog-340314.html It's been a quieter week this week the weather turned a bit grey and windy for a few days it even rained once for about 20 minutes and my body decided that despite the fact the temperatures were still in the high teens it was time for the obligatory winter cold. Today though things are returning to normal the sun's back out and the temperature's back in the 20's and my cold's disappeared http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Perpignan/blog-338515.html Thursday night I was at home sitting on my bed playing guitar and wondering what I was going to do for the weekend. I came up with nothing or at least I came up with mulling around a bit watching DVDs and going out like we've done every weekend for what seemed like forever which for some reason seemed worse than nothing. So in typical I'm bored with life here Sarafashion I went online l http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Montpellier/blog-337936.html We've been living in the organic farm for about 2 weeks now. I'm sure everybody wants to know how two IT programmers cope with the day to day activities. Well the good news is that we're doing fine and our hosts Cherif Djahida and the children are very nice.Daily activities can be a bit random. Here is a list of things we did in no specific order Picking up tomatoes red yellow and black Ch http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/C-vennes-National-Park/blog-337457.html Just had a shower after shovelling 4 Tonnes of sheep manure.We staying on an organic BIO in a small town South of France called Lasalle nested in the valley of some beautiful mountain landscape. It's the middle of Autumn so we're surrounded by red orange yellow and lots of chataigne chestnutsHere they grow everything you can think of and they raise sheep I don't knox exactly how many she http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/blog-337415.html I think I have spent most of my time inFrance kissing people. The hardest part of the whole kissing culture in France is that it changes with each region.2 in Paris 4 in Angers and 3 in Lasalle south of France. I meet the fastest kisser in Angers Francois' 89 year old grandfather who can exchange 4 kisses with someone that's on alternating cheeks in the same time it takes a Parisian to light http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/C-vennes-National-Park/blog-337067.html I finally got all my paperwork sent offhanded in to all the right places this week At last With that out of the way it was a case of turning up to lectures I have finished an entire pad of A4 already I think I used 2 during the whole of last year they really make you write here Although my doodles which get evermore abmitious with every passing modern history and Nonspecialist Spanish http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Perpignan/blog-336086.html i have just finished my first week of teaching and have a new found respect for any elementary school teacher i know. i have 9 different classes and 15 seances each week in 3 schools. the amount of preparation that goes into each class and energy level i have to maintain is draining my french language abilities have definitely reached new heights with most of my learning coming from the 611yea http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Montpellier/blog-335769.html Well HelloSo here I am enjoying some late afternoon sunshine in Laroque des Albres France. It has been a busy few weeks since my last official update so here goes.We've Cassandra Amanda Rowan and myself been pretty much working straight for 6 days. We took last Sunday off since it was due time and since the night before we hit up our wondrous little town kicked out for closing time at http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Perpignan/blog-335536.html ITrsquoS TUESDAY I had to think really hard about that one. Without the routine of work itrsquos so easy to lose track of the day. Itrsquos actually Tuesday the 14th October. Had to look on the computer taskbar for that one....come on... the day was hard enough.Woo Hoo Way Hay Alton Towersrsquo Nemesis has nothing on the last week or so. I donrsquot like this ride though. Sunday http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/C-vennes-National-Park/blog-334591.html On a high after such a great weekend the start of the new week brought me back down to earth with a bump. There was erasmus paperwork demanding to be taken care of post offices who refuse to sell you stamps don't ask and almost a whole day spent entirely doing two horrible translations. However on Thursday in the erasmus welcome meeting yep a welcome meeting after we've been studying here http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Perpignan/blog-333908.html I'm sitting here round my girlfriend's mum's house in the south of France digging around for the first time in the world of blogs. I'm doing my best to write with an azerty keyboard and I must say it's pretty slow going. I've never felt compelled to write a blog before but then I've never been on the cusp of the trip of a lifetime before. In less than 20 days I will really have something to wri http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Uz-s/blog-333677.html We left off somewhere around the time I was still in Marseille and had just booked a room in a hostel with an Australian and a brit from Cambridge n'est pas Well it just so happens that another Australian joined the party and I must say that when two Aussies get together their blatherings become a mesh of indiscernable noise. They were speaking english alright yet I had as much trouble with http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/N-mes/blog-333514.html So yea I am at my new 'home' for the next three weeks. There are dogs and cats galore the house owner is the animal queen. It's a house straight out of the mediteranean texas roof palms and cactuses etc.We are on a smaller sized property but still 3 acres surrounded by olive trees. The sea is about an hour's walk away and there are mountains directly behind us. The farm is organic and perma http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Perpignan/blog-331560.html Yet another week gone I can't believe I'm writing up another blog alreadyThe week got off to a fairly ordinary start with lectures now seeming routine. Inbetween starting to sort out the mound of erasmus paperwork that has to be sent back to Sheffield and trying to get to the erasmus office during its opening hours not easy when they are open for a total of four hours over two days the work http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Perpignan/blog-331527.html Another entry coming at yaSo begins my second week in France. Time seems to be standing still up in the mountains. The week was busy with various projects berry picking weeding of the gardens eliminating a toxic herb South African Rag Wort from the properties and clearing land for future farmsteads. Oh yes and making delicious dinners. We really work for our food. But it is delicious fres http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Perpignan/blog-330741.html Mas de la FargassaSo I am in the Pyrenees mountains of Southern France in a homestead much removed from the world . I like it . There are 10 woofers here that is organic farm labourers like myself. We come from Germany 3 America 2 Holland 1 Britain 3 and myself. We sleep in tents or caravans shower once every three or so days and eat magestically. Fresh fruit from the fields and tr http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Perpignan/blog-330740.html Shane Summary Left England went to Paris for 3 nights met up with Andrea her family Bern 1 night Venice 3 nights Florence 3 nights Y now in Oupia south of France for 2 weeks. Saw lots of old stuff drank red wine lots. The Full MontyIt's bloody hard to bother yourself with doing a blog when you're kicking back in the south of France enjoying the products of the local vigneron' http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/blog-330236.html So another week has flown by under gorgeous blue skies I still can't believe how hot and sunny it is and nearly into October. I still carry an umbrella everywhere even though it hardly ever rains I guess it's a British thing It was my first week of lectures and after the headache of trying to put together a timetable out of modules offered by several different departments we set off not http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Perpignan/blog-328881.html So following the absolutely atrocious start to the French course I turned up the next day and was glad to find that I had for once been told the right place to go to There were about 200 students all hanging outside Batiment F all speaking different languages or at least those who knew people to speak to were the rest of us were kind of hanging around awkwardly waiting for somebody who kne http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Montpellier/blog-327444.html Have been looking through my computer trying to find the lost diary entries and came across this from almost a month ago. So feeling very guilty will publish this for now and update asap....Having spent the entire day yesterday trekking around Montpellier looking for information about the intensive course and having sent many emails I was still none the wiser to what exactly was going on. So a http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Montpellier/blog-327422.html After having the longest and most tiring journey of my life I arrived in Montpellier to be greeted by yvette and un petit pain au chocolat que je n'ai pas mang depuis une anne. I had the best week with Carla in Ottawa before i left and was reminded of my true friends who are with me always.I managed to sleep a grand total of 20 hours to which I know Jane would be proud Straight away that wee http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Montpellier/blog-327184.html We have spent a little more than a month now in France and today is our last day. Except for 2 days in Paris en route to India in a month. We absolutely loved it here and feel we got to know the country much better. Although as foreigners traveling through not speaking the language well and with mostly superficial encounters with locals we have no pretenses. We have taken trains boats su http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Montpellier/blog-325952.html Well here I am one week in gazing out of my window at a cloudless blue sky. I can safely say as first weeks go in any new place this one's been pretty goodI arrived at Perpignan station last Sunday evening at 10p.m. to find absolutely no taxis. Inside the station everything was shutting down and I couldn't find anything that might offer taxi numbers. The reception at my hotel was due to clo http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Perpignan/blog-325863.html Well a day can definitely make a difference in my opinion of a place. If you would have asked me on Sunday what I thought of Brussels I would have said it was an interesting city that was kind of cool. Now I'd say the best word to describe it is goofy and that it's an awesome place to visit. Sunday was a pretty uneventful day for us since pretty much everything was closed and the city felt very http://www.travelblog.org//Europe/France/Languedoc-Roussillon/Carcassonne/blog-321493.html