Eating our way across Montpellier.

Today was, as we say in French, "super génial" (brilliant/awesome). I spent the morning here just lazing about and then around 2:30 or so Michel picked me up with his friend Rémy (who I met my friend night in France) and we left. I didn't really know what we were going to do (I was just looking forward to seeing Michel again) and the next thing I know, we're in the car... on our way to Montpellier. Let me just mention early in the story that I forgot to bring my manteau (coat) or a veste (jacket) with me at all, so I'm just in a tee-shirt... because it was nice outside at 2:30... I should know by now that this was going to turn out to be a STUPID decision.

Anyways, we get to Montpellier about 45 minutes to an hour later and start walking around just the three of us. The city is BEAUTIFUL. (Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos at all today... It's super awkward to be a tourist when surrounded by French people who come to Montpellier rather often). Anyways, we stopped at a café and sat on the terrasse for awhile, each having a beer (well, Mike had a coke, Rémy and I got beers). That's one thing I love about France, the emphasis they place on discussion. We must have sat for at least a hour and a half just talking about whatever at this petit café just with our drinks (and eventually un café (which here is espresso... if you order a café/coffee here and expect anything remotely resembling anything produced by Maxwell house, you will be very sad when you get your beverage). I love hanging out with Michel and Rémy because they're very interesting to talk to and both of them make sure I understand what they're saying for the most part without making me feel super awkward.

Eventually, their friends Marlène and Vanessa (and Vanessa's boyfriend... who I don't think I EVER learned his name) joined us at the café and we started walking around Montpellier. By this time we're all cold (me, Mike et Rémy) and Rémy runs to the car to get jackets. Reminder: I've forgotten mine. So, Rémy returns with his jacket and one of Mike's from the car... which Mike makes me wear and won't let me give it to him (bc he is most certainly cold as well, probably more than me bc I'm more used to it than he is). This is a funny situation because Mike is literally 2 metres tall (6'6") and a big guy, which equals big coat. It was pretty funny (I'm only 5'4"). So there's that.

Then comes the important décision: choosing the restaurant for dinner. We must have walked around for over a half hour before finding somewhere to eat. We wandered everywhere. We even walked up to that arch that you'll see if you follow the wikipedia link because there's a little parc there and no one could make up their mind. Anyways, finally we settled upon a restaurant and go in... and the menu is almost incompréhensible for me. Rémy and Vanessa tried pretty hard to help me understand it (it was a rather fancy restaurant, therefore the method of description was a bit more soutenu or elevated. In the end I was going to get a salade, but apparently they didn't make it anymore so I went ahead and ordered the planche végétarienne (which I'd looked at earlier and all the really super nice help from Rémy and Vanessa and Mike etc etc etc had made me rather flustered). This is funny and I wish I'd taken a picture of it because it was seriously a cutting board with vegetables on it. Seriously. A 13 euro (read $20) cutting board of vegetables. There was a little bowl of salade and what I ended up doing was cutting the vegetables up and continuing to add them to the salad as I ate it. One thing I like here is the dressing: Olive oil and vinagre. It's fantastic. So yeah, it was hilarious. Michel gave me one of his (I'm forgetting the word in english) shish kebabs, so I had a bit of meat (or really jsut normal looking food). That was amusing because at the end it had taken me so long to eat the veggies that Rémy was going to show me how to slide the meat off with the fork (which I'd already tried)... and the meat literally wouldn't budge. In the end, he stole the kebab and cut the meat off for me. It was hilarious.

Afterwards, we all had some dessert (Mike gave me 3/4 of his lemon tarte/merengue thing bc he didn't want it all... then I gave a 1/3 of that to Rémy) and we left the resto. Michel is going to get annoying soon if he continues to not allow me to pay for anything. I'm going to have to start slipping money into his coat pockets or something, honestly. Apparently he wouldn't let Marlène pay either (Vanessa's boyfriend paid for her) and in the end, Marlène slipped me 15 euro to give Mike... which he wouldn't take, so now I have 15 more euro than I did when I left this afternoon... Seriously the man is really too much, but it is sweet all the same. It's really like having an older brother, who in my head/to my american friends I lovingly describe as Shrek. Really tall and big, but super super nice and fantastic. I would instead use teddy bear... except for the French don't really hug and I feel like being huggy/cuddly is definitely a pre-req. for the teddy bear descriptor.

ANYWAYS, after oh, at least an hour and a half to 2 hours at this restaurant, we walk a little bit more (when I don't put the coat back on, Mike stole it from me under the guise of needing something from it and proceeded to "throw it over my shoulders" (read: my head)) and eventually end up at another café to have some café/tea whatever for awhile. Finally, after at least a 4 hours dining experience, we all make our way back to the cars... leaving Montpellier at 23h00/11:00pm. On the car ride home, the fun continues as the whole ride home, we had a HUGE discussion about American politics and our lovely wars. It was interesting to hear the french perspective. I'm glad my first big political discussion in France happened with Rémy and Michel, since I know that they do, in fact, like me. If I wasn't completely sure of that, I could understand why Americans always feel attacked by the French in debates like that... they do, in fact, get heated. But, it was amusing, because we debated for at least a half hour and it got a bit tense (not really, but a bit) and then Mike said something to the effect of "Yeah, but we won't remake the world in one night." And voilà, the conversation was completely back to normal as if nothing had ever happened. Very cool.

So now I'm back home, not sleeping... which will surely come back to bite me tomorrow, probably during my history class. All in all, it was a really really great day, probably one of the best sofar (sadly without photographic proof of it's existence). I love spending time away from the group like that, where it is necessary that I just speak French. Even though I don't understand a lot of what is said sometimes (example: when there is a group of 5 French people and i'm the only one who isn't completely fluent, or there are ridic menus), it is so awesome be with them, speak french, learn whatever. It's fantastic. I'm incredibly lucky to have Michel here. I can't even tell you how much. I really do think the world of him (In case you didn't gather that already). Anyways, I'm going to get off here... this has been a super long entry. À la prochaine!