Southwest France: Montpellier and Toulouse

Recently I visited Montpellier and Toulouse, France on a school study trip. Both of these cities are located in the southwestern part of France and I wasn't sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised by both cities. We spent about two days in each city. The study trips are always busy, and this one was no exception. During the trip we visited the historical monuments in Montpellier (including the Saint Clement Aquaduct which is the picture in this post), a Cistercian monastery that was turned into a winery, visited the port city of Meze, toured the ancient walled city of Carcassonne, and saw the Airbus headquarters and assembly line in Toulouse. It was a really nice trip and is one of many reasons why I am glad that I decided to stay a second semester in France.

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark

Last week was my winter break and I decided to venture north to Scandinavia, specifically Denmark and Sweden. All my life I had heard of family friends that lived in Copenhagen and I decided to go and pay them a visit. It was a wonderful trip. In fact, I think it has been my favorite trip so far since I've been in Paris! The Gjerstads, our family friends, treated me like royalty for the 5 days I spent in Copenhagen. They took me everywhere, including Sweden! They went above and beyond showing me Denmark, and the icing on the cake was taking the ferry across the Baltic Sea to visit Sweden for the afternoon. I also went to Helsingborg which is the city that is home to the famous Kronborg, the castle where Shakespeare placed his beloved Hamlet, hence the title for this post. To the left is a picture of the castle. I found Copenhagen to be a very peaceful and beautiful city. I think I saw everything there is to see, ranging from the National Gallery of Art to the Crown Jewels of the oldest monarchy in the world. I also saw the Little Mermaid (pictured to the right), the mascot of Copenhagen. I took a water bus across the Harbor and also visited the famous Nyhavn (or New Harbor). One of my favorite things I did was visiting a Viking ship museum. I had no idea how strong and advanced the Vikings were with their naval skills. It was very impressive to see their boats. It rained, and even snowed, the entire time I was in Denmark, but that made the trip even better for me because that was just how I imagined Denmark to be! I cannot say enough good things about Denmark and I hope one day to return to Copenhagen.

The Cure at Troy

"History says, Don't hope
on this side of the grave.
But then, once in a lifetime,
the longed for tidal wave
of justice can rise up,
and hope and history rhyme.

So hope for a great sea-change
on the far side of revenge.
Believe that a further shore
is reachable from here.
Believe in miracles
and cures and healing wells."

-The Cure at Troy, Seamus Heaney