Orientation in Montpellier

On Monday we had a guided tour of Montpellier, which gave our group a chance to get oriented in this city. It’s a pretty large city (the 7^th in all of France)—about 300,000 I think, and also boasts a very significant student population (70,000), as it has a variety of universities and schools. Jeremy, our tour guide, showed us some of the “Old City.” We saw an old monument from the Roman times, a statue of Louis XIV, and an old aquaduct used to bring water into the city. About ten kilometers away we could glimpse the Mediterranean Sea. We visited the old medical university and the large Catholic Church. We wandered through quaint winding streets and alleys, around different squares and centers (like the Place de St. Roch), finally ending up in the Place de Comedie, a central area of the Old City featuring the Opera and a large fountain. 

A view of the city of Montpellier.

 Me and Audrey in the Place de la Comedie, a central area on town.

 The arc in Montpellier.

Later that night for Amy’s birthday, I went out with some friends to an Irish Pub for a drink and our first experience of nightlight in Montpellier. Of course, not knowing our way around, we ended up spending more time wandering the streets than actually in the pub. But the night was a fun chance to explore the city.

Every day for lunch we get to discover new places to eat, so far I’ve had much success trying a pizza place and then a k-bob joint.

After our second day of French class, we ventured up to the School of Theology, where we will meet Mondays, Tuesday and Thursdays for class with Dr. Robins and Dr. Lemmond—the Peace, Conflict and Marginality themed lecture class that will fulfill one of our Westmont GE’s. I went to Café Z after with some others to do our French homework.