Another Picture and One In Progress

I left today to get a harder pencil for sketching lightly in my watercolor book. Then I went to find something to draw and meet Elena later.

I decided to draw her:


Here she is--a slightly different view though because I took this picture a few days ago. The watercolor is from the park bench. I was listening to the CD of l'Alchimiste while doing this.


Then I checked my watch. Already 5 minutes late to meet Elena! Yikes! So I found her at our meeting place by the Polygone and she was late too. Whew! We went to the Voltaire Maison Por Tous (like a community center) to see about registering for a month of Francais pour l'Etranger. Then we headed to our favorite coffee place--Book-in-Bar. We had coffees while I sketched in a corner of the place that was interesting:


I'll add color later.

Digital Camera vs Watercolor

Since I don't have a digital camera, I decided to try my hand at watercolor. I spent about a half hour this morning on my first watercolor. It is is a little 5"x3" notebook for watercolors.

I call my first one "View From My Window".





Hopefully, I'll improve. But you gotta start somewhere. The notebook has space for 30 little watercolors like that. Once it's done it will be neat little momento of my voyage.

Edit: I found these blog posts by a guy named Ethan who does this sort of thing too (except he does it well).
http://ethandraws.blogspot.com/2008/01/bad-beginnings.html
http://ethandraws.blogspot.com/2007/05/my-watercolor-travel-kit.html

Bronze -> Silver

The color of my star that goes next to my name on the OnVaSortir.com web site has gone from bronze to silver! That means the system regards me as a person who does about 1 activity per week rather than just 2 per month. If I do 2 per week, I get a gold star.

Elena still has her silver star. I wonder when she'll get a gold star.

Soubes--The Hike On The Edge Of The World

Today we went to Soubes. It is a bit north of Lodeve where Elena and I once ate a lunch. Since it's a bit far, we needed a ride and fortunately, there is a person willing to give us a ride near by. We met her in front of the Saint Denis church right across the street from Le Dome at the corner of Gambetta and Clemenceau. We didn't know that she would be taking more people, but she actually had 4 of us she was taking, long with her dog. She has a minivan, so it was a comfortable ride. Just the night before, Caroline decided she would be able to come (she's nursing the stray cats she found, and now they are capable of spending more time alone between feedings). It didn't look like she was going to be able to make it. I mailed her where we would meet but it was late the night before.

So we headed to Lodeve and beyond to Soubes. I hadn't realized that Lodeve is actually a sort of medieval town dominated by a large Romanesque church. Makes we want to go there.

/tangent start
If she ever returns to France, Elena wants to visit other places since she's already done Herault in Languedoc-Roussillon. And that makes sense. It's nice to see as much as possible. But I am still of the feeling, that I'd rather come back and visit Languedoc-Roussillon often. There is so much to do and see. And I prefer depth to breadth when traveling.
/tangent end

So we eventually found our group and happily Caroline was able to get a car to come. The town of Soubes is interesting. It has a number of tunnels or, more accurately, covered alleys, between the major streets. We need those in Seattle when it rains. We headed out to the mountain and did a loop. We went over the valley and saw breathtaking vistas of the old villages and buildings below.




At the top we ate in a meadow. I looked at the diversity of bug life around me. I saw 4 types of spider--one with a little web in the ground, 2 types of busy ants, a grasshopper, a tick, tiny snail shells, a beetle, and a caterpiller.








Fredy brought a bottle of red wine. Yay! Some people, had cookies (including us).





After spending some time eating and resting and enjoying the sun and shade (it wasn't too hot), we went up over the mountain and started down the other side. We passed a dolmen--a sort of prehistoric grave, carved into a particularly slatey section of rock and closed off from the public by a stone wall more modern. We went through a section where a representative sample of the plants were labeled. Then we made it back to the village.

Once back, we rested, and had a beer/monaco/perrier/etc.

St Guilhem le Desert--Fenestrettes

Another day, another hike. One of the things onvasortir.com has is a star system. You get a little star by your name. Right now Elena has a silver and I have a bronze. The star indicates how often you do activities. I think Elena is shooting for platinum, and I just want silver. Jacques who leads many of the hikes Elena does has a titanium star--the highest you can get--for doing almost one activity per day.

So on Saturday we went back to St Guilhem le Desert to do a hike we had seen but not done--the fenestrettes. Before the hike, we went into the abbey. I had been in the abbey before, but it was nice to see it again--plus it was cool inside.



It seems that the trail was once used by shepherds to move their sheep from the city to the plateaus where they grazed. So it isn't steep at all. But it is covered with a very coarse rocky gravel. Here are a couple shots of us





We went up and got to the Fenestrettes. I thought they were windows, but no. They are an old buttressed road. Only about 10 meters long. Needed to connect the roads on either side of the mountian so the sheep can get to the plateau. A lot of work back then. I guess mutton and wool must have been valuable commodities.



Most of the hiking was in the open, rather exposed to the sun and it was a hot day. So we went through the water pretty quickly. I gave some to Cressida and had just enough to get back to town. After that we went to Zanzibar in Saint Jean de Fos.

Sushi In France

Tonight we had sushi. We started out with our usual English/French language exchange. It is usually at Book-in-Bar but they do German/French on the 4th Friday of the month, so we went to The Sisters Cafe by the Saint Roch church.

It was a smaller turnout but there was beer--I had a Leffe. Shrek and Cha-Cha (aka Chris and Caroline) came along with the usual characters--Alain, Karim, Cressida, Pam, Said, Laurent. Also 2 new people--a British guy and a Chinese girl. Caroline suggested sushi. So when Sisters closed up and we paid for our drinks, Elena, Caroline, Chris, Cressida and I headed to Nuni Ki Izakaya down the street from Saint Anne's church. I knew the location because we passed it several times on our TV purchase adventure.

It wasn't busy--being only 7pm. They didn't even have any customers when we went it. But they had reservations so they could seat us only if we thought we could be done by 9:30. No problemo. The prices are a bit steep by Vancouver standards. 4,50 euros for a Japanese beer--US$7 would get the large bottle in the US but only a small one here. Three pieces of maguro are 6,00 euro ($9), one tekka maki was 5,00 ($7.50). I got the 6 piece sushi moriawase for 14,90 euros ($25). It comes with miso soup and a salad. The sushi itself at Liberty on 15th in Seattle is $10. And Nuni Ki doubled up on the salmon--Liberty gives me 6 different on the 6 piece. The taste was good, but they have a pretty limited variety which makes sense given the market--no squid or octopus. Elena got vegetable tempura for 5,50 ($8). It was a huge plate. So tempura is the value dish. Their tempura doesn't use the flakes, so it looked a little funny to me. But it tasted good.

I showed the people at the table how to eat miso soup--drink right out of the bowl. If I hadn't warned them I had lived in Japan for 4 years, they might have thought I was a barbarian. ;-) I also told them, as I poured my beer, that in Japan, the only people who pour their own beer are pathetic losers. Chris shared his hot sake with us all. We all had a nice time.





In the end, we ended up paying 35,00 euros ($55) for Elena and I. Actually, that is not at all bad. When comparing prices, you have to take into account that the tax and tip is already added. So if I normally tip 15-20% $35 would be the total for a bill of $30. And the $30 is probably $28. So it's like $14 for each of us to get a final bill of $35. So it's really like comparing 14,00 ($21)--basically two $19 entrees and a $4 beer. A bit pricey, but not ridiculous.

Le Roc de la Vigne

Wow! What a nice hike. We did Le Roc de la Vigne with about 9 people. It is not far from the picturesque St Guilhem le Desert which is a sort of bounding board for a boat load of nice hikes.

It was organized by Jacques (aka Ushuaik) on OVS. We met right by the Malbosc tram station which has free parking right there as well. It's a great place to meet for both those with and without cars. Once we were all gathered, off to the trailhead...


We got there and started our climb up. It wasn't hard and after a couple of kilometers we found a cave to explore. It's a nice cave--deep enough to have really high ceilings, and it continuously slopes down. We penetrated about 80 meters or so. The last bit is a bit tricky because you have to watch out for a hole in the ground into which you wouldn't want to fall. There are stalactites and stalagmites, and all sorts of drapery on the walls. One stalactite was brown and hung about 2 meters down from the ceiling--looking rather like the cave was in the middle of a bowel movement--a feeling not lost on anybody given the amount of mirth and laughter the stalactite inspired. When were deep in the cave, we all sat down and shut off the lights. It was pitch black. You couldn't see a sheet of white paper in front of your face. Every hushed down. The only sound was water dripping--then somebody's stomach. Good for another laugh.

We sat in the dark for over a minute just enjoying the sensory deprivation. Then we all got up and headed out to the warm outdoors. We repacked our stuff and went off to the next destination--the peak.

It didn't take long to get to the peak. We stopped in a little sheltered area and set down our gear. Then we went over to the exposed part of the peak. It felt like entering a hurricane. It was so windy on that high peak. Way way off in the distance there was the Mediterranean Sea, but unless you knew it was the sea, you wouldn't necessarily recognize it as such. I made sure my hat didn't fly off--a definite risk up there. Wow it was windy. But as there was not a cloud in the sky and we were all sweaty, it was sooooo refreshing! Just absolutely refreshing.




After a while playing in the wind we ate our lunches. Elena had a sandwich she made with sliced cheese, red pepper. I had my sandwich with sliced chicken, mustard, red pepper cheese spread, lettuce, and tomato. Then we ate some apple pastries. Finally when all had finished their meals, we sat down and the Swiss guy broke out Swiss chocolate, someone had cookies, and a couple of people had coffee and tea for everyone to share. Delightful!




Then I found out that we were actually on a loop. It made sense because it was supposed to be a 20km hike and it only felt like we did 5 km. So we went on. And on. And on. Until we finally made it to Estagnol--a small abandoned hamlet. We explored the ruins and stopped and ate a little more.





Then it was back to the cars. It was already ab out 4:30 when we got to the cars and we were all a little tired from the hike in the sun. So off to find a spot for a nice cold beer. We tried to go a place in St Saturnin de Lucian, but it was closed. So we went a bar called the Zanzibar in St Jean de Fos. I had a very refreshing "demi" which is a 25 cl house beer. It was only 2,30 euros. Five of us had demis, 2 had monacos which is apparently beer with 7Up and grenadine. Two others had something green.



After that we returned home. Whew! What a wonderful trip. Any nature lovers coming to southern France couldn't do much better than staying near St Guilhem le Desert and partaking of the hiking opportunities around there.

Also see Jacques' pictures on Picassa.

Napoleon's Dad Slept Here

Indeed he didn't just sleep. This is where he died. On the rue Cheval Vert just north of Gambetta. We walk near here all the time. So it seems he probably had stomach cancer, and even then, Montpellier was the home of a well regarded medical school--even claiming Nostradamus as a pupil. So he was probably there seeking medical help.

Elena Has Questions

Elena asks me many questions for which I have no good answer.

What are these socks doing here?


What are these dirty underpants doing here?


Why isn't this coat on the hangar?

A Better Easter Tradition

I didn't find this until it was too late. Tonight we had it for the first time. As everyone knows, Jesus didn't eat pork--and would be disgusted at the thought that people eat ham to celebrate his death. So instead of ham for Easter, why not lapin with mustard and a side of cous-cous? Doesn't it look yummy? And the lapin just screams Easter, doesn't it?





There is my Top Budget beer and Elena's extravagant Pelforth Brune beer in the pictures as well.

Evasions: Sete

We woke up this morning to the sound of rain. Hmmmm.... We were supposed to go to Sete. Go? The weather forecast showed 30% chance of rain during the day, and definite rain at night. So we figured, the day would probably be on and off. We made it to our usual meeting spot Le Sud. Today we convened inside. It was our first time in there. They have a big round bed.

So we went to Sete--7 of us. Sete is a town on the Mediterranean. The second largest French Mediterranean port. We first went to see the Fisherman's Quarter. There were cats following us around. Elena liked them even though she isn't normally into cats. The rain was holding off, so maybe she was happy about that and the cats were just the beneficiaries.







Next we ate. It was a seafood place. I got 6 local oysters and seiche a la planche. I didn't know what seiche was but I figured it was a fish. Turned out to be squid. Elena just had seafood soup. She was planning to eat some of my fish, but she didn't want any squid. I also got an apple tart for desert with a side of chantilly (whipped cream). Elena at all the apples off the tart and I didn't get any. :-( Here I am eating an oyster, and following that is a tasty beverage to wash it down.





After that we went to a museum for the "Bob Dylan of France", local boy George Brassens. It was all in French, so I didn't get much. After that, we went to the top of Sete and saw a little church and the view. Then to the Museum of Paul Valery.



It was an interesting museum. There was a lot of local art and part of it is devoted to an interesting competition. It's dragon boat racing meets medieval jousting. Sea jousting it's called according to wikipedia. There were also models of huge sailing ships which I'm always intrigued by. Also paintings of ports. I don't know why I'm such a sucker for those.

Sete was nice. Elena wants to go back by bicycle when the weather is a little sunnier and check it out and buy date cake from a Tunisian bakery. I'm not as excited to go back--especially on bike with the 100km round trip.

Brazilian Night at La Pleine Lune

We went to see the Brazilian night at La Pleine Lune, a club not far from our humble abode (right on the Plaza Roger Salengro where we buy all our vegetables in the open air market). It was "pleine" all right. The dance floor looked like the subway in Tokyo station at rush hour. It's a very small venue, but it was so packed, it took me about 3 minutes to traverse the 10 meters to the exit from the back. I'm lucky I survived.

We got there early--about 9pm. I recently learned the term "demi" which is basically the normal sized glass of the house beer--the default beer when you ask for just a beer--something we never do in Seattle where all the drinking places have mostly craft beers. Anyway, I got a demi and Elena wanted a red wine. So 4 euros later we had our drinks and a small bowl of potato chips.

Then we watched as people started filing in. The place kept getting more and more crowded. Until the dance floor was just a mass of humanity. A sardine tin of bodies wriggling to Brazilian rhythms. There must have been 200 people in a place that can seat--if all are seated--only about two dozen.

We went because it was organized on OnVaSortir.com, so we met a few of the people from that. Elena is still there as I type. Even in the USA, the music/dance thing isn't for me, so I made an early get-away. Bedtime for moi. But maybe I'll watch some new scenes of Pulp Fiction in French.

Oh Falling Dollar! What Hast Thou Done To Me?

Yep, that's Top Budget brand beer. Not PBR. Not Milwaukeee's Best. Nope it's Top Budget Beer. It's only 0,39 for a 50 cl can, though. That's like only 75 cents for a pint. Elena will be drinking Pelforth which is about 4 times the price of Top Budget Beer. She is sooo luxurious. ;-)

The Itch To Compute

I can barely remember the last time I even wrote a line of code. I have done a lot of thinking and some design of a suite of tools that I wish I had had when I was developing code. These are tools which don't exist and I don't know why they don't exist. I hope to be able to start making them. Right now, I really want to start. After months of doing to software, I want to develop--to turn ideas into useful reality.

In France, people don't take laptops into cafes. It's the polar opposite of Seattle where everybody takes laptops to cafes. And you can nurse a Grande drip far far longer than anything they serve in France in those itty-bitty 1,50 euro cups. So going to the local coffee shop to work on the computer while absorbing the atmosphere isn't really an option. The French already hate us. On the plus side, Americans are probably more scarce than ever thanks to the dollar being in free-fall. So maybe they'd look at me at my laptop in a cafe with curiosity rather than detestation. At any rate, I don't think I can take a laptop to a cafe without feeling like a total dork. And since I'm already very used to looking like a dork in public, that shows how much more I'd look like a dork in France with a laptop.

So, I'll keep thinking (in my head), keep designing (in my Moleskine), but I'm not sure when I'll be able to start putting it into code. Maybe in the meantime, somebody will introduce the tools I want and I won't have to try to create them.

Back To The Alchemist (l'Achimiste)

Said who I know from the language exchanges has checked out a CD version of The Alchemist for me to listen to and the book for me to read.

So I have no listened to the first 4 minute track over and over--over 50 times at the moment. I can hear more than before, but even after 50 times, I can't hear it all unaided by the book. Each day, I hear more. I've also listened to the second track about 30 times. And I've listened to the first hour twice, following along with the text. There is a definite difference in my ability to catch the sounds in the first two tracks compared to the ones I haven't worked on.

I hope this will help. I'm learning to associate the sounds with the text. I can hear the connection when I am looking at the book, but then I sometimes lose it when I am not looking at the text. It's interesting. I can look at the text and hear the sounds. Then I immediately replay and can't hear the sounds, then I immediately replay looking at the text and I can hear them again. I can repeat this pattern over and over. I did with a few lines that were particularly tricky. After about 20 times, I start to hear the sounds without the text, but it takes that long.

Then I get frustrated and I wonder if these micro steps will pay off. I hope so. Still it reminds me of the subtitles on a backwards stretch of Stairway to Heaven. In my case--unlike the backwards Stairway to Heaven, I know that the sounds and text really do match up. Still I sometimes feel like I'm spinning my wheels.

“If there’s a bustle in your hedgerow, don’t be alarmed now, it’s just a spring clean for the May Queen. Yes there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run, there’s still time to change the road your on."

"Oh’s here’s to my sweet Satan, The one who’s path would make me sad, who’s power is Satan, He’ll give those with him 666, there was a little tool shed where he made us suffer sad Satan."

Murals of Realism

There a few places in Montpellier where the sides of buildings, which would otherwise be nondescript and boring, are painted with murals that make it look like there is actually something there. Windows, people, doors, etc.

Here are some examples.



This is across the street from the St. Roch church. You can see it's reflection in the large paned windows. The other windows have people in them looking out. There are steps going up, a red banner hanging, green bushes, even a tourist snapping a picture on the far right.

What's real and what isn't? I think the bicycle is real. As are the bistro tables. The rest is an illusion.

Not far from where we live, there is this one:


A "librarie" or bookstore. People up on the balconies. And orange house to the right with a woman tending to her plants. Again, just an illusion.

Again, very close to where we live, we find this:



There is a stained glass/mosaic type tapestry showing people working on their trades, I suppose, and windows on the outside. There is even a guy in the window dressed in 1500's clothing working on his studies.

I'll add more as I see them.

Evasions: St Guilhem le Desert

We went on another outing with Evasions. We met at Le Sud on the Lez River at the Antigone. Then carpooled to St Guilhem le Desert. On the way we stopped by a particularly interesting natural feature. Sadly we don't have pictures, so I'll have to describe it.

There is a small river over which hangs a rock shelf. The shelf holds a pond with green mosses. All along the edge of the shelf, the pond spills into the river. It is at the bottom of a mountain. It was the one thing in France I've seen that looks like it was designed by the same gods who designed Japan. Amazing. Anyway, we got a picture of the parked cars, just not the shelf.



When we finished with that, we headed into the town. It is an old village--founded in 804 and many of the buildings are connected--sharing walls. In the case of one building in the town square, it is leaning and it buttressed up on the third floor to prevent it from falling more. The town is now a sort of artists' colony and there are shops selling typical tourist stuff along side the products of the artists living there.







The center of the town is an abbey founded by a cousin of Charlemagne who battled the Moors. The abbey has a Romanesque church with a crypt that is open (but doesn't really contain much) and the abbey grounds where the monks tried to be as self sufficient as possible.

We ate at the other end of town. When we were done eating, and they got around to giving us our deserts (I had chocolate and coffee ice cream, Elena had vanilla and coffee ice cream), we went on a little hike with one of the guys from our group. Here we are at the start.



The hike goes up past the "Castle of Giants" which is off on it's own rocky hill. Here I am with the Castle of Giants in the background and with the village in the background.





We'll get more pictures later because we're likely to do the hike again. It seems to be a popular place for Montpellierians as we bumped into Claudine who hosted the first house party we went to. We're already bumping into people we know out in other cities.