Wine, cheese, baguettes and flamingos in Southern France

I took off from Berlin the next morning, leaving all of my wonderful friends behind. Luckily, I have other wonderful friends in France that I met on my internship in Ireland. First stop was Grenoble, France. It is a smaller town close the Alps.

Picture:

I met Olivier there (my french friend from Ireland who had visited me in Berlin in October) and then we waited for Laetitia to get off of work. It was great to see him. We had a coffee and then set off around Grenbole. A very small city, but seeing it was my first time in France I wanted to soak it all in! Olivier had just gotten back from Nepal (talk about world traveler) and so he shared some of the experiences he had while there. Soon enough Laetitia was off work. The plan was to go out drinking; and boy did we manage that! We went bar hopping. Laetitia's boyfriend, Xavier, led us around buying us drink after drink. I even had one drink where they light it on fire and then you have to suck the fumes in through a straw! They also spoke English the whole time for me. Laetitia's English has gotten so much better, and Olivier always spoke pretty good English. But I am working on my French ;) Me and the french at the last bar:

The next morning, we woke up early (7 am) to go skiing. I was feeling a bit hungover but got my butt out of bed. Laetitia had to work, so it was Olivier and a friend of his. I was definitely the worst at the whole skiing thing, but it was great to get on the slopes, even if it is only one time a year. I love the slopes that aren't steep and you can kind of just coast along. But I did surprise myself and improved greatly in one day. This makes me want to take a week long skiing trip; maybe then I would be able to do a black diamond! Olivier, his friend, and I on the slopes:

Another beautiful picture of the mountains:

It was also sooo warm! Probably 70 degrees on the slopes. Thank goodness because all I had on was a fleece and a wind breaker. I ate lunch in just my tshirt! Very very fun experience. The next morning Olivier and I headed back to Montpelier. I got to stay at his house for almost a week. It was lovely; I met his friends and he took me out exploring to a different area every day.
Highlights include:

Seeing a palm tree for the first time in months.

Sitting on the beach watching the sunset.

Eating lunch overlooking the city of Montpelier.

Driving to a small french town made of stone and enjoying a bottle of wine and some duck.

Taking a hike up to the top of a mountain (in my Toms!! They were destroyed. I was probably the only person on the entire mountain not wearing hiking boots).

Seeing flamingos in the wild.

Walking around a nature preserve.

Beating all of his friends at pool.

Chilling with Olivier.

Other quick notes: French people eat baguettes a lot, it's not a stereotype. I ate cheese and it wasn't horrible. I love those dried French sausage thingies.

All in all, a wonderful trip. I can't wait until he comes to visit me in California.