Gay Pride--Montpelier

The weekend after my visit to Montélimar, I headed back to Montpellier for the region's Gay Pride celebration. Montpellier has the second largest LGBT population in France after Paris; it was a huge parade!

It was great to see this progressive celebration amidst France's classical architecture.

Unlike most Pride parades in the States, in France everybody participates in the march simply walking (or dancing) among the floats.

There were so many people in Montpellier's small pedestrian city center that it was impossible to find tables in restaurants or even a patch of cobblestone to sit down!

Even Avatar could not escape the gay.

The children were safely sheltered from the debauchery in this convenient train.

There were some slightly terrifying people.

I am so much taller than everyone in France.

After the march, there was a nighttime music festival in the streets. Unfortunately, the predominate genre was skaa. Regardless, it was a great weekend!

A demain!

Montélimar

The weekend after finals, I went to visit my girlfriend's family in Montélimar in the department of the Drôme . I have to admit that it is, indeed, one of the most beautiful regions in France.

It was Mothers' Day in France. The family celebrated by having a party, and then walking to the castle. That is, the castle across the street!

We took a day trip to one of the "Most Beautiful Towns of France" and stopped in a deserted cloister along the way.

A la prochaine!

Paris in May

Now that finals are over and I have recovered all my photos from my lost computer, I'm going back to fill in the gaps in my blog from May and June. Better late than never!

In the first week of May I went to Paris for a long weekend to see Brandi Carlile perform. Sadly, Brandi canceled because of the volcano. Instead, I went to see the jazz singer Mélissa Laveaux. I also didn't miss the opportunity to visit the City of Lights!

Montmartre

Le Moulin Rouge

Le Centre Pompidou

On top of the photos here, we visited the Eiffel Tower and the Jardin des Tuileries, toured the Maré, and saw a photo exhibition of Izis. After this short vacation, I rushed back to Toulouse to finish up my classes.