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Well, damn, it's all my worst fears realized. By that I mean I killed my battery charger, which means that I won't be able to charge my batteries for a bit, which means that I won't be able to take any pictures. Which is a shame, because Montpellier est tres belle.
The picture above is of the Church de St. Pierre, which I found completely by accident yesterday after I got off of the train - damned if I know the history of the church but it's a fine old gothic example. I like it a lot better than the notre dame in Carcassonne - it's actually less ornate, but it is larger and more stately. I don't have any good pictures of the exterior - I found the angles I'd like to shoot just a little too late. I'm also going to miss taking pictures in the botanical gardens - they are the oldest in France. I got through all of that and more within the space of two half-days. Need more time please! But tomorrow I go to Strasbourg and so I won't get any good shots. I will practice gumdo in the Place de Comedie though - early in the morning, as the heat and crowds come early.
Right, that's the stuff you get year round out of the way. Now for the good stuff!
I couldn't have timed my flight better. There's a dance festival on right now, so I've seen a huge amount of buskers about - including one memorable crew who danced to the French soundtrack for Pocahontas. Hip-hop and breakdance. It was pretty awesome! I also nearly got scammed by some guy looking for donations for a fake charity, so lucky break.
It's also a good place to explore if you are a geek. Montpellier is a university town. Actually, it's a lot like Kingston would be if Kingston didn't have the military base, the prisons, was ten or twenty times the size and French, so maybe it's not a lot like Kingston but whatever - there are geeks here in force. There's space invaders graffiti for Christ's sake, and it's high quality too!
French anime culture is also a hell of a lot more developed then the American equivalent. If I wanted a kimono I would have to look on the internet for a Canadian import company, and then probably wait six weeks for them to box one up - in France. I passed two stores selling Japanese imports without looking. Given my weight restrictions, I can't buy any more books but I did pick up some cool chopsticks. Nearly bought a bowl too, but that's getting iffy - chopsticks can be dropped, china not so much.
The regular bookstores have a large bande dessine and mangas section as well; I found Berserk dvds in a second hand bookstore and a copy of Pokemon Black going for 5 euros (I'm certain that at least was a mistake) and no less than three dedicated board game stores, with prices much better than I could find anywhere else.
Hostel's a bit basic however; only a microwave - better common area than the FUAJ paris though, and apparently they are renovating. The day is hot as hell. Don't know when this will actually get posted because I have no internet (connection problems) but okay, whatever. I can live without the net for a bit.
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