Saint-Guilhem-le-désert

For the last free excursion through our program was to the ancient city of Saint-Guilhem-le-désert. Because it is so isolated in a tiny valley surrounded by mountains, it has not changed very much in hundreds of years and is still a quaint, old-fashioned town of about 250 people. It was recently voted one of the most beautiful towns in France, so it was sad that it was an overcast day, but it was still very pretty and fun to walk around the little alleys and see all of the old architecture. 

We started off the day by taking a tour of the city with a really nice tour guide. He showed us the abbey and the biggest plane tree (looks like a sycamore) in France. 


We were on our own for lunch and then got to wander around a little bit. We took a small hike up one of the hills outside of the town and found some really gorgeous views, and then explored some of the boutiques selling French goods from the region. All of the store owners were so proud of their heritage and a lot of them made the crafts themselves. 


Next we went to a cave outside of the city and had a tour of the inside. Since I went to a cave in Ardeche with mom and Nick it was a little bit less exciting the second time around, but still pretty mind-blowing. It was actually pretty different from the other one I saw, and had more different sections. Unfortunately the tour went on for a little longer than I would have hoped, but for the most part it was really beautiful, especially when they played a light show lighting up the biggest chamber. 

After the caves we went to visit the Pont du Diable, a famous bridge outside of Saint-Guilhem. We were supposed to go swimming, but it was too cold, so we just visited the gift shop and skipped rocks in the river before getting on the bus and heading back to Montpellier. 


Wonderful to see such a pretty little town and wander around the tiny, twisting streets. Also a really nice time hanging out with lots of different friends in our last couple of weeks in France.