Grotte

For the first excursion of the France study abroad trip, my group went to the Grotte Des Demoiselles or the Cave of Young Ladies, which is an ancient cavern with walls covered in massive crystals and stalactites. As we arrived into the countryside of Ganges, I was amazed with the lush meadows and woodlands that occupied Herault. In order to access the cave, the group had use a tram and walk hundreds of meters in to the plateau where the heart of cave system resides. It was cool, dark and damp labyrinth that was completely alien to me and I was enraptured through the whole experience. The greatest part of the trip happened at the la Cathédrale, or the Cathedral. Here all the Citadel boys sang the the Alma Mater to demonstrate the acoustic properties of the chamber and it was easily the most memorable part of the trip.

Looking over the valley near Grotte Des Demoiselles

Myself descending into the La Cathedrale

The whole Citadel group in the La Cathedrale

One of many chamber in Grotte Des Demoiselles

Musee Fabre

The Musee Fabre is an art museum located in Montpellier and  is adjacent to the Gaumont theater. It boasts a large collection of French art from Renaissance to Expressionism and includes various portraits, sculptures, busts and so on. My classmates visited it as a group on our first week and turned out to be a very rewarding experience. Even if we had spent an entire day observing the pieces we still would not have appreciated all of it. The exhibits presented descriptions which explained how the artists were inspired by the daily, historically and religious identity of  French culture. Walking around with fellow cadets sharing opinion made the experience that much better. All in all it was a calm and reflective experience that gave a moment of pause in a fast-paced world.

Myself  with

 Andrés Parada,  Matthew Lanetti, Trace Holland and John Terenzio.

Buste de Ben Franklin by Jean-Antoine Houdon 1778 

La Chiaruccia by Alexandre Cabanel 1848

One of many rooms on the second floor of the museum