Fall in Pau

Bonjour tout le monde!  Life has been so crazy yet so great here. The second weekend in October I celebrated my birthday with friends at a lovely restaurant in downtown Pau. The food was amazing and the company even better. Plus, I was in bed by 12:30am = a perfect birthday dinner/celebration. I can't believe how fast time is flying by here; we're already through most of October and midterm season is back again. While the course work load has been a little heavy, my French is getting better and I'm understanding nearly everything now.
Fall is my favorite time of year and now that the leaves are beginning to change colors, covering campus in hues of brown, red, and gold, I am enjoying Pau even more. The temps are getting steadily colder as well, but this weather makes for clearer views of the mountains, which are worth it.
A few weekends ago I took a trip to the Pyrénées and spent time in a little mountain town called Gavarnie. The town sits right beside 'Le Cirque de Gavarnie' which boasts France's tallest/longest waterfall (1,300ft/422m) and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The place is absolutely gorgeous and being back up above 5,000ft/1530m was great for mind and body, even if my asthma bugged me a little the day after.
In other news, I finally got my overseas ballot and voted in my first presidential election which felt good- everyone please exercise your right to vote!
This coming week is fall vacation for the university, so we don't have classes. To take advantage of the time off, two friends and I are heading to northern Italy to do some exploring. We'll visit Venice, Florence, and Cinque Terre National Park--it should be a great trip. I will post pictures and write all about it next weekend. À bientôt! :)