So I am really here.  Day 1!  Myself and several travel companions arrived in Clermont Ferrand France today after a long voyage.  I am QUITE embarrassed at the amount of luggage I brought, but I keep telling myself that being a girl takes a lot!  We have a TINY little Peugeot and nearly couldn't fit all of our luggage.  The trouble with Clermont this time of year is that the weather can span from 85 and sunny to 30 and rainy.  Add in the fact that I must pack fancy clothes, business casual, exploring attire (for hiking and being in the elements), exercise clothes (hahahahaha....), and just plain old SLOB clothes... In the end I decided that if I'm going to be here for a month I might as well be comfortable!  Aside from the clothes, I also have a ton of toiletry items (like shampoo, face wash and that dreaded makeup) as well as two laptop computers, my fancy Nikon, and two cell phones.  I felt like a pack mule traveling over, but I am now nicely unpacked and feel like I am in a little apartment (complete with kitchenette, a dining table, and a couch).

So we arrived at the hotel at about 11:30 am.  Our main mission for the day was to keep each other awake until a reasonable hour and then crash (and hopefully sleep all night).  To accomplish this we went exploring the city on foot.  A good walk usually succeeds in keeping one awake.  I was utterly exhausted when we left the hotel and UNWISELY opted to leave my camera pack behind.  We went downtown and had a late lunch and then we went into the Notre Dame Cathedral and paid E1.20 each to hike up the narrow spiral stairs to the top of the cathedral.  It was WELL worth the money and we were ALL awake and gasping for breath by the time we reached the top.  The view of the city from the TOP of the cathedral is spectacular.....the only thing I regret is that SINCE I did not have my camera, I will most certainly have to make that hike again to get some cool shots of the city.  See the link below for info and pictures about the cathedral.  The cathedral was built (start of building) in 1248 out of volcanic rock.  It is a huge black figure and central to the landscape of the city.   It also marks the center of town.

Notre Dame Cathedral Clermont Ferrand

After that adventure, we wandered around until we were delirious.  I ended up getting back to the hotel with over 13,000 steps on my pedometer.  Then I unpacked, took a LONG hot bath, and am preparing to hunt down the ironing room so that I can be sure my clothing is presentable in the morning for my first day in training.   Tomorrow, hopefully I will have some pictures to post :)