I spent most of the week walking around exploring Paris and going to all of the places I've been dying to go to but haven't had the time to visit. I also spent the week eating really good and fairly healthy food(excluding the pastries) at places that I knew about previously and places that I happened upon. I'll post another blog with a list and pictures of all the places that I visited.
My favorite bridge, Alexandre III
Outside Hôtel de Ville
Tuesday night, I went to see the Martha Graham Dance Company at Théâtre du Châtelet. They performed Errand into the Maze, Diversion of Angels, Lamentation Variations, Cave of the Heart and Maple Leaf Rag. I realized while I was sitting there that while I love dance performances and discovering well-known and upcoming choreographers, contemporary dance is not really my thing. Well, I shouldn't say that, I guess it depends on the degree of contemporariness (is that even a word?) - I'm more of a tame/slightly mainstream contemporary dance appreciator. So You Think You Can Dance and choreographers like Mia Michaels piqued my interest in contemporary dancing mostly because there was always a connection - you didn't just see the dances and appreciate them for their aesthetic aspect, you felt them. Back to Martha Graham...I was very impressed by the performances and the ability of the dancers to have such control in movements that seemed completely uncontrolled. My favorite piece was the Maple Leaf Rag, the last piece Martha Graham choreographed, mainly because it was light, fun and the music was by Scott Joplin. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is coming here this summer...Can't wait!
Martha Graham - Cave of the Heart
The only other interesting things I did during vacation were get a massage, have dinner with the Darkes' and start giving a French woman English conversation lessons (Thanks Tracy!).
The massage was very interesting for various reasons that I won't go into - it was inexpensive by Paris standards and I definitely got what I payed for. Having dinner with the Darkes' is always fun and it's good to get news from back home. Yesterday, I started giving English conversation lessons to a French woman who has a job interview coming up for an international organization. Her English is already amazing due to the fact that she lived in Scotland and Singapore, but the job involves the internet and the government so we're working on her professional language which is a completely different ball game than everyday language. The funny thing is that I'm forgetting my English; the same thing happened last time I was here! People will ask me how to say things in English and I will have no idea...guess it's a good thing that I'm so immersed in French that it's temporarily become my primary language.
Almost forgot...I also went to see the Petit Nicolas exhibit at Hôtel de Ville - very cute! Le Petit Nicolas is a character created by Sempé/Goscinny and several books are based on him and his adventures with his eclectic group of friends. I was first introduced to Nicolas in Mr. Langa's French class where we acted out scenes from one of the stories and even had a birthday party where we all dressed as different characters...hilarious! You can get the books all over the world but the spelling of Nicolas will change...in the US, it's Nicholas.
Petit Nicolas exhibit
Another week of school starts tomorrow and I'm looking forward to Friday, not because it's the end of the week, but because we're going to Rungis, the 2nd largest food market in the world. It's the market where all the restaurants and business' buy their food, flowers, etc and you can only get in if you're a professional. Thanks to Ferrandi, we're getting a visit...will definitely post pictures - hopefully I'm allowed to take them.
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