Silent Night…

One of my favorite traditions from home (that I know will be surely missed this year) is attending the Candlelight Christmas Eve service at our church.  Each year, it’s a packed house.  The service is interspersed with carols, hymns and a message from our wonderful pastor.  My favorite part, however, is at the end when the lights are dimmed and our pastor lights a candle from the altar, passes it to ushers who then pass it to each person holding a little candle they received as they entered the sanctuary.  Pretty soon, candlelight engulfs the sanctuary as we sing all the verses of Silent Night.  It’s so lovely and so poignant – the spreading of the light represents Jesus, the Light of the World, who came as a little baby on Christmas.  I’m going to miss that service this year.

However…

I was able to attend a wonderful Candlelight Concert at the American Church in Paris two weekends ago.  There were 7-8 different choirs (children/adults/men/women) that performed many different songs of the season.  There was also a rather impressive 5-octave handbell choir (I love bells!!! Especially handbells!), which gave me goosebumps just listening…I miss playing in our church’s handbell choir, too :(  The church, which is essentially a cathedral, was filled with the sounds of voices and bells for just about 2 hours!  The decorations were lovely and I was so glad that I was able to go…

Carnage…

How often does one get to watch a movie in the presence of its director?  


I figure…not that often!

Sometimes movies that premiere in Paris will be screened in the presence of the actors or the director (especially at the theater where I usually watch movies).  So when I saw that Roman Polanski was going to be present at one of the screenings of his new film, I decided that I shouldn’t miss it!  The theater was packed – more than 400 people were seated around me.  He came out to applause, spoke a few words in French, and then the movie began.  I was so concerned with getting a good seat for the movie that I ended up quite far away from where he was standing, so my pictures did not turn out as clearly as I would have hoped.  But, wow!  I don’t think I’ve ever heard of such an opportunity to do something like that back home!

I love the movie poster!

The man himself, interpreted as a blur...

Very impressionistic...

I've got to figure out the settings on my camera!

Oh, well.  In the meantime...
Lights, camera, action!

Vive le cinéma ♥

It’s (Christmas) Party Time…Excellent…

I was invited to participate in both of my schools’ Christmas parties!  It was so nice to be included, and each one was special in its own way...

The first party was at Ecole Alain Fournier and the party began late and ended early (the next morning!)  One of the teachers is from Bretagne (Brittany) so he brought fresh oysters for everyone to enjoy.  The rest of us provided all the other potluck elements to share.  There was wine and champagne in abundance, little challenges on pieces of paper (my challenge was to imitate a rooster…which, funnily enough the “sound” a rooster makes varies significantly from country to country…they got a kick out of the US version!), and the music played on and on all night.  Practically everyone was dancing at one point or another!  I was originally planning on leaving only one hour after arriving – my train schedules have been compromised lately due to track work each night.  I was rather disappointed because I really didn’t want to leave.  Cindy, one of the teachers I work with, proposed that I stay on her sofa because she lived just around the corner.  She was so generous to do that and I was only too happy to accept her offer!  Her little 5-year old son stood next to the sofa the next morning, wondering who I was.  We talked a little and the next time he saw me (some 10 days later), he asked if I had slept well – so cute!!!

The party at Ecole Alésia was a little more subdued, but still just as lovely!  The menu included another potluck theme.  Everyone enjoyed sitting around the faculty room table and catching up and conversing about n’importe quoi (this, that and the other).  It was nice to talk with teachers that I only see in passing, and meet others that have worked at the school in the past, but come back for special events like this one.

The teachers I work with at both schools are wonderful.  I work with eight different classrooms, but have met almost everyone who works in each school, down to the gardiennes and the femmes de service.  I have enjoyed getting to know them all over the past three months – I can’t believe how quickly the time has flown by!  I can tell the next few months are going to go even faster…

Horsing Around...

What to do on a rainy Sunday?

Why...jump on a train, see a castle, wander through some gardens and take in a horse show...of course!

I went with two friends to Chantilly over the weekend.  The city is known for, among many things, its marvelous château and surrounding estate, its grand stables and, my personal favorite, whipped cream!  We took a 30-minute train heading north out of Paris and walked the 20 minutes to the estate in the mist.  Our tickets for the spectacle de Noël were for the early afternoon, so we wandered around both outside and inside and grabbed a bite to eat before finding seats for the performance, Mystère à la Cité Interdite.  It was interesting to see the different skills of the riders and horses as the show unfolded; however, we all agreed that it would have been nicer to have seen more of the horses.  But, perhaps it simply wasn't possible to work them that rigorously...

Ah, well...still a lovely way to spend a few hours of a gray day with two friends.  Some pictures of our adventure follow forthwith...

Quite possibly...

...the best Christmas cookies ever!!

Thank you for the package, M&DSTW!

I love and miss you - y'all are the BEST ♥♥♥

Hope these last for awhile.

But, really...

Who am I kidding?  ♥

Lately...

Busy, busy, busy!
What a whirlwind of activity of late...
The following includes a laundry list of sorts from the past month, in case you were wondering what I've been up to...

The Cheese Stands Alone...

I realize now that I had forgotten to write about one of the more memorable "meals" that I enjoyed while visiting Lyon.  It really is somewhat of a miracle, in that it happened at all...and probably will never happen again.

It all took place at 'Chez MacDo'...

The crowd inside...

Folks outside...notice both the ordering window and the pick-up window

For posterity...

For the ♥ of chèvre...

Maybe saying that it will 'never happen again' is a little strong?

After all, never say never...

Hi-ho, the derry-o,

The cheese stands alone  ♥