In and Around Paris...

The days have been passing more and more quickly.  I can hardly believe that my time here is drawing to a close :(

Over the past few weeks, I've been wandering here and there, taking all sorts of pictures...in no particular order...

Gone Dubai-bye…

Question:  Which vacation spot is the obvious choice for a fair-skinned, be-freckled, overly dehydrated traveler?

Why, the desert, of course.

Obviously.

I couldn’t wait for my desert adventure to begin.  We have family friends (Tara and Michael) who are living in Dubai, UAE for the next few years.  When they visited Paris during the Christmas holidays, I was fortunate enough to spend Christmas Eve with them.  I was curious to know more about their experiences and asked for their thoughts about having visitors (read: I pretty much invited myself over…shameless, I know…a more gracious family you have never met!)  I made my travel arrangements in January and looked forward to April with great anticipation.  The day of my departure finally arrived!  The week that followed flew by, but I feel like I saw both the expected touristic sights, as well as aspects of everyday life in Dubai…

Easter Bells…

I had the opportunity (and honor) to ‘ring dem bells’ (as my Gramps says) at two of the Easter services at The American Church in Paris.  I had heard that approximately 1,000 people (combined) would be expected to attend the 9am and 11am services.  I meant to look out into the sanctuary to see all of those faces when our group went forward to perform, but the adrenaline took over and the only thing I could focus on was my music and furiously counting!  The musicians were asked to arrive at 715am in order to adjust robes and rehearse a few more times before the first service began.  Happily, I was early enough to attend a few minutes of the Sunrise Service out on the quai.  I have never been to an Easter Sunrise Service before, nor have I seen the sun rise in Paris before, so that was a very special experience!  It was forecasted to rain that day, but what a blessing that it stayed clear all day – Praise the Lord!  After church, Heather and I spent the rest of the afternoon together.  We grabbed a very nice brunch at a restaurant near her place and eventually wound our way to the apartment of her friend where we visited with other new acquaintances for a few hours.  It was so nice to meet them all, and particularly nice to meet Heather’s friend, Tamara…

Originally from Australia, but grew up in Dubai…

Was going to be heading back home for the upcoming 2-week vacation…

The same exact time frame when I was going to be spending one week in Dubai (!!)

What?!

Such an amazing coincidence!  We made plans to be in touch during my visit…more to follow on that wonderful trip!

Just a lazy Saturday in Paris…

A few Saturdays ago (Easter weekend), I was out and about in the city with no specific plans. 

I’ve learned that often, that’s when I find myself doing some pretty interesting activities…

I had to be at the church that morning for a bell rehearsal.  I ended up staying in the sanctuary for a little bit after my group finished.  I was up in the balcony; grading papers and listening to the other bell choirs rehearse.  The acoustics in that church will never cease to amaze me!  I left when they finished and the lights were turned off (!) and headed to the supermarket and bakery around the corner to pick up some picnic supplies (baguette, cheese, water…you know, the basics).  I decided that I would visit one of the parks that I’ve been thinking about visiting for months – Parc Monceau.  I took the metro to the right neighborhood and wandered into one of Paris’s beautiful, verdant city ‘escapes.’  I found a bench and ate my picnic lunch and then started to wander around the park’s footpath.  I realized that some of the enormous homes that “border” the park had backyards…with grass!  I couldn’t believe it!  I reached a certain gate and saw a sign advertising a museum I had never heard of before, Le Musée Nissim de Camondo.  I immediately decided to investigate.  The museum collection (bequeathed to France many years ago) is housed within the family’s former home.  Collections maintained in this way are some of my favorite spots to visit (I really don’t care for massive museums!)  The patriarch of the family had been a serious collector of 18^th century decorative arts (tapestries, furniture, paintings, etc.)  Each room was filled to the brim, but seemed cohesive and not (too) overwhelming.  My favorite part was visiting the huge kitchen and seeing all the shiny copper pots and pans!  I couldn’t stop myself from taking photo after photo…obviously!

Good Weekend…

“Cultural” opportunities abound in this amazing city.

I joined some friends (Tania, Jane, Robbie, Maureen, Felicity (and husband!)) for a ballet performance at Palais de Congrès on a Friday evening a few weeks back.  The first part included shorter pieces ranging from classical to fairly modern ballet, and there was even a tango-inspired piece using “El Tango de Roxanne” from Moulin Rouge (one of my favorite movies!)  The second part of the evening was devoted entirely to Ravel’s Bolero.  I was thrilled to hear the music again and to see another impressive interpretation of the composition!  At one point, there were 30 dancers on the stage moving seamlessly as the music’s repetitive strains filled the auditorium.  Again, I was completely entranced by everything I saw.  What a great experience!

The next night involved dinner with some of the same friends (Jane, Tania, Joy, Laure, and Kathryn) and then a sleepover at the apartment of our gracious hostess – thank you, Jane!    We had a blast visiting before walking down boulevard St. Germain looking for our restaurant (which proved even more entertaining!)  After dinner we walked back to the apartment, looking forward to popcorn and a movie (Fried Green Tomatoes).  We stayed awake as long as we could, but everyone’s eyes started to close around 2am…

The next day was Palm Sunday and Joy invited me to go to church with her (St. Michael’s).  We walked from Jane’s…across the Seine, through Place de la Concorde, and down rue Faubourg-St. Honoré.  It was a lovely service, and quite nice to visit a different church.  After church, Joy and I made our way to Châtelet…more specifically, to Théâtre de la Ville because she had heard that Cate Blanchett was performing in a play titled Big and Small (playing the main character, Lotte), and thought it would be great to see if we could get tickets.  That afternoon's performance had sold out earlier in the week, but we stood on the sidewalk with a little sign: “Cherchons 2 places SVP”  (Looking for 2 seats, please), to see if we could attract a potential seller.  It worked!  A small group of friends had two friends who couldn’t make it, so we offered them cash for the tickets and made our way to our seats (pretty high up, but still with an amazing view)!  Cate Blanchett was amazing.  The role seemed very demanding and she made it all look somewhat effortless, but by the end it was obvious that she was exhausted.  I was so glad it all worked out to see it!  What a cool opportunity!!

SautHermès…

Didn’t you know?

Apparently, when Hermès says, “Jump!”…you say, “How high?”

Literally.

My friend Heather and I attended the second day of a 3-day stadium jumping competition being held at the Grand Palais on March 17^th (St. Patrick’s Day).  It was amazing!  Doors opened at 10am with about a dozen horn players officially welcoming us to the daylong event!  Once inside the building (originally constructed in 1900), we wandered around in awe of the architecture and sheer magnitude of the experience we were about to have.  The Hermès “touch” was everywhere evident.  The dominant color scheme involved orange and brown, naturally!  Zones had been created throughout the length of the ‘grand’ building, dedicated to numerous activities:  a few eateries, an exercise paddock, a bookshop, a retail space for Hermès products, workbenches for Hermès craftsmen engaged in creating some of the pieces used in saddle construction before our very eyes, a sitting area devoted to watching Muybridge’s photographic images of horses in motion (!!), a ‘play area’ with rocking horses of all sizes, and even a small paddock with ponies for children to ride.  The main event(s) were taking place in the center arena, right under the glass/steel dome.  We watched 3 different classes of riders, beginning with a group of riders under age 25.  Appropriately, a young Irishman took 1^st place!  There was an intermission and Heather and I took advantage of the break to grab a bite to eat and wander through the venue.  When we took our seats we saw that the jumps had been rearranged and the next class of riders prepared to run through the course.  These riders included some of the top riders in the world.  It was thrilling to watch their skill and mastery!  The third class of the day involved pairs of riders (teams made up of one male rider and one female rider) from the previous group.  The team’s score would be a combination of both riders’ times and faults.  Every spectator held their breath as each rider went over 1.6 meter jumps.  Many rails had fallen by the end, but the winning team was presented with a large sum (225,000 Euros, to split I imagine?!) and embroidered orange blankets for their horses.  The event didn’t end there, however.  We were all in for a treat because the equestrian performance group, Bartabas, was going to unveil a routine that had debuted only one night before.  Set to Ravel’s Bolero, black and white horses (with riders in disguise…either white outfits with orange wigs or skeleton costumes) worked their way from one end of the arena to the other in stunning formations.  This is a relatively new equestrian school that is housed in the stables at the Château de Versailles – it’s only been in existence a few years, I think.  Ravel’s Bolero is probably my favorite piece of music.  The choreography of the performance was so captivating and I thought it perfectly captured the haunting, frenetic feeling of the composition.  There was an interesting twist at the end, too.  The entire score was played at a very high speed and the horses were made to race from one end of the performance space to the other with flexible (plastic?) skeletons bouncing on their backs.  It was surreal and totally amazing to watch!  What a truly memorable day!

May 1st...

So this may be one of the reasons I love Paris so much...

Hello, sunshine!  Welcome May!!

(The French know exactly how to spend a day off...)

More to come on my adventures during the past 6 weeks (what?!)...Seriously.  Where is the time going?

Paris, je t'♥