Onward and upward

Les Invalides

Things really did start looking up for me in the big city, just as I was getting ready to leave (maybe because of it - know how those things work?) and my last two days were the best. I negotiated a haircut with a French stylist, shopped for makeup, and spent Friday afternoon exchanging work with a colleague and new friend, Katri-Mari, whom I met at the convention in Ireland. I lingered into early evening, reviewing maps and sharing wine with her and her husband in their sunny apartment overlooking Napleon's tomb, the (startlingly gold) Les Invalides. Our conversation reminded me how much freedom I have, and how wonderful it is to make friends in faraway places

Sara, Benoit, Ulysses, Thomas

I headed next to dinner with more colleagues from the first training course I visited. A beautifully simple and delicious meal of roasted vegetables, salad, and soup accompanied by homemade berry liqueur mixed with champagne, and of course wine. I'll tell you, it is pretty darn satisfying to keep up with a table of French conversation, and even venture into the philosophy of Alexander Technique with my garbled grasp of the language!

The evening's host, Benoit, invited me to attend a rehearsal of his baroque ensemble the next morning at the Paris Conservatory. "Dix heures moins dix," he repeated, be there at ten o'clock minus ten. Apparently my brain was on translation overload... "Ten o'clock" is what I kept repeating to myself, which is when I left to catch the metro... Oops. Another opportunity to marvel at the helpfulness of people, as phone calls from the Conservatory desk to our multilingual friend resulted in a personal escort to the intimate rehearsal already an hour underway (there were TWO of us listening). And wow!! I totally got the musical experience I was wishing for! Way better than a cathedral, which is fine for organ but actually sucks for strings. Listen to 30 seconds here:

One final visit to a park to write postcards, then cleaning up and packing to depart. The Lindy Hop friend I met at the Jazz Roots Festival invited me dancing, so I got to conclude my final night with some excellent blues dance at a small studio in a quieter neighborhood. Ahh.

Sunday morning I caught the train (with time to spare! No running this time - so proud of myself :-) to the Dordogne region of France, south of Limoges. I found myself grinning from ear to ear as I passed rolling hillsides, rocky outcroppings, blooming trees, and fields of dandelions. I even saw paragliders swinging gently over the countryside. I'm gonna do that!

My Help Exchange host Brigitte picked me up and brought me home to a picnic - what a welcome! Fine food and even finer company. After a leisurely afternoon at the table, we hiked up the hillside for my first glimpse into the magnificent caves of the area. Our flashlight was dim, so the full expedition would have to wait, but I am so excited to explore. My dad told me that he remembered (from a past life) living in an ancient cave in France. I feel contented here.

Brigette's yard

Brigette's yard

 

Posted with Blogsy