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Published: December 13th 2006
Christmas Dinner (a bit early)
A hearty, happy, (maybe not healthy)home-cooked Christmas meal in the shared kitchen of Sandra, Tara, Bryony, Vicky, and Diana and in Ted Lewis Hall of the Middlesex University in Enfield, London. Hello Everyone!
I haven't posted a blog in a little while...so...what HAVE I been up to???
Well, for starters I have actually been doing some homework. I turned in a fiche technique and a revue de presse yesterday, and I have been reading all about Giuseppe Verdi in preparation for an oral expose in my class "Discovery of the Opera" next Tuesday. Actually, preparing the expose is tomorrow's project. I have been enjoying "discovering" the opera during the semester and have even managed to get to TWO in the past few weeks!
The National Opera of Paris We are lucky to have two opera houses here in Paris, the classic Opera Garnier (where The Phantom of the Opera was set) and the more modern Opera Bastille (opened in 1989). The Director of the National Opera of Paris, Gerard Mortier, places a big emphasis on 'democratizing' the opera, and has thus opened up lots of reasonably-priced seats so that more students like me don't have to pay 100 euros that we don't have!
Thanks to M. Mortier, two weekends ago I paid
only 5 euro for a standing-room only-ticket for
L'Amour des Trois Oranges at Opera Bastille, and ended up sitting front-and-center thanks to empty seats. It was a farcical, light-hearted opera which I really enjoyed, but I liked the next one that I saw at the Opera Garnier even better. This second opera was Mozart's
Idomeneo, and it left a powerful impression thanks to fantastic music, great staging, a splendid venue, and a satisfying plot. The story is set in Ancient Greece just after the Trojan War and charts the travails of the King of Crete, Idomeneo, who is shipwrecked on his way home from the war and has to make a bargain with Neptune to keep his life. Alas, the bargain is that he will sacrifice the first person he sees upon reaching his home to the wrathful god...and that first person just happens to be his cherished, noble-spirited son, who has meanwhile fallen in love with a Trijan princess and united the two rival populations. A typical Greek tragedy...but with a happy ending! I won't reveal all the details, but it was a fabulous opera. Go see it if you have the chance!
Voyage to the Land of Fish & Chips, Lorries, the Tube, and Roundabouts
Last Thursday morning I caught an EasyJet puddle-jumper and made a quick hop across the Channel to visit my wonderful friend Bryony in England. I spent four days with her and her family, splitting the time between her dorm at the University of Middlesex in Southbury, London, and the town of Letchworth where I used to live. Needless to say it was FABULOUS to see her (and her family AND Letchworth again) as I had been anticipating this trip since my arrival in France. (Actually, before that!)
Highlights of the weekend included:
-homemade Christmas dinner for us and her four flatmates in her dorm Thursday night...complete with Muscat wine (French influence!), a good Gallo rose, Christmas crackers, Baileys, mince pies, and hip-hop music!!!! (Robyn's contribution: the Muscat, cranberry sauce, carving the potatoes, and chopping the swede into little pieces before mashing it up!)
-going to the gym on Friday morning (yeah, it's crazy but I hadn't been to a gym in 3 1/2 months and I was in withdrawal!!! I even managed to drag Bryony out of bed to accompany me ; )
-a 2-hour walk around
The London Eye
Too expensive to ride on, but cool to look at!
central London on the banks of the Thames River Friday afternoon, following the tourist-circuit and passing Waterloo Station, the Houses of Parliament & Big Ben, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Millenium Bridge, the Tate Modern Gallery, and the London Eye. Funnily enough, I never did this stuff while I lived there, so I didn't feel too ashamed to be playing the tourist!!! (See pictures)
-Saturday morning Bryony's mum Vivienne picked us up and drove us home to Letchworth, only 45 minutes away. Key points: the sky was crystal-clear blue!!!! I could see the sun! Riding in a car felt like a novelty. Coming 'home' to Letchworth made me feel like I never left. The shops have changed, but the feel is the same. St. Chris (my old school) has some new buildings and new staff, but is apparently as eccentric as ever (some things never change!)
-Sunday I got to watch an awesome Arsenal-Chelsea match on the telly with Colin while Bryony took a nap. Arsenal scored to go ahead with 12 minutes left, but unfortunately Chelsea came back with an unstoppable goal to even it up. Final score: 1-1, but for me it meant so much more! Colin
We're not tourists!!!
But we convinced two tourists to take a picture of us...coincidentally in front of the Houses of Parliament & Big Ben ; )
was stunned at how "into" it I was...why don't guys ever realize that girls CAN and DO sometimes know/like sports more than guys??? Way cool part of the weekend. Spent the rest of the day reading Verdi and trashy romances : )
-Bryony and I decorated the Christmas tree on Sunday, which was SO much fun. As we have no tree here in Paris, I figured I had better plunge into the Christmas spirit while the opportunity presented itself! Mission accomplished. I can't wait for X-mas! My family is in the process of decorating my house at home, so I can't wait to get home...I will be celebrating my 21st birthday AND Christmas AND the New Year in a span of 10 days! My flight leaves next Thursday...7 days to go!
Basically I did nothing too exciting during my stay in England in terms of sightseeing, but that was EXACTLY what I wanted. Sometimes there is nothing better than visiting and talking to friends and feeling like a part of the family...thank you, Whitehead Family, for always making me feel at home!
It was a rude shock to wake up at 4am to fly back to Paris
Monday morning (oh, the things we do for cheap airline tickets) but I managed to do it. It helped that the whole Whitehead family got up to see me off- Viv, Bryony, AND Nick took me to Luton Airport! THAT was a true test of friendship.
Anecdote: Robyn being stupid This will definitely make you laugh:
We got to the airport a good hour before my flight, checked in with 45 minutes to spare, and I said my goodbyes and headed into security still with 40 minutes of leeway. And then, what did I do? So typical: while going through security, I managed to LOSE my boarding pass! You know how sometimes things just disappear into thin air? This was one of those times. After 5 minutes of frantic searching, and to the disbelief and disgust of the security officers, I decided to return to the check-in counter downstairs to get another one reissued. So I went haring downstairs, ran up to the counter completely out of breath, and gasped out my story. The lady wasn't too pleased, and made me check my bags again, but she (thankfully!) broke protocol and printed me another. I
London Sunset
Wow! It's the sun! What a perfect time to make an appearance...sunset! (Which is 4pm at this time of the year) immediately sprinted upstairs again and cut two lines of security, arriving back at my metal-detector less than 5 minutes later. I think I broke speed records! I was afraid I was going to be arrested for running in the airport like some sort of fugitive...but they must be used to stupid people, and I hardly got a second look. I felt even MORE stupid, though, when low and behold, the security lady found my ORIGINAL boarding pass stuck in the sleeve of my leather jacket when I put it down on the conveyer belt. Oh boy...NOT happy. But I didn't stay long to wallow in my humiliation- I went dashing off again to my gate! Everything following this episode passed smoothly, but there is always SOMETHING when I travel! Oh well...I guess it makes life more exciting. I got my daily run in a little earlier than usual, lol.
Arrived back at my appartment by 10:15 am, before Cyril had even gotten up! The wonder of European proximity....gotta love it! Paris is (as usual) very active and "chargé", and I plan on spending Friday night at the Louvre with a friend. (Free every Friday night!) Tomorrow is, as I
St. Paul's Cathedral
...and red double-decker buses! How typically "London" said, "expose preparation day", and on Saturday morning I catch the train to Strasbourg to visit the marches de noel and my friend Stacy who has been studying at Sciences Po there during this semester. If that doesn't put me fully into the holiday spirit, I don't know what will! I'll be back in Paris for my birthday Monday (although I might postpone the celebration, seeing as how I have 8 hours of class on Tuesday) and on Wednesday evening I am going to try to go see the ballet Coppelia at the Opera Bastille with my friend Yulia. Then it's home sweet home on Thursday! Can you tell I am excited? Paris is great but sometimes you just want to be home...here I come!
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