Spring Vacation Part Deux - Paris

Friday afternoon 5-4-12


I met up with the Jones at King's Cross station in London. We quickly learned that traveling to Paris on a Friday afternoon is the equivalent of LA traffic heading East to Vegas around 5:00 on a Friday. It was a madhouse. After maneuvering through what seemed like hundreds of lines and wheeled suitcases and passport control, we made it on to our train. Juli wasn't exactly 'thrilled' at the prospect of traveling under the English Channel but it went rather quickly and we all survived. It was a quick 3 hour (if that) train ride and all of a sudden I was in France. Just like that. The train pulls in to the Gara du Nord which is near Montmarte, where I had elected to stay. Juli and Jason caught a cab to their hotel and I headed off on foot to my hostel in Montmarte. I was wandering through the streets of Paris...
The directions I had printed out from the internet were not as exact as I had hoped they would be and I couldn't find the hostel. I found a little restaurant and got some food and asked the man in very broken French if he knew where this hostel was. He did. And when I finished my dinner, he walked me up to the street and pointed. I thanked him. He shook my hand and in a thick accent said "welcome to Paris." I'm sorry, but aren't French people supposed to be rude???
I finally arrived and checked in without issue. I went to the elevator and pressed the button to go up to my room. When the door opened, there was Sergio! (Sergio is the Spanish gentleman Kathryn had pointed out at Windsor Castle and Stonehenge) I asked he and his friend if they had just come from London as they had 'accidentally' appeared in my photos. They laughed and said yes. They were students from Madrid. His real name was Juan and his friend was Luis. Yay, friends!
I was staying in a 6 bed dormitory. When I got to the room there was a guy sleeping so I took a shower and promptly went to bed. It was a long day.


Saturday - 5-5-12
I had to wake up early as I was meeting the Jones' as well as the rest of the crew at the top of the Sacre Coeur in Montmarte. I knew it wasn't far so I headed up a little early to grab breakfast. As I sat down for breakfast, this was my view:

Sacre Coeur - Montmarte

After a quick breakfast Crepe, I walked, yes walked, up all those steps and waited for everyone to arrive. I watched a fascinating street performer while talking to a local about the city.

I met up with the Jones, Jules, Daniel and baby Logan and Jules parents who had also arrived for the trip. Logan had the best seat in the house.

Juli had brought along her Rick Steves travel book and he provides walking tours with information so you don't have to participate in paid tours or group tours. It's really quite handy. We love Rick! So we did our own private tour of Montmarte. And it was beautiful. A quiet little village in the north of Paris (filled with tourists) where artists such as Picasso, Degas, Rudin just to name a few spent time in their hey day. It was beautiful. We ended right in front of the Moulin Rouge.

Looking up Montmarte at the Sacre Coeur.

Van Gogh's studio...nbd.

The Two Windmills Cafe from the movie 'Amelie.'

The Moulin Rouge!

From there we headed over to the Eiffel Tower. We had bought tickets ahead of time, thank GOD because there was a REALLY long line to just buy tickets. We waited a total of about an hour to get the elevator to the top. Oh what a view.

Walking towards it.

Looking up it.

A view from the top.

It was great. The elevator rides were a tad claustrophobic and the rain at the top didn't help but how can you complain with this view? As we were walking out we noticed a lot of men with machine guns walking around. A tad unnerving. And we saw a sniper lying in the bushes with his gun pointed toward the Eiffel Tower. Come to find out later that this was the weekend of a very big election in France and they had raised the threat alert and beefed up security at all the major landmarks.
We headed to Jules' hotel so she could check in and decided to have dinner on the Rue Cler. It started pouring rain so we ran into the first restaurant we came across. Fortunately it was delicious and we were all satisfied. I bought a 5 day Metro pass as I knew at the end of every day I would have to maneuver my way back to Montmarte to the hostel. It was about a 45 minute train ride with all the train switching but I did pretty well. It's all color coded so it's much easier than NY to maneuver. I went to bed early.


Sunday 5-6-12


I had to wake up early as we were going to the Louvre museum which had free admission on Sundays. We were quite sure we weren't the only ones with this idea so we decided to meet early. It was a rainy Sunday morning and I was the first one there so I just sat under an awning and gazed at the beautiful entrance while I waited. The line would've been about a 2-3 hour wait but thankfully, with dear little Logan in a stroller, we got priority entrance and were escorted to the front of the line.
The Louvre. What can I say about the Louvre? We were there for about 4 hours and barely say 1/4 of it. But we saw the main things and it is a beautiful place to be.

The entrance to the Louvre

Looking up through the pyramid.

Our golden ticket in, thanks Logan!

Venus de Milo

Mona. (Couldn't get Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters out of my head all day...)

The Crowned Jewels. Not to be missed no matter WHAT is going on in your life.

From the Louvre we headed over to the Love Lock bridge and that is where we met up with Todd and Shannon. Since it was their 25th Anniversary, they were given a lock engraved with their names. The three couples, Juli and Jason, Jules and Daniel and Todd and Shannon, each affixed their lock on the bridge and threw the keys into the river thereby sealing their togetherness. It was adorable.

Jules, Daniel, Shannon, Todd, Juli and Jason about to throw their keys.

The Throw.

We walked through Paris over to the Ile Saint Louis otherwise known as Old Paris. We grabbed a sandwich from a street vendor and walked by Notre Dame and through the streets taking in the sites. It was so relaxing.

Notre Dame

Americans Ahoy!

We stopped at a place called Berthillion for some home made ice cream. After that Jules and her whole family were off to meet an old family friend. So Juli, Jason, Todd, Shannon and I went for a walk. We walked by the Louvre and saw a huge fountain in the Jardin Toulerie with chairs around it. We all just sat down and relaxed for about an hour. It was so pleasant and peaceful, it was probably one of my favorite moments of the trip.

The site where Marie Antoinette was beheaded.

A street charcoal artist.

We wandered into the 'center of Paris' to see the Obelisk from the Egyptians as well as the site of Marie Antoinette's hanging. And then wandered to find a place for dinner. We came upon Laduree which I was going to the next day anyway but we all wanted to try it so we ate there for dinner. It was super delicious although we didn't finish in time to engage in the famous macaroons. It was disappointing but we knew we would be back. From there we headed over to meet up with Jules and her family again so we could take a sightseeing cruise on the Seine called Bateux Mouches. It was a little chilly but it was still nice to see all the sites from a different perspective.

Jules is ready for the cruise.

Eiffel at night.

It was an exhausting day. I got back to the hostel around 10 and just wanted to go to sleep. But Juan, Luis and their other friend Diego were drinking wine in the common room so I wound up hanging out with them for a while. They are very enjoyable.


Monday 5-7-12


Finally, I got to sleep in. This vacation was exhausting. (Poor me.) I woke up around 10:30 and put some laundry in. Yay for dryers! It was so nice to have clean clothes.I had time to shower and charge all my camera batteries and such and since it was later in the morning I had the room all to myself. It felt good to be refreshed.
I made it into the city and went back to Laduree where I was meeting my friend, Bea. We had worked together at Too Faced. She was in charge of all of France and we had struck up a friendship many years prior. We had planned to meet up whenever I was in Paris and here I was. It was so enjoyable to talk to her face to face as the majority of our friendship had been through emails.

Me and Bea.

The infamous Laduree.

From there I walked down the Champs Elysees to meet up with the gang. They were at Sephora, the original Sephora and we just wanted to stroll the street. It is like the Rodeo Drive of Paris. Or I guess Rodeo Drive is the Champs Elysees of Los Angeles. It was fun to window shop and people watch and at the end of the street is the Arc de Triomphe.

Jules at Cartier, her happy place.

The Arc.

I LOVED this guy's snarl. Stayed on his face the whole time.

Logan, such a happy baby.

We all went our own ways for dinner again. Juli, Jason, Todd, Shannon and I went on another walk to see the 'statue of liberty.' From there we found a corner cafe to eat dinner. There was a Subway next door. I may or may not have snuck over for a quick 6 inch sub while I was waiting for dinner...

The Paris Statue of Liberty

The beautiful park walk.

Hot crepes on the side of the road.

Jason had to head back to Montmarte to pick up the rental car for the morning as we were all driving to Versailles so he took the train with me. It was a relatively early evening. As I was walking in to the hostel, the Spanish boys were walking out. They were heading out to a pub across the street for some wine so I joined them. 


Tuesday 5-8-12
I had to be to Juli's hotel at the ass crack of dawn. (yeah, I said it). So I had to get up super early. Having your alarm go off at 6:30am in a hostel room where 5 other people are sleeping does not endear you to them. But oh well. I got there early, yes, impressive. Jules arrived and brought me an egg and bacon Quiche. (Love her) and we all piled in the cars to head out. On the way out of the city we saw a Starbucks and Jules and I insisted on some caffeine. 
It was nice to get out of the city though. And it was so nice to be in a car and on a highway. It's the small pleasures in life. It was a national holiday so we were expecting everything to be crowded and we were right. When we got to Versailles we could tell it would be a day surrounded by a lot of people. 
The palace was beautiful, a little gawdy, but they sure like to overdo it. But Todd actually made a good point, shocker I know. The French architecture is so intricate and exquisite on just basic buildings like a bank that when it comes to a Palace they pretty much have to go over the top. Point one for Todd.

Versailles

Me in the Hall of Mirrors

The measly side gardens.

After a few hours at Versailles we jumped back into the cars and headed over to Giverny which is the home of Monet and his gardens. It was about an hour drive through the beautiful French Countryside. Shannon and I both fell asleep for a while but when we were awake it sure was lovely.
I would say that Monet's gardens are something out of a painting but...
They're inexplicable. And pictures (or paintings) don't do them justice.

Todd and Shannon. Love these two!

We peacefully drove back to the city and dropped everyone off at their hotels with plans to meet up the next day for one final day together. Since Jason was helping Jules and her family. Juli got stuck with all the bags and looked like the stereotypical American. I just had to take a photo.

She loves me.

It was an early night. I went back to the hostel and dropped my stuff off and I was on a quest for sushi. I walked around Montmarte for about an hour but I found it. And boy did I eat. 

Lots of sushi!

In France when teens get a six pack, they overlook the cityscape.

I headed back and was able to get a good night's sleep.


Wednesday 5-9-12


I awoke early as I had plans to meet Todd and Shannon up in Montmarte for breakfast. We met up and went through the village. We sat at a little cafe overlooking the streets and chatted and spent some time together just the three of us. It was delightful. It started to rain a little bit so the waiter raised the awning over us so we could still enjoy our breakfast crepes and coffees. He was so sweet. I left them and hopped on the train over to the Pere LaChaise cemetery to meet up with the group. Todd and Shannon were going to take a walk around Montmarte while we walked around the cemetery to look at dead people. When I got there I couldn't find the designated meeting point so I was lost in the cemetery for quite a while. I was about to start getting frustrated when I realized if the worst part of my day was getting lost in a cemetery in Paris, things were all right. Finally, I decided to cut my losses and head to the next designated meeting place. As I decided to leave, I ran into Jason and Juli. Fate! They had gone to the Catacombs that morning but they opened an hour later than they had been told. So Jules and her family had decided to head over to the Musee D'Orsay and Juli and Jason headed to the cemetery to try to find me. Juli had her handy Rick Steves Book so she successfully guided us to the graves we wanted to see. And the cemetery really was beautiful, as cemeteries go.

Oscar Wilde

Edith Piaf

Moliere

Jim Morrison

Chopin

Heloise and Abelard. A fascinating story we learned about.

I'm really glad that we found each other and got to see everything we wanted to see. From there we went our separate ways. Juli and Jason wanted to have a relaxing afternoon and I really wanted to go to the Paris Opera House.
The Paris Opera House was just as beautiful as I thought it would be. I wish there was a guided tour but instead I got to wander around for a few hours and just take it in by myself. The best part is there was a rehearsal in progress. So I sat on a bench outside the auditorium and closed my eyes and listened to an aria. It was a fantastic moment.

 

Then I headed over to Juli's hotel room to get changed for our fancy evening. Juli had booked us a reservation at a restaurant called Le Grande Cascade for Jules' birthday. I was very excited.

The view from Juli's hotel room.

They served us a multi-course meal along with champagne and French bread. I could go through each course and describe it but I'm not going to because it was just something tht the 10 of us shared and it was an intensely happy moment for all of us. It was a great way to say goodbye to Paris.
So for my first time in Paris, I do love that city. Not as much as London, I am madly in love with London but Paris is a lot of fun. Plus I also learned, well not so much learned as was reminded just how lucky I am to have made such a great group of friends that they would travel across the world just to see me. (OK, I'm not that arrogant, I know I wasn't the sole purpose of their journey...) It was the trip of a lifetime.

The Ladies at Versailles.

Versailles

Arc de Triomphe

The whole group at Giverny, Monet's Gardens.

Spring Vacation Part One - London

Departure


I have been planning this trip since last fall so to say that anticipation was at an all time high is an understatement. I was going to London, one of my favorite cities, I was going to Paris, to which I had never been, I was about to eat some delicious food, I was reuniting with my friends after a long year and going on the longest vacation I had ever been on. I did not sleep the night before. To be fair, there really was no point. I had to get up at 3:30am to get to the airport.
I was in Chisinau for the weekend for our mentor training. The 'new class' of trainees is arriving in June and I signed up to be a mentor. Before I arrived, I had been assigned a 'mentor' to help me with pre-departure jitters and ease into arrival. Needless to say, I never met him until the day I arrived so I had little help. I decided to sign up to be the antithesis of that. He's a nice guy and we're friends now, but mentor he was not. So we all went up to Chisinau for a meeting about the incoming group and what activities we will do with them to help ease the transition. I'm friends with all of the other mentors so it was really nice to get together. My main goal will be to not make them feel like we are talking down to them or making them feel like we are an exclusive group that they should strive to be which is how I felt when I arrived. It was an uncomfortable arrival and I really hope I can help the trainees. But I digress...
After the training, we all went to a bbq in a park for another volunteer's birthday. It was nice to relax and hang out with everyone before I got to go on vacation. I spent all day Sunday doing last minute shopping for the trip and having lunch with Lindsay, Lyndsey and Jessica. We got stuff to make food for Conrad's birthday but I SEVERELY messed up the gnocchi's and we had to settle for box pasta. Well, can't win 'em all. Everyone went to sleep but I just laid down and relaxed. I woke up in time to go to the airport, and loving friends that they are, Lindsay and Conrad got up too so they could walk me to get a cab safely. 
A few weeks prior, I had been contacted by another volunteer to see if I would consider escorting one of her students to Munich. He was 17 and wasn't allowed to travel internationally without a guardian. So I had filled out paperwork to become his legal guardian so he could get to Munich. From there he was going to the U.S. for the summer to live with the volunteer's parents. My cab stopped on the way to the airport to pick them up and we headed to the airport. When we got to the airport and finally got through passport control with all of our paperwork, we ran into another volunteer, Cristen, who was headed home for her brother's graduation. So Denis, Cristen and I boarded the plane to Munich. Although the flight was only an hour and a half, we all had a 5 hour layover in Munich. It could've been boring but we made up a game, "Spot the American" that was unusually entertaining. We had a lot of fun. I said goodbye Denis and wished him luck in America. He's a sweet kid and I know he'll do great.

Me, Denis and Cristen in Munich.

So I finally landed in London at noon. Customs was a REALLY long line but it was just nice being there. I took a train into the city to meet up with my dear friends, Kathryn and Seeson. I changed my flight to come a few days early to hang out with them. I met Kathryn at Too Faced a few years ago and we became friends when we bonded over our mutual love of High School Musical. We found out through the years that we had a lot in common and became great friends. But the best thing about them is that they are CRAZY foodies. Kathryn spent months researching the best places to eat that are off the radar, local joints and not tourist attractions. I was really excited to hang out with them as I knew I would eat well!
I arrived at the train stop I had been instructed to go to. I was waiting in line to exit and Kathryn walked right into me. It was like not a day had passed. Everything felt normal again. We went to the hotel so I could drop my backpack off. (Yes, I was vacationing for 2 weeks and I only had a backpack. The life of a volunteer). Kathryn and Seeson were letting me crash in the extra bed in their hotel room and I was TRULY grateful as London is not the cheapest city.

Seeson and Kathryn...they're not as dastardly as they seem...

I knew there wouldn't be time to rest as we hit the ground running. We planned out an itinerary filled with pop culture locations. So where do you go first in London? Abbey Road of course! We stopped and got a quick bite at an Asian fusion restaurant, (REAL FOOD!!!!) and then headed to Abbey Road. Local Londoners must hate when their daily route takes them down Abbey Road as it is an active road and although the crosswalk is one of those where the cars have to stop, it must get REALLY old for all these tourists to be taking photos walking across the road. Didn't stop us of course. We did it at least 20 times, even asking a stranger to stand in the middle of traffic to get the right angle. It was pretty cool, even if it was cliche. (Of course they're all on Seeson's camera so...) From there we continued our pop culture tour and headed to King's Crossing. I mean we had to see Platform 9 3/4 from the Harry Potter movies!

The Olympics are coming....

An homage to Harry Potter...

At the train station, I got to get a Starbucks coffee. Ah, it's the little things. It was so enjoyable to sip a Vanilla Latte. From there we decided to search for the restaurant that Kathryn had found for us for dinner, St. John's. It was traditional British cuisine. We were seated in the dining room that looked quite formal. However, once we sat down and looked at the menu, we couldn't find anything appetizing besides the homemade Madelines they offered for dessert. So in an upscale fancy restaurant, we ordered a dozen Madelines with our total bill of 8 pounds. The waitress did NOT care for us. We exited quickly after paying the bill. We headed over to the London Eye. We arrived just at twilight and started the ride when the sun was setting into dark. It was cool to see the city skyline in light and in dark. 

Since our original dinner plan fell through, we had to go with Plan B. And oh were we glad we did. We went to a Mexican restaurant called Wahaca. O...M...G... It was street food so we ordered a bunch of different dishes and the flavor of their homemade chipotle sauce was inexplicable!

Carnitas Tacos

Homemade guacamole!!!!

It was an amazing meal and incredibly satisfying! Full and tired, we headed back to the hotel. I got to take a nice warm bath before crashing out. It was 9:30pm and that was just day one!


Tuesday 5-1-12


We had scheduled an all day tour for the next day so there was no sleeping in for us. We were up at 7:30 and out the door to grab some breakfast before finding our bus. It was a luxury comfort bus so it was kind of nice to be able to sleep in between stops. First stop? Windsor Castle. The town of Windsor is a cute little town. I wish we had time to walk around there but on the tour everything is scheduled pretty tightly. We walked around Windsor Castle and saw the grave of Henry VIII among many other things. It's very beautiful. We didn't have a lot of time there unfortunately. We stopped on the way out to grab some lunch for the bus and I got my first Dr. Pepper. mmmmm, it had been way too long.

The sites weren't the only beautiful thing to look at...Sergio...mmm...more on him later...

Got to take another nap on the way to Stonehenge. Honestly, I wasn't expecting much of Stonehenge. Anyone who ever has talked about it has basically said "eh, it's just a pile of rocks." But when we drove up towards it, I was surprised at just how beautiful it was sitting in the English countryside. There was barely anybody there and it was so quiet and peaceful, I just fell in love. I walked to the far side and sat on a bench and just exhaled. 

We only had 45 minutes there so we were rushed back on the bus and headed to Oxford...and another nap. :)
I was excited to see Oxford mostly because it was where the Harry Potter movies filmed their outdoor scenes at Hogwarts. But Oxford, the town turned out to be a delightful little village and I wish, again, we could have spent more time there. These bus tours are great for transportation, but the lack of freedom to explore is a little sad. We took a quick walking tour, saw some filming locations, saw some of the colleges and then had to get back on the bus to head back to the city. 

Hogwarts...

We headed back into London. Kathryn took us to this restaurant called the Meat Liquor for gourmet hamburgers. I was in heaven. 

Buffalo wings and chili cheese fries.

We were in a meat coma but that didn't stop us on the way home from stopping for some street ice cream on homemade waffles. These two are incorrigible!


Wednesday 5-2-12


The next day we could sleep in a little bit. The plan was to go to Hampton Court, the home of Henry VIII, but we were doing it ourselves so we had a little more freedom. We tried out a bakery that were famous for their cinnamon rolls. They were good but none of us were overly impressed. From there we took the train outside the city to Hampton Court. It was so beautiful. There was barely anyone there and it was so nice to have the freedom to explore on our own time. We spent about 3 hours there just wandering around and it was very peaceful and fun.

The entrance to Hampton Court.

Kathryn had no problem ascending to the throne.

When we boarded the train back to London we learned that you had to get on the train quickly, it does not wait for anyone. The doors started to shut on Seeson and he held it, I had to slither in before they shut. We laughed for quite a while wondering what we would have done had one of us been left behind. From there we went to walk around Covent Garden which is an open air popular shopping center. We lost each other for a while and I realized that without phones we were quite vulnerable to losing each other. I mean yes, we could always meet up back at the hotel but we had dinner plans and it was a scary moment. I certainly didn't want to miss out on any meals. We grabbed a snack Crepe while we were there and searched for more Harry Potter locations. We found Gringotts bank but didn't find Diagon Alley. For non-Harry Potter fans, these words mean nothing, but for us, it was quite exciting.

Covent Garden Market

Gringott's Bank

We wound up relaxing at Starbucks for a while until we had to be at dinner. We were meeting up with couple #2 arriving from California, Juli and Jason Jones. We meet them at Hawksmoor, a steakhouse. Yum! Juli and Jason were early, of course, and the 5 of us had a VERY filling, delicious dinner. It was so nice to have a steak!

Yeah...I ordered it that bloody!!

After a meal that consisted of curried mussels, steak and corn flake ice cream (yes), we decided to head back to our respective hotels. I had a long day of theatre ahead of me.


Thursday 5-3-12


We again slept in as we were doing a LOT of walking. We headed to the Borough Market which is another open air market where you can buy a lot of street food. (Can you tell what this trip was centered around?) It was hard to decide between pulled pork, burgers, roast beef and many other selections, but I finally got a fresh roast beef sandwich with horseradish. 

Too good for words.

After lunch, for the first time since I arrived we were going our separate ways. I was going to the Globe and they were going to do some other London sight seeing and then we were reconvening for dinner with the Jones' as well as couple #3 Jules and Daniel (and 1 year old baby, Logan) for dinner. I had the directions and the time so we said our farewells. I asked directions from a street vendor and he sent me down to the Thames river to walk that way towards the Globe. Great decision! I got to the Globe early and enjoyed a cup of coffee and browsed in the shop for a while. I was going to watch Titus Andronicus at 2:30pm. It was in the middle of the Global Shakespeare Festival. Every day, a different Shakespeare play was performed by a different company from around the world in a different language. Titus Andronicus was being performed in Cantonese by a Taiwanese Shakespeare company. I had no idea what to expect but I was very excited as it is my favorite Shakespearean play. It was awesome! For a more detailed review, see below. If 'it was awesome' suffices, please skip ahead to the end of the review.

The Globe! The Globe!

****Theatre Nerd Alert****

(if you are not a theatre nerd, you may want to skip ahead...)

When I walked into the theatre it took my breath away. Overdramatic? Probably, but true. It's just everything I hoped it would be. There were 12 chairs upside down on the stage with folded clothes in front of them. The audience was slowly sauntering in. I noticed a couple of Asians migrating towards each other and didn't think too much of it. That was until they all formed a line and in a march formation walked onstage diagonally and walked backstage. They were all in street clothes. 5 minutes later, they all walked out on stage and sat in the chairs. 4 were in black, 6 were in gray and 2 were in white. You don't have to speak Cantonese to figure out who was who.

They sat there and did not move for a good 2 minutes. There was no sound in the audience. And they did not move until the person in the balcony sounded the gong. This person in the balcony would serve as the entire orchestra/sound effects for the entire production using a variety of Asian instruments and sound effects. Once the gong was sounded, the play began. They did the entire first/exposition scene sitting, standing, curling around, kneeling in front of these chairs but they never left 'their space.' At the end of the scene, they put on the costumes in front of their chairs on stage and then all exited with their chairs. 

The death scene of Bassianus was amazing and it was clear that these actors were all in their own league. The way they used the space on the stage, the stage pictures they created, their interaction with each other was unlike anything I had ever seen. It was like they had all known each other their entire lives. 

Titus is an incredibly bloody play. When Lavinia is 'mutilated and her hands cut off, the actress wears satin red gloves and keeps her hands in fists. It is an incredibly physical role and this girl holds nothing back. It looks exhausting! Titus' sons are tied to crosses and they walk through the audience right through the crowd knocking people out of the way. They have involved the audience completely in the story. Titus himself delivers an explosive monologue in the pit of the audience, literally at some points screaming in the face of patrons. These are true theatre goers though. No one moves a muscle, they just intently appreciate the performance of these actors. A light drizzle starts to fall and no one flinches. A few hoods go up, but no umbrellas. If it weren't for physically seeing the rain, I wouldn't believe it had even happened. 

In traditional Shakespearean form, in the second act, a man plays the nurse. The audience giggles slightly at first but is soon lost in the performance. Titus again goes right in the audience's faces with his anger. No one can help but get caught up in his frustrations. The director uses such subtle methods of showing the differences in the families. It is clearly very minimalist but I notice that the people in 'power' always have shoes and the people being taken advantage of are barefoot. The minute those roles change, the shoes come off. A small detail, but a powerful one. The entire play is in black and white. The only color is the red to signify the bloodiness of the story. 

At the climax of the show, basically everyone dies and there isn't one death scene that isn't amazing. And in that final scene with all the bodies, it is one of the most beautiful stage pictures i have ever seen. The audience doesn't even applaud until the actors get up. They walk into a formation to what we think will be a bow but instead it is a one minute Tai Chi choreography and the audience falls silent. Almost as if they are cleansing us of what we have seen. Finally they bow. Am I gushing? Trust me, I am not doing it justice. One of the most amazing theatrical experiences I have ever been a privilege to be witness to.

****End Theatre Nerd Alert****

Still on a high from the experience, I made my way to the train and found the restaurant with ease. Kathryn and Seeson hadn't arrived yet but I saw Jules from a mile away. Can't miss that blonde hair of hers. She was standing outside inline with Logan and Daniel. Juli was with them. The line was really long and it was pretty crowded so they were waiting for Kathryn and Seeson and we were all going to go to another restaurant that Jason was currently waiting at. Everyone arrived shortly thereafter and we headed to the next restaurant. I walked in and saw Jason and approached him. He was talking to another guy. When the guy turned around, it was my friend, Todd!!!!! He and his wife, Shannon, decided to join our trip and surprised me. Todd is one of my dearest friends and I KNOW the strength it took for all these people to keep a secret so I was very touched by the effort and so excited that he was there. So now there are 10 of us (including the baby) trying to find an open table in a crowded restaurant. Not the easiest task, but we did it. We ordered some traditional English dinners and enjoyed all being together. Juli, Jason and I couldn't stay long as we were headed to the theatre to see Ghost: The Musical. I had downloaded the soundtrack to this new musical months ago and really had based my desire to go to London again on the fact that I wanted to see it. Juli and Jason, both theatre nerds in their own right, decided to go as well. We left the gang at dinner and walked through Picadilly Circus to the theatre. When I was last in London in 1995, I mostly spent all my time in the theatre district so I felt most comfortable there. The theatre was not very crowded and although we had seats in the balcony, we were 'upgraded' immediately to the orchestra level and had fantastic seats. The show was really great. The special effects were really remarkable and as Jason commented, it just wasn't a show you could have done 10 years ago. We all enjoyed ourselves and as expected, wept at the end, but mostly enjoyed the culture and the experience of seeing this together. We started to walk to the train but decided to stop and get some donuts. I thought it was the least I could do would be to bring Kathryn and Seeson some donuts. I said goodnight to the Jones' and made plans to meet them at King's Cross Train Station the following day for our train to Paris. 

When I got to the hotel room Kathryn and Seeson were in bed but were more than happy to eat the donuts I brought. They too brought me a present, a Dr. Pepper. The three of us stayed up for a while talking and giggling about nothing. It was their last night of vacation so it was fun to just hang out. 

Friday 5-4-12

The next morning they woke up super early to leave but let me sleep in as they didn't have to checkout until noon. I said goodbye to them, sadly. I slept for a little while and then went back to Picadilly Circus. I had some time until the train to Paris so I decided to go see "The Avengers" which was opening that day. It was exciting to go and see a movie. It killed a lot of time and then I head right over to King's Cross to get to Paris where the adventure will continue...

Dead People's Easter

No, I'm not being crude. Tomorrow is a National Holiday and is literally translated as 'Dead People's Easter.' Everyone gets together, goes and buys flowers and tons of food and then go to the cemetery and have a feast on the graves of their loved ones. Sounds weird? And yet...is it? In the US, death is SO morbid and foreboding and here it is celebrated. They include members of their family in the biggest celebration of the year even if they have passed on. It may seem morbid to us, but overall, I think it is kind of sweet. The cemeteries here are filled with joy and happiness and it is a celebration. Isn't that a refreshing take?
At work this week, we are mostly focusing on the anti-human trafficking festival that is fast approaching. Since I will be gone for 2 weeks on vacation I am simply trying to assist in what I can before I leave. It's hard to focus as all I can think about is visiting London and Paris with my CA friends. I can't believe I haven' seen them in almost a year. And the week before vacation is tough because all you're thinking about is going and it is so hard to focus on the task at hand. 
Today, my friend Erin and I decided to 'treat' ourselves and get our hair cut. I haven't had my haircut since about a month before I left the US. It seems like such a simple thing, but I just haven't done it. We didn't know what to expect in a Moldovan Salon but it was magnificent. Just to sit in a chair and lean back and have someone wash my hair was so glorious. I felt like a new woman! Erin and I were giddy.
We also had a fantastic meeting with the director of the Cahul Theatre. He had been coming to the anti-trafficking meetings and finally on Friday, I approached him and told him that I was a theatre director and would LOVE to tour his theatre and learn about their process here. He was elated and met with us this morning to take us up on the offer. Theatre, or the any of the Arts for that matter, are not exactly prominent in Moldova but there is a small community of artisans that have the passion to do it. The theatre itself is pretty small, much like the Chino theatre I worked at. It seats 100 people. The stage is no extremely wide but it has some depth to it. It is in an old Soviet building so the acoustics are pretty solid. The dressing rooms are literally right off stage. I can't imagine a group of my Chino teens in that dressing room having to stay silent while the show was on. I laughed to myself when I saw it thinking of what a challenge that would be. It is a professional theatre so the actors are paid and the directors are hired on contract from other cities in Moldova as well as Romania, Bulgaria and Ukraine. The perform in classical Russian style. Gheorge, the director, said he would love to explore some European styles or absurdist, but he is very aware of his audience and according to him, they just 'aren't ready.' He showed us all the posters for their past shows and he showed me a script he is perusing for the next season. It is by a British playwright that I had heard of and he was thrilled that I had heard of his selection. They perform mostly in Romanian, sometimes Russian but never in English. He did express some interest in trying an English performance at some point in the future. They are currently in the process of building a brand new theatre across the park that would seat 200 people and would have a much bigger stage which would allow for bigger productions. He showed us the plans for the new building and he is very excited about the possibilities. This theatre is celebrating its 25th year in existence and they are having an anniversary celebration at the end of the summer that he asked me to be a part of. I told him that I brought some DVD's of some of the shows I had directed and he asked if he could view them and show them to his company. So in a few weeks, a group of Moldovan actors will be watching the Chino Community Teen Theatre's production of 'The Who's Tommy.' Crazy how things work out. He invited me back to the theatre whenever I would like to see a performance or would like to sit in the booth and help backstage or whatever I would like to do. He also asked if I would sit in on rehearsals and watch how they work to see how it differed from the American way of doing things. I was in heaven. The three of us sat around for a while drinking tea and he told us stories about the Soviet times and where the arts fit in to his history and his family and it was just fascinating. I was thinking back to last summer when my program manager told me that she appreciated my skill set but there wasn't a lot of theatre in Moldova that I could apply them to specifically and I laughed. Because a mere 9 months later, the two biggest parts of my day are working acting seminars with University students who are making a film and now working at the local theatre. What a lucky girl!

Easter Weekend

As I tried desperately to explain to my nephew why Easter is a week later over here, I became exhausted and gave up. Still recovering from said exhaustion, I'll just say, it just is. Orthodox Easter is a week later here. Deal with it.
The past few weeks have been actually busy. My partner (when I say my 'partner' I am referring to my Moldovan counterpart. It is not a gay term. Although still 100% supporting gay rights. NOH8!) is really starting to pump out some project ideas as we have deadlines to meet for funding. So currently we are proposing a project to be done in the summer to educate new graduates about social media in the workforce. It's weird to me that now people have to be educated on the dangers of social media. I guess when you're 20 years old you don't think that a photo of yourself doing a keg stand will harm your chances at getting that dream job. (AGAIN...so happy there was no internet when I was in college...) We submitted the project to the US Embassy to apply for funding. So we'll see how that goes.
I am also involved with fellow volunteer, Dylan, and Fulbright Scholar, Erin, in creating an anti-human trafficking festival here in Cahul at the end of May. There are SO many hoops to jump through to get this done. We have been having weekly meetings with local administrators, church leaders and Moldovans to try and organize this and it is a lot of work. It would involve all the local high schools, the University and the 2 colleges all participating. The organization "La Strada" will be coming and giving seminars to each of the aforementioned schools during the week. On the weekend, there will be musical acts, entertainment and information booths about human trafficking all over the city. There are many factors involved in planning this project between egos and money and timing and scheduling, it's insane. But hopefully the planning will be worth it. Working with Dylan and Erin is great. They've become two of my best friends here and I will be greatly saddened to see them leave in June. Also, there's a possibility that I will get to go to a week long conference with my partner in Estonia. (WTF?) I had to google it. But it is across the Baltic Sea South of Finland, West of Russia. I know, it blows my mind too. We would be going in August so the weather should be perfect. I'm really hoping that happens. I can't think of another time in my life I would get to visit that part of the continent.
This weekend was also Easter weekend which is the BIGGEST holiday in Moldova. Since I do not live with a host family, I knew I wouldn't experience the true Easter, but that's okay. It involves going to church from about midnight to five am (I'm already out) followed by a huge masa (feast) all day. But I experienced none of this because for the first time since I've been here, I got sick. Ugh. My roommate, Holly, went to a village to celebrate with her partner (again, Moldovan counterpart) so I had the place to myself which was good because it was like an infirmary in here. Tissues everywhere, empty tablet wrappers, water, tea cups, blech. But, I'm better now. I'd rather get it over with now. Today my sense of smell returned and so did my friends as we all gathered to have a traditional Moldovan Easter lunch. Well, by traditional, I mean we made Fajitas, but at least I could taste them. 
Holly is leaving for vacation on Wednesday to Poland so I'm hoping to get Lyndsey to come visit me so she doesn't go stir crazy in the village up North. I worry about her. The following Monday is Dead People's Easter. I'm not being funny, that's what it literally translates to. It means that everyone goes to the cemetery and sets up a huge masa (feast) at the graves of their loved ones so they can celebrate Easter with them. Yes, it is a National Holiday. My partner was shocked that we have no such thing in the US. It's interesting that we think of a cemetery as such a somber place and they use it as a place where they can still celebrate with loved ones who have passed. All about perspective, I guess.
Two weeks from today, I am flying to London to meet up with my TF girls. Two weeks from this very moment I will be sitting in a pub with my friend, Kathryn. Two week from Thursday night I will be sitting at Ghost, the Musical with my friend Juli. And two weeks from Sunday, I will be toasting champagne in Paris with my friend Jules. What is my life?