a lot of champagne photos

Taking pictures of the bubbly is a great way to amuse oneself when dining alone in a foreign country.

Ahhh, Paris; 8 days was not enough...

Hanging out in the Tullerie Gardens with 1000s of Parisians on a warm
spring afternoon.  The ducks in the fountain choregoraphed their dives,
and we thought it was hilarious to see 3 duck butts in a row.  

Quick, possibly illegal, selfie in the Orangerie with the Monets- Mallory
carried this one off better than I did

Much better Mallory and Laura selfie- planned, timed,
focused, outside of the Tullerie Gardens

Macaroons, champagne= so French


Fashion Show at the Galleries Lafayette!!!

Fashion show- mustard yellow is in this year?

The bridge where lovers write their initials on a lock, and attach it to the bridge-
it got so heavy that the Municipality of Paris had to remove a bunch of them
to prevent a bridge collapse.  

On the roof of the Musee de Orsay, pondering life with a statue of Wisdom

I don't remember if I was on the Left Bank or the Right Bank...

La Pere Lachaise cemetery, where many famous people are buried.
It's such a peaceful place for a stroll.  

Cafe in Montemartre where Amelie worked in the movie

Montmartre

I stayed 8 nights in Paris during Spring Break.  Rather than staying in a hotel or hostal, I rented a lovely studio apartment in Montmartre, the neighborhood where basically all of the Impressionist painters lived in the early 1900s.  It is a wonderful place, full of charm and culture and great restaurants.  It was a soul-refreshing place to return to after hours dealing with tourists.

the Montmartre stop (Rue de Abbesses) is one of only 3 Metro stops with the
original Art Deco metal work

Montmartre is full of historic windmills, many of which
are now restaurants or bar, but which were used
for cement grinding through the 1950s 

France was part of the Roman Empire.  As Christianity began to spread throughout the empire, the early Christian leaders were persecuted by the polytheistic Romans (the same people who threw the Christians to the lions).  Father Denis was a leading Christian scholar in the area that would become Paris.  He was discovered by Roman leaders, and ordered for execution. The story tells that he was supposed to be marched to the top of Montmartre hill, where he would be executed.  On the way up, he was harassing his Roman guards, preaching to them and trying to get them to convert.  One guard got frustrated, and chopped off Denis' head.  Denis' body picked up his head, carried it, and continued preaching as he walked the remaining 6 miles uphill.  Now he is St Denis, patron saint of Montmartre.

Saint Denis

Sacre Couer- a very famous and beautiful church on the top of the hill

view from Sacre Couer

It wouldn't be Paris without a high fashion shoot

This restaurant was about 130 feet from my apt.  I ate there almost every day.  It was such great quality French food (steak frites, omelettes, croque Monseiur, even an outstanding hamburger), nice wait staff, great wines, and a wonderful spot for some serious people watching

the view from the bed in my lovely apt

Eurovision 2016

Eurovision is something that I knew existed, but didn't understand the national pride associated with it. It has been happening annually since 1956, and Europeans love it. Each country sends a performer/band to represent them in a huge pop song competition.  This contest was the launchpad for ABBA, Celine Dion, and Conchita Wurst. I am reading Alan Cummings' autobiography right now, and he tells a story about how he and Antonio Banderas spent most of their free time during the filming of Spy Kids playing Eurovision trivia, to the confusion of the American film crew.

This is over the top pageantry, and I can't get enough. Also, its only two competitions, rather than an entire season with boring eliminations (looking at you, The Voice). So band by band, here are my thoughts. AND JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE IS A GUEST PERFORMER???? Amazing! Links to the good songs are at the bottom.  

Belgium: What's the Pressure. Very fun with a good beat, although sampled from Another One Bites the Dust.  Not everyone can pull of silver lame hot pants.

Czech Rep:  Standing. She has a lovely voice, but the song is slow. She obviously wants to be Celine Dion when she grows up. 

Netherlands:  Slow Down Brother.  Billy Ray Cyrus is Dutch?  Who knew the Dutch liked country music?  Clogs are not cowboy boots. 

Azerbaijan: Miracle: a gold beaded bodysuit?  It has elements of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra with the electric strings and shooting flames and raining sparks behind the singer. I expect nothing less from Azerbaijan. 

Hungary: You Should Know  This singer wants to be Bruce Springsteen, complete with ripped jeans and scratchy voice. And there is a Japanese drummer onstage?  And 3 men whistling into the mikes and doing a modified pony step as the back-up dancers?  Its a good singalong chorus, though. 

Italy: Shining Through. Hmm, she is singing in Italian, and the background looks like a Pixar film.  Its another power ballad. 

Israel: Made of Stars: solid song, good chorus, hoop acrobatics, and again, raining sparks.

Bulgaria:  Love is not a Crime. Finally, another upbeat pop song with a good beat and fun chorus. And she's dressed like Tina Turners' character from Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome meets Tron.  

Sweden: If I Were Sorry.  He is missing four other cute 20-somethings dancing behind him- this a perfect boy band song, but he's a single performer. And he needs to pick up Justin Guarini's trick of winking at the camera. 

Germany: Ghost. Another power ballad. The stage looks suspiciously like the Colby College 1996 production of Into the Woods, with metal trees everywhere, and her outfit would make Bjork proud- its a set of kitten ears made of bows. I applaud her for embracing it. 

France: Jai Cherere. He is singing in French and English, but its super upbeat and fun. And he knows how to work the camera and the audience. I really like this one- I hope it shows up in a discotheque near me soon. 

Poland: Color of your Life: This costume is Weird Al meets Michael Jackson. And its another slow ballad, but he is singing his heart out. 

Australia:  Sound of Silence: I wish my prom dress had looked like her dress. This lady has an amazing voice- its another slow song, but she is killing it. 

AND NOW ITS TIME FOR MINUS ONE FROM CYPRUS!!!!!!!!  They made it to the Finals, which is a big deal.  They are one of the only bands- most of Eurovision is composed of

single performers. I love this song- fun and danceable. And they did so well- Bravo Bravo for representing our little island. 

Serbia: Goodbye. There is a whole dominatrix/cage motif with this performance, and it's yet another power ballad. 

Lithuania: I've Been Waiting for this Night.  This guy is a pop star in his heart, and while this song isn't a dance hit, it could have radio-popularity. And his lighting designer made great choices to increase the viewing experience. 

Croatia:  There is a way. Wow, talk about Lady Gaga admiration. 

Russia: You are the Only One. I just have no words- its a green screen acid trip, and I love the performance. I don't know if I like the song, but I applaud the showmanship. 

Spain: Say Yea. Upbeat, lots of lalalas, and a good chorus. And she wore sneakers with a gold lame dress, which is awesome. 

Latvia: Heartbeat. Good song, drunk graphics designer and cameraman. And the singer wants to be George Michael, circa 1986. 

Ukraine: 1944. I am not sure what is happening- its like the angst of Twilight transcribed into a Eurovision performance. But good use of a wind machine to make her gothic sleeves flow. 

Malta: Walk on Water. Wow, two little Mediterranean islands which are former British colonies made it into the finals! It's a fun pop-y song.  And her outfit has stepped up the game from gold lame to gold rocks sewn directly onto the dress. 

Georgia: Midnight Gold. This song doesn't have a chorus, which is especially weird for a pop song; just verse after verse. Also, I am glad that I don't have epilepsy, b/c this flashing presentation would trigger a bunch of neural misfires. 

Austria: Loin D'ici. Is the cute Austrian girl singing in French? Or Italian?  It is not German.  It is confusing, but upbeat. 

UK: You're Not Alone.  This is a perfect cotton-candy radio song to sing along with whole driving with the windows down. This song has had a lot of buzz around it, and I now see why its the favorite to win this year. 

Armenia: Love Wave. Another power ballad. Is this a Eurovision performance or a burlesque performance?  But again, she is singing her heart out, and they just used a cool Matrix-esque effect. 

Here are the fun songs:
Bulgaria:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKsNfccUTuk
Cyprus:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQMSPkGoQrY
France:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boYQovCybYQ
Russia (for performance appreciation):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZkXb_IGS1g
UK:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5VvsLEd1TI

Reims

As we all know, sparkling wine can only be called Champagne if it's produced in the champagne region of France.  And it's only a 45 minute train ride from Paris, so we had to go check it out.  The weird train times gave us a lot of time to wander around the town, see the Cathedral (with the weird smiling angel statue), and watch all of the bachelor/bachelorette parties going by.

The Cathedral in Reims, circa 1000 C.E. 

bottles of champagne, maturing into delicious goodness

Old school barrels for aging champagne

And I got to do the entire tour with one of the more interesting people around

I had to buy a souvenir- and ended up sharing one split,
and drinking the other one my own

Flanders Fields

As a history teacher, I have spent years learning about the horrors of trench warfare, and the destruction that man has wrought on man.  I took a World War One battlefields tour in Belgium, and found it fascinating and heartbreaking and complex and awful.  We visited a cemetery maintained by German volunteers for German soldiers killed in battle, as well as many Commonwealth cemeteries and memorials erected by the respective governments of the soldiers who fought.  We also saw some of the main fields, which today are lush green rolling hills (although farmers are still unearthing un-exploded shells and live artillery), but in 1914-1918 were barren wastelands of trench warfare.

The day that I went was cold, windy, and rainy.  It was miserable to be above ground, outside for 25 minutes in a fleece jacket and waterproof shoes.  It give me a tiny glimpse into the lives of soldiers who spent 12 hours in trenches, standing in 18 inches of muddy cold water, listening to ongoing shell explosions, without enough food.  I've read a lot about this, but being there brought it home for me.

Lunz, Michael on one of the German war memorials- maybe a distant
relative of my German great-grandpa Lunz?

The Memorial cemetery maintained by the Germans in
Belgium- here, soldiers were buried together, regardless
of class or rank.

The one of the five Commonwealth cemeteries in Belgium, all maintained
by British volunteers.  These include soldiers from the entire Empire in
1919- The UK, Canada, NZ, Australia, India, Uganda, etc

WWI was the first war to use weapons that would annihilate the bodies
of soldiers,  often leaving their remains unrecognizable.  Because of this,
dogtags were employed in WWII and beyond.  But many of the graves in
the cemetery say only, "A solider of the Great War, known unto God."

At the field medical station where Dr John MacCrae helped to triage patients coming
in from the trenches, there is a copy of his handwritten poem "In Flanders Field."

Picasso Exhibit in Bruges

The Lithographs

 

The Portraits

 

The drawings of his home in Cannes, France

 

 

And finally, one of his famous PEACE drawings