March 27 - April 2: A "Oui" Bit of Fun

Day 82: Sunday

March 27th

"The Long Sunday"

Well, another week, another Sunday, and another day travelling more than I do in the rest of the weekdays combined. And this weekend, Central Line was down on the Tube so we had to take a bus to the Tube then another bus once we got there. It takes me an hour to get to church every week. And an hour back. You better be grateful all you people that live in Utah or Arizona.

Day 83: Monday

March 28th

"If You Want To Dance, Dance!"

OMGosh, Billy Elliott!! What can I even say about it? Basically the cutest show I've ever seen! It was funnier than I expected and just exceeded all my expectations. I guess partly because I didn't know WHAT to expect. But it was adorable. It's such a good story about a boy from a mining family who just wants to dance, however his dad is very against the idea. I loved the cultural look at their family and to see what life is like for them. I also just loved the little boy who played Billy. He was just amazing at everything. He can sing, act, AND dance! But not just like contemporary dance. He can tap (amazingly well) and do ballet (because that's what the story is about). But my favourite aspect was that you could tell that this kid was truly passionate about dancing and acting. I hope he continues on because for his age, he was spectacular! All the supporting roles did a good job as well and held their own against this spotlighted little boy. The only one who wasn't that amazing was the man who played Billy's older brother. The character itself is very course and just always has an angry demeanor but I felt like the actor just took it too far sometimes, shouting and being not angry but just annoying and obnoxious. Like he was trying way too hard. But other than that, it was a perfect night! I loved it so much, I even bought a program at intermission:)

Day 84: Tuesday

March 29th
"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLL!!"

Today, I had class all day and then we had tickets to the England-Ghana football (soccer for you Americans) game!! At Wembley Stadium! With 80,102 people in the audience, we dressed up in our red and white and got our game faces on!!

It wasn't the most exciting thing I've ever seen. Not even close. Ghana wasn't that great but neither was England, I felt. The final score was 1-1, which I think accurately portrays the competition between the two teams. What WAS interesting, however, were the wild and crazy fans sitting all around us. At this game, there was no real "Ghana section" however a majority of them were organised in two different sections - neither of which were by us. But there was one lonely Ghana fan sitting 5 seats away from us who was DETERMINED to show her spirit. Wearing (head to toe) Ghana colours, the first time they almost scored, she screamed. Not like "woo! That was so close" scream. But a "OMGOMGOMGOMG I'M GONNA DIE CUZ THEY DIDN'T SCORE!" scream. I'm talking bloody murder scream as though someone was coming after her with a knife. A high pitched, PIERCING scream. Like what the mmm dude?! SHUT.UP. some people... And then, of course, all the hardcore England fans around us were slightly drunk and kept making fun of her and mocking her. I'm sure if she had heard them, she would have turned around and ripped out their throats or something nonsensical like that.. So a pretty interesting night!

Day 85: Wednesday

March 30th
"Do [home]Work, Son!"

Okay, as this program is coming to an end, I've been ditching out on a lot more things because, contrary to what most people believe, we DO have homework over here. So Wednesday, I did my last walk and blogged about it so I was done with one final! Yaaay! Then I was supposed to go visit the Tate Modern for art and do two sketches for our journal.. I got home from the walk and REEEALLY didn't feel like going out again. So I was just gonna BS it but Emily ended up (almost literally) dragging me there anyways. It took us 2 1/2 hours because the Circle line on the Tube is the gayest thing ever and I was very upset about it! Plus, the museum was so weird and I just couldn't enjoy it.

Then the night just kept getting "better". After dinner, we were supposed to have this guy from the House of Commons and talk to us. The reason he's important is because he's the only LDS church member in all of Parliament. So I was actually pretty excited for him to come to our house and talk with us! Buuut.. As soon as I got home from the museum, I checked my email and found that plans had been changed and WE, the 40 students, would have to make the long trek back out to Parliament to hear him speak because one of his votes went too long and he wouldn't be able to make it.. Grr. I definitely was NOT going back out, AGAIN. So, I stayed home!! And it was a great decision! I got most of my homework done and felt good about life :)

Day 86: Thursday

March 31st

"Are We Done Yet??"

Not that I don't love Thursday classes, but.. I don't love Thursday classes. Fine Arts in the morning with Institute in the afternoon? Not my ideal day, that's for sure. But I made it through and it WAS my last class for both - except for finals. So I'm pretty stoked. In religion we had some quest speaker come and talk to us about the Church's publication tactics in England way back when.. cool. whatever.

THEN! A few of us had signed up to go see "Jersey Boys" that night! So at least I had something to look forward to.

Jersey Boys was, to say the least, outstanding. I actually don't know what I loved more, this or Billy Elliot! They were both so unexpectedly fantastic! And in the SAME WEEK! I was very very happy :)

Jersey Boys, in case you don't know, is a biographical play/musical/concert all about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons whose most famous hits include: 

"Sherry",

"Walk Like A Man",

and my personal favourite, "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You"

There were so many points about this performance that I LOVED!

1. The actors were amazing - they each held their own equally and hid their European accents well, covering with a fake New Jersey/Italian/American accent. Bravo.

2. They could sing like nobody's business - the guy who played Frankie was PERFECT. He had a range like no one I'd ever heard before besides the REAL Frankie Valli.

3. The set and costume design was brilliant - all the colour schemes and quick changes right before your eyes never ceases to amaze me.

4. It was probably the smartest production I've ever seen - It starts out with some weird French rap group rapping "Oh What A Night" and it just confuses the HECK out of you, but it was basically the best attention-getter ever. ALSO, the way they narrate the story, with one of the four members of the group narrating one of the "four seasons" of the year - GET IT?? - and having their own take on how things went down; Well done!

and 5. I just love crap like this - getting to know the back story behind the band and their songs and their lives and how they all interplay with each other. Sometimes, I think THAT story is more interesting than the songs they write. Getting to know the band dynamic and how they fell apart and all the sketchy stuff that happens behind scenes. I guess I just love to see the real tragedy when all everyone else sees is the Hollywood glamour.

So, there you go! I guess I can't really recommend it because there is quite a bit of language, but if that doesn't bother you much (don't say I didn't warn you), and you like their music then I say see it!! It was such a fun night:)

Day 87: FRIDAY

April 1st

"Poisson d'Avril"

Although I didn't celebrate the traditional Poisson d'Avril (explanation and ways to celebrate here), I DID spend the holiday IN Paris!! WHAT?! Yeah, that's right. Friday morning, I woke up and thought, "huh, I hear Paris is wonderful this time of year, LET'S GO!"

Well, it didn't quite happen like that,but pretty much :) We took the Chunnel to Paris and got there at like 10:45. Ample time to scour the city! We got our Metro Passes, checked into our hotel right next to the Eiffel Tower (called the Ibis Hotel Tour Eiffel, if you were wondering, then made our way back to Notre Dame!

We took pictures outside and then got to walk around inside! While we were there, a mass was just starting so they made us move off to the side at one point so that the minister and the choir and rest of the procession could make their way to the pulpit (?). It was actually really neat, I just wish I knew more about the religion and mass practices.. Then we waited in line for like an hour to go to the TOP of the towers of Notre Dame. We climbed those 500 stairs like pros (thank you, Italy) and got to see the BELL! The ever famous "Quasimodo" bell! It went off like right when we got up there and was SO LOUD! BUT SO COOL!! Then we just walked around the perimeter and took it all in; the Seine, the city, and the Eiffel Tower in the distance. So idyllic.

Then we went souvenir shopping!! Always a must. And then met up at the Champs Elysses for dinner  how romantic! We ate at some ridiculously overpriced restaurant and then climbed to the top of the Arc de Triumph to watch the sun go down. At this point the Eiffel Tower was already lit and we just had to wait 10 minutes for the hourly light show. And, oh man, when that tower began to sparkle, everything else disappeared.  I literally couldn't tell you what was on my mind at that time because, for the first time in months, my mind was blank. Astonished and just trying to take the best mental picture I could. All the problems of the world literally melted away. To me, nothing was more beautiful than that moment.

We then walked over to the Eiffel Tower to see it in all it's ginormity and see it sparkle one last time before turning in for the night. The next day, we went to the Louvre and got in for free because we're students! (My student ID card has saved me MONDO bucks over here!) We saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus di Milo, and Michelangelo's "The Dying Slave" just to name a few. It was an awesome experience but I see why you would NEVER be able to do it all in one day. I was exhausted after one hour. So we got lunch in the cafe and then headed up to the Paris Opera House de Garnier. Probably my second favourite after Arc/Eiffel. It was so beautiful and JUST like in Phantom! All the statues on the building corners and the grand staircase with the famous multicoloured marble! Everything was so perfect and just as you'd imagine walking around the Phantom of the Opera set to be. We also got to go inside the seating area and see the people working on the sets for the next opera! There was a man tuning and practicing the piano and the light director making changes! It was the coolest thing ever! And the chandelier! SO AMAZING!! I was definitely high on life at this point.

Next came the Rue de Paix.. sorta by accident, actually. But it made Emily so so happy! Then we got jam crepes and headed over to the Eiffel tower. On the way, we stopped in a little bookstore and I bought "The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook"!! I swear it's like the best thing in the world! It goes through the Harry Potter books (yes, all 7) and anytime they mention eating or drinking something or any type of food product, this woman found the recipes and put them in this book! They're amazing!! If you ask nicely, I'll let you borrow them sometime:)

Finally we made it to the Eiffel but, because it was a Saturday and a GORGEOUS day, the lines to go up the Eiffel were horrific!! So, instead we got ice-cream and just sat underneath it and wrote postcards!! un après-midi parfait:)

After hanging there for a few hours, we made our way to the train station and home again. However, I rode home on the train all by myself because there was a situation with ticket cost.. Whatever. So my train left an hour later at 9:15. Which, let's be real, I was fine being by myself, but after arriving at St. Pancras Station in London and getting on the Central line to go home and having it terminate at Marble Arch (3 stops away from mine), I was a little mad I was all alone. Fortunately I knew there was a bus that stopped right in front of my street. But, it being a Saturday night and everyone partying, there were a ton of people awaiting the SAME bus. And on top of that, the bus never arrived.

So instead of waiting around with all my sketchy peeps, I told them "Peace out, I'm walkin!" And that's just what I did. I walked the almost two miles home in the freezing cold with my luggage in tow. I looked like a homeless person because I was wearing like 5 sweatshirts and carrying a purse, a backpack, and a grocery bag filled with random crap. Worst.Night.Ever. When arriving upon Palace Court, I immediately started running to number 27. Running with all my heart. I ran in the door, up the stairs, and into my room where my other roommates greeted me happily! Then I stripped off my dirty clothes, showered as fast as I could, then started my laundry. Then I called me mum :) Perfect ending to the Parisian weekend.