La soiree

I think that today has been the best France day yet.
In addition to the incredibly successful excursion this morning, I had an AMAZING dinner and saw and AMAZING dance performance.... plus I rode the tram for the first time (woo!)
The dinner had eight dishes and cost me about E3.50. We had a feast at the cours de la Liberte girls' apartment and the menu was as follows:
baked brie with almonds (julia f)
bruschetta with baguette (laura)
my field greens salad with toasted almonds, pears, and mom's shallot vinaigrette
scottie's lentils (YUM!)
louise's thai noodles
toasted farfalle with tomato sauce (julia b)
mojitos (laura)
tarte aux framboises (lauren t)
espresso (olivia)

altogether, it was incredible. i was really impressed with what we put together! and even more impressed that it hardly cost me anything!

The dance performance was called "Terrain Vague" at Maison de la Danse. It was performed by Companie Kafig (www.kafig.com -- go to the video section... the show we saw isn't on there, but you'll get an idea of what their shows are like....) and was created and choreographed by Meroud Merzouki.
Scottie: "Did- Did you hear that sound? yeah, that was my mind blowing...."
It was phenomenal. Superbly danced, imaginative, a little surreal, with a pinch of circus.... just awesome. It was sort of hip-hop, sort of modern... a lot of stunts, irresistible rhythms, beautiful beautiful dancers.... We were all just blown away. I wish I could better explain the show but I'm a little lacking in descriptive ability right now... plus I'm talking to miss mariel on IM and naught could be more important than the ducki... so i'll cheat and use a blurb from the website:

Le public n’a pas d’autre choix que celui de plonger dans cet
univers riche, électrique, celui du hip hop stylisé, inventif, que crée Käfig
depuis 1996. Sans rupture, les phrases chorégraphiques s’enchaînent, avec une
construction parfaite. Et l’énergie ne laisse place plus qu’à un seul plaisir :
celui de regarder. Anne Masson, Danser

C’est là tout l’art de Mourad Merzouki, qui
réussit à faire de cette danse essentiellement physique un véritable moyen
d’expression. Ce chorégraphe précis, clair, passionné, communique sa flamme, et
le public en redemande. François Delétraz, Le Figaro Magazine

In any case, go team france! I'm getting into the swing of things and am starting to feel more at home here. I'm glad to be settled in enough that I can cook for myself, know where things are and when they're open, and explore new parts of the city without being exhausted from the sensory overload. And I love that we've had opportunities to try new things every week - new restaurants, recipes, theaters, outings..... This might just work out after all!

Plus, tomorrow is market day... (!!!!!)