"MUMM's the word" à Reims!

Bonjour mes amis! Friday evening, after finishing my orientation sessions, Lee and I traveled via TGV to Reims, with its beautiful Gothic cathedral and champagne caves. Reims is where champagne first bubbled and where 26 French kings were crowned. World War I devastated Reims yet miraculous reconstruction occurred afterwards during the Art Deco age. Reims is also the city where the Germans officially surrendered in 1945, bringing World War II to an end. The cathedral of Reims, begun in 1211, is a wonderful example of Gothic architecture. This cathedral has perhaps the best west portal anywhere with 2,000 statues decorating its walls, inside and out. This church is also dedicated to "Our Lady"(Notre Dame). Flying buttresses soar from the sides of the church. Some of the stained glass windows show the connection of the town to the local Champagne-makers, since they helped to replace windows destroyed by World War I. Scenes on certain windows depict the tending of vines, the harvest, and the double fermentation process. After we toured the cathedral we walked to one of the most popular champagne caves in Reims, called Mumm. We had a fascinating tour of Mumm, with its industrial-size chalk cellars where 25 million bottles are stored. The tour ended with a glass of bubbly. C'était délicieux!

Mme. Wallace

A Segway Tour of Paris - très amusant!

Bonjour mes amis! While I was involved in Orientation sessions for Fulbright, Lee and his friend, Roger, went on a Segway Tour of Paris. After a 20 minute orientation as to how to operate the segway, Lee and Roger were off to see the sights à la SEGWAY! There were four in their group plus their "Kiwi"(New Zealand) guide. They began their tour at L'École Militaire where they learned about Napoleon. Then off to Les Invalides, Musée Rodin, Place de la Concorde, the Louvre, and Le Grand Palais. They traveled at 10mph and on the return trip stopped at a café for lunch. What a great way to see Paris! He had such fun that we decided we were going to try the Segway tour of Richmond after we return home. Lee said that the Segway tour ranked close to Zip-Lining - He really liked it!

Mme. Wallace

Culture in Paris - magnifique!

Bonjour mes amis! While Lee and I were in Paris, after working during the day, we experienced some wonderful cultural events at night. We saw a play at the Comédie Française, Salle Richelieu. We saw the play Andromaque by Racine. The Comédie Française was founded by a decree from Louis XIV in 1680 to merge the two Parisian acting troupes of the time. In 1680, the repertoire consisted of the collections of theatrical works by Molière and Jean Racine, along with a few works by Pierre Corneille. Lee and I saw Andromaque, which was a tragedy in five acts, written in alexandrine verse. It was first performed in 1667 before the court of Louis XIV in the Louvre. Andromaque, the third of Racine's plays, written at the age of 27, established its author's reputation as one of the great playwrights in France. Euripides' play, Andromache, and the third book of Virgil's Aeneid were the basis for Racine's play. It was a story of human passion, with the structure of an unrequited love chain. We felt like we were living in the 17th century as we were watching Racine's play! Thursday evening, January 27, we went to a symphony concert at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. It was the Orchestre National de France under the direction of Marc Albrecht. There were special performances by a gifted violinist, Carolin Widmann, and celloist, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker. We listened to Brahams for two hours. The music was beautiful!

Mme. Wallace

The Château of Chantilly

Bonjour mes amis! Wednesday, January 26, I began my mid-year Fulbright Meeting at the Château de Chantilly. We gave speeches and had our meetings in the morning, and then began our tour in the afternoon. This is a beautiful château, located in an immense forest about an hour from the heart of Paris, in Chantilly, France. It includes two buildings, the Grand Château, destroyed during the French Revolution and rebuilt in the 1870s, and the Petit Château which was built in 1560 for Anne de Montmorency. The château houses the Musée Condé, which is one of the finest art galleries in France. Fulbright participants, including research scholars as well as exchange teachers, had a fascinating tour of the château as well as the museum. There are a couple of interesting pieces of history associated with this château during the 17th century. Molière's play, Les Précieuses Ridicules, was first performed at the château in 1659. Louis XIV visited Chantilly in 1671. Memoirs related that when Louis XIV visited in 1671, the maître d'hôtel to the Grand Condé committed suicide when he feared the fish would be served late. Incroyable, n'est-ce pas?

Mme. Wallace

Torino, Italia: Home of the 2006 Olympic Games

Bonjour mes amis! Ciao da Torino! Today, January 15, Lee and I decided to travel two and a half hours by car to Turin, Italy (Torino in Italian.) It was a spectacular drive, since Turin is dominated by snow-capped Alpine peaks. There are the Ligurian Alps to the south, the various French Alpine chains to the west, and the Pennine Alps to the north, most famous including the Matterhorn. Turin is the capital of Italy's Piedmont region. Turin, with its roots in the Savoy dynasty dating to the 11th century, was Italy's link to royalty and the core of the modern Italian state. We passed through a 13 kilometer (about 7 miles) tunnel called the Tunnel de Fréjus which separates France from Italy. Once we arrived in Turin, we walked east toward the Po River and went up Turin's best-known landmark, the 167 meter Mole Antonelliana. This provided us with a great view of Turin with the Alps in the distance. The Mole Antonelliana also houses the national cinema museum. The history of Chambéry is closely linked to the House of Savoy and was the Savoyard capital from 1295 to 1563. There are many similarities architectually between Chambéry and Turin. While in Turin we sampled a very popular coffee from Turin called bicerin. This historic drink of Turin, which has evolved from the 18th century "bavareisa" consists of a mixture of espresso, chocolate, and fresh cream. It is served in a tall glass so you can admire the mouth-watering colors and aromas. Meraviglioso!!!

Mme. Wallace

Galette des Rois

Bonjour mes amis! Last evening, January 6, Lee, Kendall and I went over to Eric Merle's flat to celebrate La fête des Rois. Eric is one of my colleagues in the English Department at Lycée Vaugelas. Epiphany, or "La fête des Rois" in France, January 6, is a festival that dates back almost 2000 years. It is celebrated in most Catholic countries and communities. With this celebration, the Christmas season reaches its peak, with the arrival of the three kings with gifts for the newborn baby Jesus. There were Gaspar, Balthazar and Melchior with their three presents of gold, frankincense and myrrh. In some villages, they still light "kings'fires" which are reminders of the fires which, according to legend, burned that night in Bethlehem to hide the star from King Herrod. La Galette des Rois is a round cake, made of puff pastry and frangipane, which is cut into pieces and distributed by a child, known as "le petit roi"(the little king) or l'enfant soleil, who hides under the table. Whoever finds la fève(the charm inside) is King or Queen and can choose a partner. A little bean was traditionally hidden inside the cake, a custom taken from the Roman Empire. Since 1870, the beans have been replaced by porcelain and, now by plastic figurine Eric served a wonderful traditional Savoyard dinner including ratatouille, boudin blanc, le rouget, le canard, la salade, tapenade, la courge(winter squash), and concluded his dinner with the Galette des Rois. Guess who received the fève???

Mme. Wallace

American Stereotypes? What do you think?

Kendall visited my Terminale class yesterday, January 6, and led a very enlightening discussion on "stereotypes", based upon an article from Speakeasy magazine entitled "Glee!" It is always so interesting to hear student perspectives about stereotypes in your own country. American stereotypes expressed by French students were that we all drive large cars, live in large houses, eat too much fast-food, and talk like "daffy duck"! They also mentioned that they felt there was a concentration on capitalism and getting "things". Many French students also believe that the majority of Americans live like those characters portrayed in our sit-coms such as Desperate Housewives. Scarey! This was a very enlightening discussion and definitely "food for thought." Thank you, Kendall, for stimulating a very lively discussion!

Mme. Wallace