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Edinburgh Fringe Festival Review: Company

To all you Googlers out there wondering if you should give Company at the Fringe Festival a try, might I graciously encourage you to attend a different show. While there were a few great performers in the group, there were quite a few things that made the show wrong, wrong, and wrong. Without disparaging the entire cast, let this suffice: try a different show! And be glad you found this little note out there on the internet somewhere!

What a Contrast

"There is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast. Nothing exists in itself."
- Herman Melville

Slow

We're slowly returning to normal life after our grand adventure. However, normalcy is hurt by the lack of internet at our flat. Boo for that. Hopefully, I'll be back shortly with updates and very fast broadband.

Last Few Moments in Paris

Dinner out last night in Paris

Me and My Favorite Men!

The Best Mom in the World!

All of Paris felt like donuts for dinner. It was amazingly sweet and charming but consistently left me wanting more. I wanted to discover one more neighborhood. One more charming market. One more delicious bistro. And take just one more picture of the captivating scenery. I couldn't get enough.

There were a few things I could leave behind: men treating all of the outdoors as their personal urinal, the local creperie/bistro/boulangerie not giving me the correct change back (note: just because I don't speak French very well, does not mean that I cannot do the math as to how much I owe the said shop-keeper and how much they should give me back), teeny-tiny uncomfortable bed that fell through the slats three different times. In the middle of the night. When we were dead asleep. What a way to wake-up.

However, I think most people thought MBA was French. Dark hair + blue eyes = French. People constantly addressed him in French. Asked him for directions in French. He even had a meeting with one of the professors at Institut Catholique who spoke with him in French for several minutes before asking MBA if he would prefer to converse in English.

Oh how I wish I could have been a spectator of that conversation! If you didn't already know, MBA was taking beginners French. And while he learned a lot, he's understandably still a beginner.

But traveling in a different country where you hardly know a lick of the language grants a new found confidence. I'm now in Germany -- don't know a bit of German (ashamedly) -- but have tried, tried, tried to communicate. It's incredible how many people know English here. Especially unexpected ones like the Turkish worker at the donner kebab shop in the heart of East Berlin (wait till I show you pictures -- it's unreal). Let me tell you, there are not many American tourist in these parts. But Mr. Donner Kebab responded to me in beautiful English. Amazing. Geez -- how I wish I could converse with the people around me. I want to know all about their lives. Their personal history would likely be endlessly fascinating.

Berlin is not pretty. It stands in stark contrast to Paris. I'm sure you're thinking "duh." I'm thinking that myself .... but it's the sheer vastness of the city that's astounding. The length from metro stop to metro stop. The endless communist blocks still standing. I read that Berlin is nine times the size of Paris. That's big!

I'll be back with more picture and tales later. For now, I'm going to gaze/stare/study the view out my window: East Berlin.

Look Who's Here!

My parents are here to visit!!! I'm beyond thrilled!

Here's a quick glance at a few things we've been up to:

Notre Dame

Mom and I were taking a quick peek at the Opera House from Galleries Lafayette

At the Seine. The Eiffel Tower is sparkling in all its glory in the background.

Invalides' Gardens

Chilling in the Gardens at Musee Rodin