Spectacular Spectacular

Alternative Working Title - Cause We Can Can Can!

Today's Itinerary:
  - Eat crepes
  - Dinner and show at the Moulin Rouge

Today is a day that Mom has been dreading since I revealed my desire to see a show at the Moulin Rouge. Outside of marveling at the engineering feat that is the Eiffel Tower, this was really the only thing I had my heart set on doing. Mom, however has been petrified of going to the Red Light District of Paris, to the point that she could hardly eat throughout the day.

I booked us a visit that included dinner and transportation to and from the show to hopefully ease her worries about the area we would be spending our evening. Considering how much food we had at the last dinner outing, it seemed to make sense to eat little for lunch or throughout the day today. 

Even if the butterflies would have made it hard to eat much, crepes seemed like the perfect small meal for the afternoon. I was trying to find a crepe place nearby that was famous for the artistry of making crepes. I mean they probably all taste about the same anyway, right, so it should be fun to watch beforehand at least. 

We stumbled through a huge street market on our way to the crepe place. I think this must have been the market we thought we came to last Saturday. Multiple streets were closed off and crowded with the wares of people selling what they had. Old stuff too, it smelled like an antique store... musty (Steph Maule crinkles her nose at this). Entertainingly enough, each vendors shop specialized in a specific item. One stand sold only dinner jackets, another rugs, books, foosball tables, lamps or rotary telephones. Very specific items that seemed unnecessary to have so many together in one place. Seriously, who is going to buy an antique telephone, let alone the 40 you have on display?

After leaving the market, we walked along to the crepe place. I had a hard time identify the stand because I was looking for something with a blue and white striped awning. We found the restaurant, but the reason the awing was not out was because the store was not open. It must be something that is only open later or at night time. I'll make an attempt to head back, but for the time being, we settled on crepes from a nearby ice cream stand instead.

I had a sea salt caramel one and mom had apricots. These were average, and I was disappointed to see that the crepe was actually premade and just reheated for us. The caramel sauce was excellent though, which should be expected for an ice cream store. We stood outside the store eating our desert-lunch, watching as others walked down the street in front of us.

When finished, Mom wanted to go back to some of the jewelry stores we had passed, so we headed towards the apartment again. She had also packed some postcards that we were looking to purchase stamps for, should we pass a post office. I was pretty certain there was one on the way, but we did not notice it on the trip down to the crepe place. On the return, I noticed the overlooked post, so we stopped inside.

Once inside it was very unclear where we purchase stamps or drop off the mail. Picked a line to stand in for a while because that seemed like the only thing we could do. The woman who attended to us, pointed towards some machines that would dispense the stamps and could walk us through the process in English. Well, they sort of walked us through the process. Buying stamps was very unclear, did we need to weight the mail, should it be a registered letter, why can't we just pick the button for post card? Eventually the post cards were decorated with what seemed like stamps, so we went back to standing in line again. Hoping to hand them to the man at the counter, we were instead pointed towards a yellow box outside to drop them in. It will be a miracle if these post cards are delivered at all.

Last we found some of the jewelry stores from before. Once inside the 2nd store, the woman told us they were only a wholesale store, selling mass jewelry to people (why I don't understand?) Disappointed again, we went home to start getting ready for the evening ahead of us.

There isn't an iron in our place. For the past 3 days have been trying to "steam" out the wrinkles in the shirt I was planning to wear tonight by hanging it in the shower. This didn't work, so at the last minute I changed my outfit before heading out the door.

Mom and I got to the departure place a bit early, so we stopped by my favorite tapas bar (the one that thought I could be Italian) for a quick drink to steal our nerves before entering the Red Light District. I was pleased to have an amber beer that was of medium darkness for a change finally. Everything here is a light color blonde or pilsner, so I'm looking forward to being home and having a porter soon. Mom was also pleased to have a wine that was cold compared to room temperature. For the 2nd time, I left that bar happy to have stopped by.

Finally, we load the bus taking us North in the city. Our tour guide was amazing. She gave us the intro and instructions for later. Then she gave the intro and instructions in Spanish to a couple of people. THEN, she gave the intro and instructions in Japanese to a couple on our bus. 

Our group marched into the theater together, and Mom wished that we were closer to the front of the group (and closer to the guide). Thankfully we weren't, being seated last gave us the best seats of the group. We were right at the front, house left but almost center really, in an auditorium that supposedly seats 950 people. Looking around the whole place I decided maybe that is the total number of people per night, but I'll google it later to find out the truth.

During dinner, a band played some classics from the rat pack and other languages I couldn't understand. We sat next to two Chinese girls, a couple from Australia, and the Japanese couple at the end of the table. They were pleased because at one point, the group on stage sang a Japanese ballad that was recognized by half our table. I could hear how it could have been Japanese because of the many anime programs I've seen, and the girls next to us were interested in that. 

Our table was organized so each couple was seated across from each other, not next to us. I prefer that anyway, it makes the table even.  We didn't notice this when ordering, but when the food came my side of the table all ordered 1 thing while the other side had picked the 2nd option. This happened for both our entree and desert, and helped bring the table together as strangers. 

Across the isle, Mom introduced herself to the couple there as well. Turns out they were from Canada, and feeling more comfortable speaking French than we were. As the meal continued, we also discovered there were a couple of newlyweds at the Canadian table. The lounge singers celebrated this by singing them Happy Birthday... We knew though, and toasted them anyhow. 

Finally, as dinner wrapped up, people started dancing on the floor waiting for the show to start. By the time things were finished, the dance floor was packed with grown people slow dancing together. One of the songs they sang was something very familiar (but it is escaping me now). I remembered associating it with a commonly played high school dance song, so I found it funny to see a dance floor full of people older than me swaying back and forth.

The stage rose and the dance floor was cleared because it was finally time to start the show. I wasn't certain what to expect, and I think mom was even less prepared. Thankfully it started clam enough. A bunch of women came out in sparkly silver pants and mostly topless, but draped in beads like chandeliers. At once the music picked up, and this was the point that the women yanked off their pull away pants leaving them in scanty underwear. There are no words to describe the look on my mom's face at this action.

The show was brilliant, and we both loved it. We experienced a multitude of genres throughout the show. Starting with a homage to the Moulin Rouge. Then moving into an Asian / Ancient Greek style, some how Medusa worked her way into the Asian backdrop. This was important because next the center stage lifted, revealing a water tank full of snakes that one of the girls swam in. From here we continued to India, then something 50's style, and finally French patriotism and the Can-Can. 

I guess you call a variety series like this "a revue", which is a word I just learned. I always thought when people put together a summary of the past year though interpretive dance, that these were "A year in Review". Now I recognize what I have misheard for almost 30 years. It's like "Thanks speedy God" (Thanks be to God) or "Lettuce Pray" in church.

The bus took us all the way home, so finally Mom could exhale safely. Tonight was probably one of the best adventures we have had in Paris.