Happy Mardi Gras!

Today for Mardi Gras we walked from the school to the Eiffel Tower, got a nutella crepe, and then went all the way up to the top. We were very lucky because though it was cold, there was not a cloud in the sky and so you could see for forever from the top. We did do a little "get crunk" on the top there, just to spread a little New Orleans spirit.

This afternoon, after more crepes for lunch at school, we headed off to the Champs Elysees for our backstage tour of the Lido. It was awesome. This was definitely my favorite thing of this trip. The only bad part was that photos weren't allowed. But we were able to see the theatre inside, the dressing rooms, costume rooms, where they keep a giant elephant to roll out on stage, and underneath the stage. Most impressive was the man sewing sequins on the feather hats by hand. Every sequin for 600 costumes is sewn by hand. Furthermore, the feathers are so expensive that the total price to make the lead singer's finale dress is 80,000 euros. Sacre bleu! Also cool was the ice skating rink and swimming pool kept under the stage and how the different floors are moved around during the show. We were also lucky to be visiting today when they were holding auditions for the lead singer. There was a girl auditioning, who was really good, and we heard her sing about six songs. Only one I knew- it was Mein Herr from Cabaret. I really wanted to join in on that one. The tour guide, who was a very pretty French lady around 50 yrs. old, was sorta upset that she was doing this tour. She told me that making the students come on the tour and not see the show was like telling someone a recipe for a cake, making it, and not letting them eat it. Despite the three times I told her I couldn't take high schoolers to a show where naked women are dancing, she was not buying it. She insisted next year we see the show.

Side note: Did you know that garter belts were invented by Gustave Eiffel (of the tower and the statue of liberty)?? He felt bad for his wife who had to keep pulling up her stockings, and while he was designing the Eiffel Tower, one of the drawings inspired him to use a similar technique to make the garter belt to help his wife. Interesting....

The rest of the afternoon was spent shopping along the Champs and seeing the Arc de Triomphe. Tonight Fabienne and I saw Zorro! The Musical at the Folies Bergeres. We were both more excited to see a show in the Folies, than the show itself, but it turned out to be really good. Plus, hey, Folies Bergeres! Two cabarets in one day isn't too bad.