Anyway, it was pouring while I ate my Lebanese sandwich, and since it was still pretty early for dinner here in France (only about 6:30), it was just me and the owner and a guy who works there, all of whom know me since I've been going there for so long. Well, when they noticed I had my flute, they asked me to play something, so I played the piece I've been memorizing for the past few weeks! People walking down the street actually stopped to listen. In the rain. Yes, apparently I sounded that good, or it was just that strange that in a Lebanese restaurant an American girl was playing an Italian song on her flute.
Anyway, I decided to head over to Berthillon once the rain stopped and I got pineapple/basil and banana, both delicious, and I headed off to Châtelet where the conversation is. This involved walking over the river onto the right bank, through the Marais, and towards the center of the city. It also meant I passed by the Italian bookstore, where the nice old owner was standing outside smoking. He saw I had my flute and asked if I could come in and play The Carnival of Venice! No joke—I guess he remembered that I had told him my big goal for when I'm in Italy is to play it in Venice. He was VERY impressed. So yay! An Italian liked the way I played the Carnival of Venice!
Then, I left and headed over to the conversation in the bar, where I learned the bar tender is actually American. He's also a friend of one of the actors from Sister Act! He texted him to let him know an American who really knows her musicals enjoyed the show two nights ago. Then, when the others arrived, we had our French/Italian conversation (mostly Italian until the very end) and then the person who's in charge begged me to play...you guessed it...The Carnival of Venice! So, I did that and they all decided I was just too talented for my own good. In my defense, it was NOT my best performance of the day. Plus, I did it sitting down, with the music, one page at a time, and kept having to change them. It was a bit silly. I also played Syrinx by Debussy, which I have memorized and play really well, so that was at least better.
This morning, I would have written all this. But when I woke up, David Bellos (my advisor at Princeton) had emailed me with a lead for the song "Ma Zétulbé vient régner sur mon âme" (a song from the Convent section of Les Misérables, but he's currently trying to find musical scores for ALL the music mentioned in the book, a task which I volunteered to help him carry out). So, this morning I had to read some music of an opera, look through all the parts, find this one aria, and then play it on my flute and send him the file. Yes, who knew that devoting all those years to my flute playing would indeed be useful for my doctorate in French literature?
Anyway, here are some pictures, not of me playing my flute!
Sainte Geneviève on the Pont de la Tournelle, watching over Paris as the skies cleared up.
The Tour Saint Jacques was absolutely beautiful last night, with the full moon right behind it.
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