Paris in the Spring Time!

May 19, 2014

The Liffey Company arrived into Paris last Thursday afternoon and in true Irish fashion, we brought the rain with us!  We didn’t let that dampen our spirits; however, we all dropped our cases and went straight out to explore.  Several of the cast members had been to Paris before and were well able to navigate the rest of us throughout Paris’ metro, winding roads, shops and even to a brilliant Thai restaurant called Suan just beside the Hôtel deVille.

While, this European tour has been host to several incredible cities, I think it’s fair to say that Paris was definitely one of our most highly anticipated destinations, and for good reason!  Apart from seeing the Eiffel Tower glitter in the night or queuing to contemplating Mona Lisa’s smile several of us were anxiously awaiting the arrival of our parents.

Funnily enough, it was only about a week prior to arriving in Paris that several of us realised we had all planned to have our parents fly out for a quick holiday, most of whom had never been.  James Greenan’s parents were the first to arrive in our hotel’s reception, but were soon followed by Cal Moran’s, James Keating, DeWitt Fleming’s as well as my very own— all the way from Texas. It was a weekend filled with five shows, rehearsals and rotations, but we were determined to see and experience as much of this beautiful city as possible.

Cal took his parents to all of the major Persian sights, but when they arrived at the base of the Eiffel Tower he took his iPhone out and unbeknownst to his parents they took their first selfie!

James Keating and his family made the great ascent up to the Sacré Coeur, which has an absolutely unimpeded view of Paris.

As for myself, after Saturday night’s show I hopped into a taxi to meet my parents at their hotel where they were waiting for me with a full picnic of food and drink.  We sat around the table eating and catching up well past The Eiffel Tower’s last display of lights.

One of the oddities of tour life is that you become so close to the people you’re with and in ways that are more familiar than you would ordinarily be with anyone from home (in large part due to the tight quarters and lack of privacy) but that’s what makes all of this so special.  Yet, some of the seemingly most normal things can be lost in translation.  For example, although James Greenan and I are the best of friends our parents have never official met, even though they have undoubtedly been at the same competitions and even in the same halls over the years.  In order to make up for lost time and celebrate our last night in Paris both our families got dressed up and went to a restaurant called Le Petit Zinc, which is renowned for their sea bass, which are covered in clay, whole and baked in a fire lit oven.  Delicious!