Dinner and Music and a Few Other Things

AFTER HAVING READ over 800 pages worth of bac papers in the last week and a half, I am glad to be finished with the marking of the written exams. The last three days have been full, full, full. But now that we are done I will spend a nice long evening enjoying a meal and the Fête de la Musique here in Paris. The 21st of June really is one of the greatest nights in France and in Paris -- as usual -- they crank it up a notch or two.

I did get a chance to have a really good meal last night as well. After a very enjoyable visit with Cécile and Emmanuelle (some of you know who they are -- I'm looking at you, Jeremy!) at a little café near Odeon, I joined the other examiners at a well-known restaurant called the Polidor. We went to the Polidor last year as well (see here), but this year it was noticeably more crowded and the line outside to get a table at about 9:00pm was approaching 25-30 people. Could that be, perhaps, because the Polidor is featured in a major scene in Woody Allen's new film "Midnight in Paris"? I'm guessing it played a role....

Off to Grenoble tomorrow for a few days of oral exams.

Meanwhile, Patrick and Julia officially finished school today and we are very proud of the work they did in what can only be called a demanding year. This French system really gets into gear when you hit middle school -- or as they call it: collége. Summer vacation has now arrived for them, and it coming for me in under two weeks. More on our plans for this summer later.