Day one-Bangor to Vendome

No lost dancers in the airports and no lost luggage!

Our first flight from Bangor to Detroit was uneventful. We were seated in the back of the plane and the flight attendant wished Bangor Ballet successful perfromance in France. The kids loved the Detroit airport and could've stayed longer in the tunnel watching the lights dance. I'm sure they would've danced with them had we not kept them moving so they could eat some dinner! There was a cool fountain also in Detroit and the kids took pictures of each other and the sunset behind the fountain.

The trip from Detroit to Paris was LONG!!! Many of the kids did try to sleep, some with more success than others. Hilarie and Katie were behind me and they worked out interesting sleeping arrangements in the two seats they had. Sharon let Tommy and Abby sleep in shifts across the two empty seats next to her. Rachel stretched out across four seats (occupied by three other dancers) and slept most of the flight! At 3:00 am there was a medical emergency on the plane which awakened everyone-announcement on the speakers, flight attendants rushing around and the lights were turned on. Our decent into Paris was very turbulent and you could heard the kids say "whoa" as the plane dipped and rose. Some of our dancers handled this better than others. Once on the ground we had three with motion sickness, Kelsey, Erin and Shannon. Kelsey and Shannon bounced back a whole lot quicker than Erin. Before we left the plane I grabbed about 5 motion sickness bags at Lee's suggestions since we had a two hour bus ride ahead of us.

Once off the plane we made our way through the airport, found Jane and boarded the bus. Many of the dancers fell asleep again as we headed to the catedral of Chartes. We had a nice lunch at a small resturant with fresh baguette bread. Shannon was completly over her motion sickness and ate a salami baguette. Erin on the other hand was still recovering from her motion sickness and was out cold at the table as the motion sickness Lee gave her also knocked her out. Rachel helped me wake up her. Rachel had been concerned about her in the airport. (thanks Rachel!)
What a magnificent building the catherdal is. The stained glass windows are amazing and so detailed. You could spend days or months studying them. There were also intricate carvings throughout the church walls. The building left some of the dancers speechless. Abby learned the improtance of staying put when she can't find people. She didn't see anyone in the catheral so she walked back to the bus! The bus driver immediately brought her back to the cathedral to be reunited with Sharon. Lesson learned for all of us, stay put if you think you are lost.

After the cathedral the bus continued through small towns to Vendome. The roads in France are narrow and there are round abouts instead of intersections. The towns are quaint and the buildings very old. The land reminded us of Iowa, mid west and North Carolina. Some flat with few trees, other times, rolling hills and lots of trees. The roundabouts brought on another round of motion sickness for some, but without the same affects as the plane.

Vendome is a beautiful old city. The dancers were met by their host families and had a short gathering at the dance studio. Even with the language differences, everyone seemed to be getting along adn learning about each other. There were smiles and laughter as they talked. there have been no phone calls to the hotel so we hope everyone has had dinner, a shower and are sleeping! (Lee is asleep already!)

Lee and I are in a nice hotel and are happy to have internet access. We walked around the nearby streets looking for a place to eat but found very little open so we had desert for dinner tonight. We enjoyed our long hot showers when we got back. It's time for bed now. I'll post pictures tomorrow as the blog isn't letting me do it tonight! and I'm beat!

Love,

Diane