Day Three, Troo, Lavardin and rehearsals

Day Three-Troo, Lavardin and rehearsals

The dancers headed off to Troo this morning with some clouds but the sun was trying to break through. Troo is a troglodyte city with houses nestled into the hillside and there were also caves. To get to the top we climbed narrow staircases and walked small passageways and streets. The views of the valley were amazing with the rapeseed fields in the distance. Rapeseed is harvested and made into canola oil. On top of the hill was a ruined castle. The houses were quaint and it was astounding to see flower and vegetable gardens nestled into the hillside amongst the homes. There were small table, chairs and hammocks near different homes. It was interesting to see the contrast between the ancient homes and the modern world. We were told that the cost of the homes in Troo is extremely expensive and the Japanese would like to purchase homes there. Since the homes are built into the hill, the homes remain cool during the summer. Lee, Kathryn and I weren’t sure we’d want to lug our groceries up the hill and I wondered how the children got to the bus stop in the morning!

After Troo, the dancers traveled to Lavardin. This is a picturesque town centuries old. We visited the Church of Saint Genest which has frescoes and mural paintings. I’ll tell more about this church tonight and a church in Lunay.

The kids were at Lunay in time for run through and dress rehearsal. Between the rehearsals, the dancers taught the French kids the clapping game. It was fun to watch them all sitting on the floor clapping away! Rachel had taught her little French sister a ballet dance and showed it to the group. Dress rehearsal went fairly well, but there were rough spots. The kids were getting tired at this point and really wanted to go home and rest. They were happy when it was time to go home.
More later today. We are heading out to see some more sights this morning.
Diane