Traveling

Here I go again, traveling back to the U.S. and NYC in particular. As usual, I have mixed feelings about this. I had a real bout of homesickness a few weeks ago. I have also found from past experience that going "home" when you feel that is probably the worst thing you can do. Fortunately, I am pretty much over that and can comfortably do the trip without clutching at the taxi door on the return to the airport. 

This trip has two main objectives. The first is to pick up the fabric I already own for the quilt. When I did my initial move, I brought the one-inch squares I had already cut for the quilt (which was an extensive amount). But of course I have quickly run through those. I am currently creating one block a day. That may not sound like much, but there are 80 squares in a block and it takes me a concentrated 1 1/2 hours to do that. I say concentrated because it is so easy to check mail, answer a text message, have a cup of tea and have 3 hours rush by. I could repurchase fabric here and there is a quilting store literally around the corner from the apartment in Paris. But it is not cheap and I have found the quality of the fabric not as high as I am used to. 

The other objective is to feed my culture hunger. I have attempted to connect to the culture scene in Paris, but it is proving elusive. Because of the similarities of the two cities, I expect the same high levels in both places. Museums? World class both, although Paris may get a slight edge with the Louvre. Food? Both good but again, Paris may take the edge there. Theatre and opera? No contest; New York wins by a mile. Both the Met and the Opéra have announced their next seasons. The Met has 24 operas; the Opéra? 8. 

I had heard of a small theater in the neighborhood that had a good reputation and saw they were doing a production of "Liliom." So I jumped at the chance. For those who don't know, "Liliom" is a Hungarian play that was the basis for Roger's and Hammerstein's second hit, Carousel. You don't get a chance to see it often. It was not very good or very professional. I think in NYC, there are so many actors looking for work that even the smallest showcase is full of talent. There were some passable performances but the piece had no direction and some downright embarrassing moments. For instance, the exits from the stage had been masked so heavily that every character when leaving had to look for the slit in the curtain. The leading man floundered his way through the part, reminded me of some community playhouse production found in the outskirts of Philadelphia (and, yes, I have seen theater in the outskirts of Philadelphia). Parisians have confirmed that this is not a theater town. There are still avenues to explore. For instance, there is the theater at Chatelet whose production of "American in Paris" is moving to Broadway in the spring. 

So, I will attempt to see things in NYC on this quick visit. I already have tickets to "On the Twentieth Century."  Here is a moment where a performer (Kristen Chenowith) and a part (Lily Garland) are a perfect match at a perfect moment. I could not possibly miss this and I can't wait.