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Makenna has attended a dance class on Wednesdays since September and she recently had the end of year dance recital, called a “spectacle” in French.  I had been anticipating this night all year since parents aren’t able to stay and watch the dance class.  I would always ask Makenna to show me what she did in class but she wouldn’t show us much, so I couldn’t wait to see what she had learned.

The recital was at a local gymnasium at 8:30 in the evening.  For one, that was pretty late already for a 3 year old since she is normally in bed before 8.  For two, like most places in France, there was no air conditioning…and that whole week had been around 95….and our seats were high up in this giant room with little ventilation.  I’m not sure how nobody passed out but we probably lost about 2 pounds from the amount we were sweating.  Me and another American mother thought that the teacher said as soon as the girls were done dancing we could pick them up from the left of the stage, so I just kept thinking we only had to get through maybe a half hour and then we can be on our way to putting Makenna and Reese to bed.  Makenna’s group was the 2nd performance and they wore Princess Aurora dresses and danced to a song from Sleeping Beauty.  There was one little boy, Maxime, in their class so he was the prince.  Makenna had a thing for Maxime all year and would get excited every time she saw him, so I almost lost it during the recital when the kids broke off into 2’s to dance together and Makenna was paired with Maxime!  I was really impressed with the performance and Makenna did a great job, of course it was an emotional moment for Ryan and I.  Well I guess the instructions for after the performance were lost in translation because when me and the other American mom went to get our girls we were told we had to wait until the half time break…..which didn’t happen until 10pm!  This is typical in France, I should have expected it to be a late night.  Ryan, Reese and I were so hot we finally had to go wait outside until we could pick up Makenna.

Ryan bought Makenna a dozen roses and she was so excited about her flowers that she had to show everyone we passed by.  We were so surprised at how well both her and Reese did staying up late and dealing with the heat.  Next year we will be prepared and remember to get seats as low as possible and bring lots of water!

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In a day where Walmart and Target, or even Amazon, have taken over with one-stop convenient shopping, it can be really refreshing shopping the old fashioned way.

Makenna’s dance class is in the neighboring town of Chamalières and I love walking around the small town center.  You can literally go from shop to shop to purchase your food (and desserts) for the week and then pick up some flowers from the flower shop before you stop at the pharmacy.  There is a boulangerie for bread and pastries, a macaron shop, a wine shop, a shop for prepared food, a market with in-season fruits and vegetables, a fish shop, a butcher and a cafe to stop for a drink after you’ve finished your shopping.  Of course there’s a hair salon and a bank, so all of your bases are covered.

I love the charm of seeing people walking around, usually the “regulars” who make their boulangerie run on Wednesday morning or those who stop at the market several times a week for fresh produce.  I, myself, have become a Wednesday morning regular who stops at the boulangerie for multi-grain bread, and usually a treat for Makenna, and then a coffee before I have to pick Makenna up from her class.  I do miss the convenience of the big box stores, but I’ll soak up this small town shopping while I can!