A Whirlwind Start to Paris!

Wow, have our choristers been busy! After a stellar performance in Southwark Cathedral in London Friday night, our Canterbury choristers roused themselves in the wee hours of Saturday to make their way via train, Chunnel, and bus to Paris just in time for their 1:30 rehearsal at St. Sulpice. The St. David young men arrived at rehearsal much better rested, having reached Paris the day before--almost a whole day to get settled into the hotel and learn a little about the area.

After rehearsal, one group boarded a bus to the hotel, while another boarded the other bus to the Palace of Versailles to learn about the French Revolution, cousins marrying boring cousins, symmetry in architecture, and what it means if a king asks you to come upstairs to greet you rather than going downstairs to greet you himself.

The first room we visited had a HUGE painting of Mary Magdalene washing Jesus' feet.

Saturday night was free time for all (first stop for some: checking into the hotel after a VERY long day!)--families couldn't stay out too late, though, because the next day was the choristers' big day in Paris.

Everyone prepared for their big day by loading up their breakfast plates Sunday morning with croissants (with Nutella--yum!), eggs, beans, bacon (which is much pinker and less cooked than what we're used to), mini-pancakes (topped with syrup, jelly, or Nutella, of course), made-to-order omelettes, and other goodies. Choristers grabbed their vestments and folders, parents grabbed their cameras and donned their Sunday best, and everyone met on the busses at 9:30 for rehearsal at St. Sulpice at 10:00.

Although it was a lovely high 60s or low 70-something degrees outside, the inside of the cathedral was very, very warm, so various medical professional parents were tapped to be on the lookout for woozy-looking (that's a medical term) choristers, who were extra warm because of their vestments. (There had already been a scare in London.)

Lighting the candles before the service.

Before the service, our choristers were introduced to the congregation in both French and English. St. Sulpice is a Roman Catholic church, and the service was in French, but our choristers were able to pick up on some of its similarities to our own church (we passed the peace in French!).

Click here to watch them sing!

A slightly blurry Maddie Anderson sings her solo in The Lord is My Shepherd during "l'audition," a sort of extended postlude.

"I knew that it was an honor to sing at St. Sulpice, of course, as it is the second largest Catholic church in Paris," said Jo Hethcox. "But I did not realize until today that we would be performing alongside the famous organist Daniel Roth. That was truly an honor, to alternate musical selections with one of the most esteemed and famous organists in the world."

After the service, it was time to visit Notre-Dame, where our choristers were originally scheduled to sing (click here to read Jo Hethcox's article about what happened). Because of strict laws about where buses ("coaches") are allowed to drop passengers off, we had to park a little ways away and walk about 10 minutes. It seemed almost like a miracle, but they were able to secure space to sing a couple of anthems and capture the attention of passersby with their earnest faces and beautiful harmonies. When available, videos will be posted here. Jo Hethcox said, "They sang so beautifully at St. Sulpice and also in front of Notre-Dame. Their music touches my heart and brings me so much joy, and I know that is what the congregation of St. Sulpice was feeling ... And then being able to fit in the very moving experience of praying and singing in front of Notre Dame made our day today a most memorable day for all of us." 

You can imagine the number of cameras on these troopers...here they're playing, "Pick a camera, any camera" in front of Notre-Dame.

There was just enough time after Notre-Dame for those who were signed up to go on a boat tour on the Seine to enjoy a picnic in the park before making their way back to the bus. After eating, choristers and parents surrounded TWO birthday boys (Tyreke Jackson and Henson Norvell, seven years apart) and serenaded them with a joyous rendition of "Happy Birthday."

The boat tour was a relaxing way to see some of the sights and to gather ideas for where to spend free time over the next couple of days. Those on the upper deck and outside on the lower deck learned that there are some customs associated with riding a boat tour: 1. If you go under a bridge, you're supposed to make a whooping/howling sound. 2. If you pass another boat tour, it's only polite to wave. 3. If you pass people standing on a bridge, it's only polite to wave. 4. You are encouraged to use a royal wave or a silly dance move in an attempt to get someone on a bridge or another boat to copy you.

During the detour, driver Moustaff and tour guide Christian got a pesky parked moped out of the way so that Moustaff could make a tight right turn.

After the boat tour, most people got back on the bus for another tour all over the city and beyond. Unfortunately, the timing wasn't great, since today was the last day of the Tour de France and there was BEAUCOUP de traffic and several street closures. In fact, our route back from the outskirts of town was blocked, so our driver, Moustaff, had to find an alternate road through streets not meant to accommodate a bus (and not meant to be seen by young eyes--don't ask).

Finally, our exhausted crew made it back to the hotel with a now impossibly long list of sites to visit. They leave Wednesday for Brussels--stay tuned to learn about more of their adventures!