Well!

I'm not sure you guys deserve the credit since it happened so soon after my blogpost but if any of you saw the last entry and crossed your fingers about the apartment, IT WORKED!!! Just heard from the owner and we're GO. Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!!!!!!!!!!! Ou bien, oh là là là là là là là là là là là là là là là là là là là là là là là là là là là là là là là là!!!!!!! Also since we're dealing directly with the owner, we bypass the agency fee. This apt. was quite a bit of serendipity actually - found out about it via the daughter-in-law of the owner of the apartment K. stayed in last year. At first it looked like it was not available for the dates I needed and I had given up but Liz checked on it again anyway and somehow it is available earlier now.

It is a morning of accomplishment (finally) on Paris stuff. Still gobs to do but the apt was a biggie, and the other thing that is on the docket thanks to my Skyping the director of the Paris Opéra Comique is that we have reservations to see "Carmen" on June 22. Very very cool. The performance reservations have been weighing heavily on my mind and To Do list because what we see (we budgeted for two performing arts items) decides what Christina our Paris instructor (unofficial - an adjunct NYU person who lives there and does tours/presentations for our group each year in conjunction with various things we visit or see during the stay) will do as presentations for us. In turn, I need to work my courses around what Christina does to a certain extent, or rather, around her stuff and the performances if possible so that they have a historical and/or cultural context tying in with the Paris history course. So there. I am in the middle of mega reading for the courses, too, so they are not ready to be sketched out yet but this makes it easier.

Best thing about the To Do list right now: writing to the two not-super-efficient (ahem!) apartment companies I was dealing with to tell them Thanks but No, Thanks.