Now I am a Blue Lion!

First day of school. I had to chuckle when I saw the actual name of the school. Lyon Bleu. When Austin was little, just turned three, he was very excited for Halloween.  For weeks he kept saying 'I want to be a LION!'. Then he'd make a grrr face and hold up his fiersome claws. Finally we went to the fabric store. I bought the softest tan fur, caramel coloured yarn for the mane, soft pink satin for inside his ears.  I got him settled back into his car seat, started the engine, when he turned to me, paws up, teeth bared, and said 'I want to be a BLUE lion'. Well little man...you're going to be a tan lion, and you're going to like it. 

Now here I am at the Blue Lion. It's very International; mostly young 'uns, but a few people from my age group, from all corners of the world.  The program here is really good, with lots of extras like guided excursions and tutoring that I wasn't expecting to be included in the tuition.  They all speak super slow and clear so we can follow along.  My classes are in the afternoons, which means I have the mornings free for sketching and exploring. After the orientation I went for a big wander and found myself at the Fontaine de la Place Maréchal Lyautey. 

Dominique had brought me here the day before, but now the light was just right so I set myself down to sketch. When I got home and showed her my drawing she explained to me that each of the angels represents a discipline; navigation, commerce, geography, the arts.  She is a wealth of knowledge ( and I am a six year old, coming home from school to show off my colouring project).  We spent the evening talking, listening to cd's of her (now my) favorite French singers, me playing the guitar her ex left behind and both of us singing songs, French and English.  Ah, the international language of folk music. 

Now I'm in bed. There's a virus floating around and we both got up this morning with sore throats and stuffy noses (not just from the singing and the wine). I'm resting up and willing myself better.  There's so much to see and do here, and a couple of days sick in bed is definitely not on the program!

Will post sketches soon.