Maya singing and playing "Marry You"

As I mentioned in one of the previous post, Bruno Mars is Maya's favorite singer. I recorded her singing his song "Marry You" a few day before the concert. She has been taking guitar for the past 2 years and is getting better. I am proud of her for sticking with it and making so much progress. Who knows where she will be in a few years?!

Bruno Mars in Paris! (part 2)

Once we returned to the venue, we were escorted to a small room backstage to wait with a few other fans to meet Bruno Mars. As he entered the room, he was singing "Rollin' in the Deep" and clapping. That really relaxed everyone and created a festive mood. He was very approachable as he talked a bit and took a picture with each person. Maya was just thrilled and couldn't stop smiling. She really didn't say much, but she did note that he called her sweetie.

We remained back stage and got to meet Natalia Kills as well as the other people that Day'nah has been working with. We felt like the celebrities as she introduced us as her family. Everyone, including Natalia stopped to talk to us and to tell us how happy they were to meet the family. Day'nah was just as excited to have us there, as we were to be there.

After the introductions, we went to our seats to wait for the concert to begin. As I mentioned before, the concert was sold out and at this particular venue, the ground floor in front of the stage is standing only. I was very pleased that our tickets were not only seated, but in the center of the section.

Natalia Kills opened and got the crowd going with songs that had strong dance beats. It was a pleasure to see Day'nah on stage doing what she loves and doing it well.

After her performance, Day'nah sat with us and enjoyed the concert. Bruno Mars is excellent live. He has an outstanding band that is full of energy and very entertaining. I think they performed every song on his album and the crowd sang along, Maya being the loudest of course. In fact, most of the footage of the concert that I recorded has Maya singing on it.

Following the concert, we went to go out to dinner before Day'nah's tour bus left for London. It's hard to believe that 17 years ago, she was a flower girl in our wedding and now she is dancing all over the world. We are so proud of you Day'nah and thank you for setting and excellent example for our children to get their education and follow their dreams. Thanks also for making this special night possible.

I made a video of the rest of our pictures featuring one of my favorite songs by Bruno Mars, "Just the Way You Are"

Bruno Mars in Paris! (part 1)

About two weeks ago, Preston's cousin Day'nah posted on her facebook that she would be in Paris for one night dancing with Natalia Kills who was opening for Bruno Mars. Day'nah is a professional dancer and was on a European tour with Natalia Kills and we were hoping that we would get to see her on one of her stops through France. Unfortunately that particular night was the night before we were to be in Germany for a previously planned weekend with other families to an amusement park. Complicating things further, Preston had to figure out how he could take the day off at the last minute and when I checked online to buy tickets to the concert, it was already sold out. Maya was especially disappointed that things were not working out because Bruno Mars is her favorite singer.

Well as it turns out, Preston was able to cancel his afternoon so that we could leave after a few morning meetings. I also talked to Day'nah privately and was able to confirm that she could get us tickets to the show. We would be able to not only visit with her before the show, but we could see her perform as well as Bruno Mars! Now I decided not to tell the kids, but to surprise them with the news since things were changing so quickly. I didn't want to set them up for disappointment if something fell through. What I did tell them was that we would leave earlier on our trip and to pack a nice outfit to go out to dinner once we arrived at our hotel. I just hoped that I could keep the surprise for the entire road trip, as I texted Day'nah back and forth and spoke in code to Preston about the meeting place and time. It really was hard work not the spill the beans!

Side note: Surprises are not my specialty. Let's just say I have a history of giving away surprises. Christmas was a dud this year because I accidentally left open an email that detailed all of the gifts for the children. Darn facebook!

After about 4 hours, Daniele noticed something that looked like the Eiffel Tower in the distance. I explained to her that Lyon had an antenna that looked like the Eiffel Tower, so maybe she saw something similar. I had to throw her off of the fact they we were in Paris indeed. Minutes later, Maya asked if we were in Paris because she noticed lots of large buildings. Daniele responded with, "you know Paris is not the only large city in France". Thanks Daniele for helping me out! But it was over when Lauren noticed the taxis that read "Parisian taxi"! And when we passed by the Louvre, it was a done deal. They all knew we were in Paris, but still had now clue that we were meeting Day'nah.

As we drove around Paris, I began to blame the GPS for taking us in the wrong direction from Germany when it told us that we had arrived at our destination. As soon as the Maya looked outside, she saw the marquee that had Natalia Kills and Bruno Mars on it and began to scream, "Day'nah is in there, we have to find her!" Well I continued to play innocent, telling them to try to send a message via facebook while I talked to the security guard at the venue. All the while I was texting Day'nah that we had finally arrived. Within minutes, Day'nah exited the venue and everyone was jumping up and down with excitement, including her. We had not seen her since her college graduation party three years ago, the same summer we moved to France. Since then her career has really taken off.

As soon as Day'nah got into the car, she told them that she had not only secured tickets to the concert, but we had an opportunity to meet Bruno Mars! SURPRISE!!!! As you can imagine, Maya was crying with joy and everyone else was pretty happy too. In fact, the meet and greet was a surprise for me. Like I said, plans were changing quickly, but not as quickly as my children changed into the "dinner" clothes I had them pack. They were ready and looking good in no time in order for us to return to the venue for the meet and greet! I think it is safe to say that I have MORE than made up for the Christmas debacle. This was the best surprise ever!

American History in France

It is always facinating to learn a little about the history of people and places here in Europe.  It is particularly interesting when that history is apart of American history.   There is a group called the Cercle D'etude et d'amitie France-USA that host various events in and around Clermont to promote French-American relationships.  The president of this group is a history buff and began researching connections between the US and people in this region, Auvergne, France, years ago.  He created an interactive map on interesting sites in Auvergne that relate to American history called "American spots."  About two weeks ago we attended a picnic hosted by the Cercle that was held at one of those spots, Chateau Dauphin.

Chateau Dauphin

The Chateau Dauphin is a medieval chateau constructed in the 12th century by Robert Dauphin, Count of Auvergne and completed in the 15th century.  The main structure has been renovated and is currently occupied by Count and Countess Gabriel de Germiny, descendants of the Moré de Pontgibaud family who have owned the chateau since 1756. 

The US-France relationship is that in 1777, the chevalier of Pontgibaud and owner of Chateau Dauphin, became a French volunteer of the war of American independence with General Lafayette.  He along with several others left France to fight alongside Americans in our war.  After the war, the chevalier was made a member of the Society of Cincinnati.  The orginal members were those officers, American and French that served in the war.  Today the members have to be direct descendants of the original members.  As a member of the Society, the Count has on display in the chateau the original membership certificate for the Society of Cincinnati signed by President George Washington.

Order of Cincinnati signed by President G. Washington

Here are a few pics from the day:

Center photo:  B. Caillot, president of the Cercle with Count Germiny

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!.