Elbeuf

The next stop on our tour was Elbeuf. Located in the Normandy region of France, Elbeuf is considered to be one of the most boring places on Earth. If you don't need anything, go to Elbeuf.

That, at least, was that attitude of pretty much the entire troupe prior to arriving. And, in all fairness, the veterans of the troupe had been there before, so who was I to argue? Of course, I had neglected to take into account the sometimes (often) whiny nature of the French. Personally, I had a grand old time!

Yes, its true that there is next to nothing in Elbeuf. Although I did find a lovely and inexpensive dress, great shoes to go with it, and a replacement top (and earrings) to go with an old skirt of mine. Take that Elbeuf haters!

But I think the reason I had a great time in Elbeuf comes down to three factors:

1) My brother and his wife came to visit!

2) I traveled around quite a lot.

3) Billiards.

I don't think I need to explain why having my brother and his lovely wife come see the show was awesome. I love them both and was so excited for them to see me perform with this crazy renowned company. We went up to Dieppe where I had the best café gourmande ever, and also spent a day in Rouen which is really just a wonderfully charming city full of curiosities.

Best café gourmande ever*

My only regret is that they couldn't stay longer (there were there for maybe two days) and that I didn't hug my brother more.

Me and my bro, awesome yo!

Other adventures include going to Etretat (that will have its own post if only for the pictures) and Honfleur. Honfleur wasn't nearly as awesome as people made it out to be, though I did have the best pastry** I've ever had in France.

Then there was the billiards. One of my cast mates and I had played off and on during the tour, but not much more than that. Perhaps 200m from the circus site there was a little cafe with a billiard table. Since there isn't all that much to do in Elbeuf, we went and played billiards almost every afternoon. Now we are addicted and the hunt for billiards in every city we'll be playing in has begun.

Lannion, we're coming for you!





* A café gourmande is an espresso served with a selection of desserts, usually three different kinds (small portions). This one came with a small cone filled with chocolate cream, black current mousse, tiramisu, profiterole, and crème brûlée. Normally, these coffees are like seven euro, but this one was only five euro eighty! Fantastic!

** Raspberry macaron with a pastry cream filling, fresh rasberries and a whisper of raspberry jam inside. To die for.