The Trip to France
- Tocane

The stage in Tocane

July 23

You know that nightmare where you're back at school and you have no idea where your classes are and you're late besides? Well, we woke up Sunday for the first day of the stage and found that we were well rested and two hours late! (We did set the alarm clock, but not for AM.) We threw on clothes and hustled down to town, and realized we didn't know where to report for the classes. It wasn't in any of the literature.

We headed for the campground where we knew some people were staying, and spied a woman with a fiddle. No, she wasn't there for the stage, but her husband was, and we should head up to the collège. We found the school pretty easily and kept poking our heads into classrooms until we found people with the right instruments. Fortunately, what with Irish time plus general French laid-backness, we slipped right into the classes and weren't at any great disadvantage.

In fact, all the instructors were Irish and conducted the classes in English. We turned out to be the only Americans there and about the only other native English speakers aside from the teachers. Most of the stagiaires were French, with a few folks from Switzerland, Belgium, and Holland.

The classes went for about two and a half hours in the morning and again in the afternoon. In between we had a magnificent lunch in the school cafeteria, with apéritifs of pastis beforehand in the foyer. This was the full deal, with main course, bread, salad, dessert, wine and cheese. Coffee was served by several young girls about nine. They were terrific, and took their work so seriously!

It was a great opportunity to get to know people and chat with the different instructors. You could also slip in a little practicing if you found a quiet corner of campus.