To my loyal readers: I have not forgotten you! Living the story has gotten in the way of telling it, but I will do my best to fill in the blanks. The better moments are harder to put into words… Until then, here is what I did today:

The first days of snow have brought with them the magic of the Christmas season, and this afternoon I ventured out with Stella, Julien and Madame to the Rex cinema in the 2nd arrondissement to see Raiponce (Rapunzel). This latest release from Disney is screening in several theaters across town, but the Rex offers a special pre-show spectacle called La Féérie des Eaux (“The Magic of Water”) during the month of December only.

From what I’ve read about it, the theater is the oldest and largest in Paris, having opened in 1932 and seating over 3,000. The Grand Salle of the cinema reminds me a bit of the gorgeous movie theaters on Broadway in Downtown Los Angeles, but the interior was not quite as ornate. Perhaps a more apt comparison would be El Capitan in Hollywood, which always does something special for Disney movies.

Anyway, because today is Wednesday when most children are out of school, the theater was packed. Like at a baseball game, vendors were walking around selling candy and fiber optic glow sticks and light-up balls to all the children as they waited for the film to start. I felt a bit like I was in a Harry Potter alternative universe – discovering a world of foreign delights! One of these days I’m going to find the elusive chocolate frog!

Even the previews were exciting. I especially enjoyed the Martin Scorsese-directed Chanel short film advertising its Bleu de Chanel perfume for men. It stars this rakish French actor whom I recently watched in the film La Princesse de Montpensier, which I loved. (I think it comes out in the U.S. sometime in the spring.)

Finally, the spectacle – laser snowflakes fell down the red curtains and as they parted, elegant streams of water shot out of the stage floor. Everyone oohed and ahhed over the beautiful waterworks that danced to classical music, and then – because pop is everything for children – the Black Eyed Peas blasted from the speakers while the whole audience clapped in their seats and cheered. Lasers, lights, water and smoke all performed an intricate choreography to Justin Bieber, Shakira and finally gave way to a grand finale with pyrotechnics and streamers falling from the ceiling. It was quite a rush! I was in total awe along with everyone else.

Madame said that because she went to school as a child not far from the Rex, she would see La féérie des eaux every year, and that though it had a long tradition, many Parisians did not know about it. I was happy to have be inducted into the cognoscenti!

I was pretty excited to see Rapunzel as I remember listening to the story on tape over and over again when I was little, and I think it was one of my favorites. The Disney version deviated from the story I knew somewhat, probably to create more content, but I thought they did a great job. It seemed to have a certain feminist slant to it (this Rapunzel was no damsel in distress) and even the ending had a Shrek-ish surprise. Mostly, I loved it because Rapunzel seemed to find delight wherever she went, and I can definitely relate to that here in Paris!