<Jo's coner of the world>

Thursday evening was the big evening, the party at the French embassy. We dressed all nice, took the bus in order to get there early, and had to wait almost an hour outside the palace to watch all the real important people get out after the official ceremony. We definitely felt out of place, better dressed than tourists, but not allowed to get inside. The crowd was getting bigger and bigger, and you could start feeling the impatience and empty stomachs all around us. When it became clear that we could soon enter, everyone started pushing towards the entrance for the security check, and it really felt again like trying to get on the overcrowded metro in the morning.
Once inside, we again had to wait in the courtyard, where a band was playing, and all the French chitchat was filling the air. So much so, that it went on even during the official speech of the embassador, who had to ask repeatedly for a bit of silence. Poeple were getting thirsty, and some old ladies managed to find some water and orange juice from underneath tables used earlier for the apero. Finally the speech was over, and the little passage towards the garden, where the buffet was, opened up. You really would have thought it was like opening Ali Babas cave, the way all these people just rushed inside. Luckily we were quite at the beginning of the crowd, so we could get a first round of food without getting tramped on by everyone else. Unluckily, we never got to a second round or to the grill: the elegant and all so refined french crowd had turned into what seemed like an enraged crowd of very hungry vultures, fighting for the food with the moto: first come first serve, and forget about anything you ever learnt about politeness.
We soon had enough of all of that, and walked back home with all our ideals of a fancy night at the embassy completely shattered.

Here a picture of the Palais Farnèse where the party took place.