The sights....c'est Bon!

Thursday, May 25
We have a reservation for the Eiffel Tower at 11:00 and we're in no hurry to do anything before that time.  It's nice to slow down a bit and enjoy our beautiful apartment.
Jacque is not fond of heights and isn't quite sure about going to the summit of the Eiffel Tower, but she's a sport and heads up with us.  When we get to the top though, she clings to the building rather than venturing close to the edge for a better view.  Aw Paris!  The view is always mesmerizing!

Tour de Eiffel

One of the views from the summit

This was close as Jacque wanted to get to the view

Dreams come true!

Once we leave the Eiffel Tower, we decide to stroll about and find a place to eat.  We find a cute little brasserie and sit outside to people watch while we dine.  The others are ordering Boef Bourguignon, and I probably should have also. It looks delicious.  But I wanted to be a bit braver, so I order Beef Tartare (raw beef, chopped up with other "stuff" in it).  It's actually quite delicious, but very rich.  I can only eat less than half, but I enjoy my new experience.
Noting the time, I think we may be able to catch the 3:00 English speaking guided tour of the Opera Garnier.  So we head there.  This building is amazing!  This building is opulent!  During our last trip we happened to arrive here about a half hour before closing and we just quickly walked around on our own.  I'm hoping that the guided tour will give me more information about this amazing piece of architecture.  And I am not disappointed.

One of the "hanging out" areas at the Opera House.

It is fashioned after the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.

Our English speaking guide is doing a great job, but her English has a heavy French accent and I need to concentrate a great deal to follow along.  She takes us through the emperor's private entrance (which was built for an emperor who didn't live long enough to use his grand entrance) and the season box holders' entrance.  She explained that among the upper crust, going to the opera was more about being seen than actually watching or listening to the opera.  She said that personal boxes would be theirs for the whole season and some brought their own furniture and decorations to make it especially their own.

I make my entrance up the grand staircase to the

applause of the "normal people"

The "normal people" as she called them, would enter through the front entrance and line the grand staircase to watch the upper crust work their way to their boxes...with much pageantry of course.
This is the opera house of Phantom of the Opera fame, so they have box #5 reserved for the Phantom as it is in the book. There is a huge chandelier weighing 8 tons, which never actually fell as it did in the book, but a counter weight from the chandelier did fall and caused injury.  There isn't a lake with a labyrinth of passageways under the building, but there is an area of water under the seating part of the house to act as a counterweight to the much heavier front and back of the building.  Firemen use it for drills and there are a few catfish in it.
This building was built in the 1860's but in the 1960's someone had the great idea to update the marvelous opera house.  So he had Chagall repaint the ceiling in a modern way.  To me, it just looks out of place.

The chandelier of Phantom of the Opera fame

with the Chagal painted ceiling above

The Opera House along with its sister theater, the Opera Bastille, employ over 2000 people.  They make all their own sets and costumes.  They even employ their own firemen so there won't be any mishaps. There is a presentation each evening at the Opera Garnier.  But since it would be a strain on opera singers' voices to do the opera two nights in a row, they have opera one night and ballet the next.  This means there is a lot of changing of sets and props each day.

I am so glad we went on this tour.  We saw so many more parts of the building than we could when we were racing through on our own.
After the tour, we relax a bit and then head to a restaurant that Ivan, the apartment owner, had recommended.  Another delicious meal.  And since we had dinner rather early for these parts, 8:00 p.m., we decide to grab some sweet crepes for a late night snack. Yum!