March 1, 2013

Paris Day 12

Note: There are several opera pictures as I toured the building at lunch time after being informed that the evening's show was completely sold out. Returning at six pm in the hopes of cancellations, I found I was misinformed as there were indeed a handful of "no view" seats available for ten Euros. Seated with craned neck, I could see 2/5 of the stage. Standing granted 3/5. The opera was sung in Italian with a scrolling translation in French provided at the very top of the stage. The evening thus required both mental agility and physical fortitude, but was immensely enjoyable nonetheless.

Grand salon in Opera Garnier (for attendees to stroll during intermission)

Close-up of chandelier strangely emerging from forehead of tortured figure

Display underneath grand staircase of Opera Garnier
 
Perfume Organ on display at the Fragonard perfume museum.
"
Three sided piece of furniture containing precision scales and a large number of bottles used by the perfumer known as the nose to create perfumes. This is called an organ since perfumes are composed like music." 

Coconut coffee and rose/raspberry confection at Laduree Royale
(Decadence for K; girliness for D; floral flavor for me)

Display window of Laduree Royale

Galeries Lafayette
(Think Nordstroms meets Harrods in even greater scale)

Inside of main building at Galeries Lafayette (three buildings total)
Amusing children's novelties in home store

Inside of opera box (facing away from stage--you enter the box through this door)
 
Mirrors add illusions

A third of the nearly 1,900 people in attendance

Heading back to seats at intermission
The sign lets you know this place has history; the menu lets you know  you  will pay for it.

Souvenir scarves and bananas for the plane
Heading home tomorrow morning!

Highlights

  • Purchasing my first and only souvenirs: two scarves from a street vendor and a postcard from the Pinacotheque Museum.
  • Receiving a free sample of Givenchy "Hot Couture" perfume from Sephora after my mangled explanation that I needed a small bottle "por la avion." (Told you it was mangled.)
  • Watching a teenage girl manage to pull off self-consciously but cheekily munching on macaroons with the swanks at the posh Laduree Royale tea shop 
  •  Unexpectedly viewing an excellent collection of Van Gogh's works at a spontaneous visit to the Pinacotheque, including his "Good Samaritan" on loan from museums in Denmark
  • Attending an opera at Opera Garnier--"La Cenerentola" by Rossini (Italian version of Cinderella from the 1800s)
  • Savoring a late wine and cheese dinner (11:30pm-12:30am) at Le Procope cafe and restaurant, founded in 1686 and frequented by writers such as Voltaire. It turned out to be an impress your date/win over your estranged young daughter establishment, but God in His sense of humor sat me next to an English speaking couple on their first date. Their conversation was so amusing that I shamelessly abandoned my resolve not to eavesdrop. The girl was in her early twenties--an aspiring actress from South Carolina. The man (American of Middle Eastern descent--perhaps raised abroad?) was probably ten years older. I swear he was an engineer; generously replete with trivia and inept with social cues. Worst moment? Well, more than a moment: ten minutes talking about veins and dissection as they waited for oysters. Free dating advice: inquire don't inform unless your goal is to be mentioned on strangers' blogs.

No comments: