Tour of L'Opéra Garnier

Originally built for the opera, this Baroque Revival 1,972-seat opera house was built in the late 1800s. Now, it primarily hosts ballet performances.

Just when you think that the exterior is over-the-top, the interior is jaw-droppingly amazing!

The grand staircase, which leads to the balcony box-seats (which are lined with red velvet).

Some of the costumes were on display. Ahhhhh-mazing!

Above: this looks like a set for an opera, and it is! However, it is only a 3-dimensional model of a set. The whole thing was probably 2.5'x 2'x2'

The library for all of the music was floor-to-ceiling (2 stories high).

Have I said "WOW!" yet? Some people were setting-up to film something in this hall.

A view of tthe 2nd Arrondissment from the front balcony of Opéra Garnier.

Montmartre and Sacre Coeur

Today, class was a trip to Le Bon Marche, Paris' fanciest clothing store and across the street, it's fanciest food store. You aren't supposed to take photos inside, so I can't share any of that. Suffice it to say, the grocery store was particularly wonderful. Filled with the best of everything and some ordinary stuff, too (but at extraordinary prices). Bottled water at twice the price? No? How about bottled "BLING" water (the bling on the label is spelled-out with crystals) for almost €60? I did go back the next day and buy a container of fresh orzo & shrimp salad, which I had for dinner, and it was reasonably-priced at €7.50.

Any-hooo, I couldn't let a day go by without walking for several miles and taking photos of interesting things, so my friend, Robert, and I walked (and took the Metro) and walked some more up to Montmartre and the 19th century church, Sacre Coeur.

As the name implies, this part of Paris is on top of a (small) mountain (big hill, really). Back in the day (late 1800s, early 1900s) many artists lived and worked here, since it was a less expensive and bohemian part (suburb, almost) of Paris. You can still see artists on the streets, but many of them are sketching the faces of tourists for a living. The area retains its bohemian charm.

Below: the Basilica Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart), which was built in the late 1800s. When we visited, we were so fortunate that wwe were able to waalk through during Mass. The nuns were singing and it was just beautiful to hear.

The view from in front of Sacre Coeur is really amazing. You can see almost all of Paris in front of you.

The tall, modern, Tour Montparnasse can be seen on the right. My neighborhood, the 15th Arrondissement, is located near the tower (though I cannot see it from the apartment).

Some pretty buildings on Montmartre.

Art in a park.

Saint Jean de Montmartre - built in the late 1800s-early 1900s. We didn't go in, but I really appreciate the archetictural style and thought it was beautiful.

Walking down the hill to the Paris streets below, the Metro stop is very close to the Moulin Rouge, so I had to take a photo. It was around 7pm and was just starting to sprinkle, so the lighting was great. You can get dinner and a show here, but it is an overpriced tourist trap. Still, fun to take a picture. 

Le Marais: The 4th Arrondissement

Yesterday, we went to the Luxembourg gardens, in the 6th Arrondissement, with our French class. The day was lovely, but I really didn't take many photos, since we just sat and chatted under the linden and chestnut trees. After class, Rebecca R (we've got 3 Rebeccas in our group!) and I walked (because we haven't walked enough yet!) to the Botanical Gardens. Nothing really spectacular there, and it was surprisingly overgrown. Here are a few photos, before we move to today's walk in Le Marais:

Me at Jardin du Luxembourg

The Jardin des Plantes (in the 5th Arrondissement).

. . .Moving on to Le Marais (the 4th)

Pierre Etienne, our professor (here and at COC), grew up in France and spent most of his tween and teen years right here. His grandparents lived in an apartment on the Place des Vosges for over 60 years (during WWII, his mom was a teenager here, under Nazi occupation). Below is the path Pierre would take to go home to his grandmother's apartment from high school every day. He told us that he was studying so hard for the Bac (the French college entrance exams) that he really didn't notice how beautiful it was!

Saul (in blue) and Pierre (in black).

#11 - Pierre's grandmother's old apartment. She lived there until the 1990s, unfortunately we couldn't go in since the family no longer lives there. It is right in the Place des Vosges, which is a beautiful square of red brick and stone, arcades (covered walkways) all around the square, and a lovely park in the center.

Pierre's mother worked as a waitress in this café when she was young.

Victor Hugo lived just around the corner. This is where he wrote some of Les Misérables. (these guys are plugging their ears because an alarm had just gone off).

Three of the guys in our class having fun: Saul, Eloy and Tristan 

aaaaaand we ended the tour at what Pierre swears is the best fallafel place in Paris, where all eleven of us students decided to have lunch. It was so yummy!

The Louvre - Wednesday Night

Tonight, we had a late entry into the Louvre, and it was open until 9:30pm. A person could actually spend weeks in the Louvre (it is the entire, U-shaped building behind me) and still not get to see everything, so our class just stayed in one area: Antiquities (Middle East, Egypt, Greek, Etruscan and Roman).

Cindy and I -- before going in, but after a much-needed iced coffee!

Mighty Aphrodite. Necia Gelker, a COC Art Prof with our group, explained that there is documented proof that men actually stayed with this statue rather than eat, and DIED because they loved the statue so much. It was the suggestion of her clothes falling-off that pushed them over the edge. 

The Code of Hammurabi is written on this column: dating around 1772 B.C. from Mesopotamia, it is one of the earliest deciphered writings in the world of this length. It is a series of laws given to King Hammurabi by a god, and it has some of the same (common-sense) laws that would later be recorded in the Ten Commandments (don't kill,, don't steal, etc.).

Isn't this horse both regal and approachable at the same time? I'd like to smooch his nose, it looks that soft.

A seated statue of Gudea, a king who devoted himself to rebuilding temples. Southern Mesopotamia, around 2100 B.C.

When our class was over, the museum would still be open for another hour, so three of us decided to stay and explore another wing. The way the Louvre is designed, in order to see another wing, you must first leave the previous wing and then show your ticket to enter another wing. No problem -- unless you got in with a European Student card (discounted, in fact, free admission with this card, which has one's name and photo ID) AND  you are over 25. On initial entry, there was no issue. Probably because I was with a large group of students and they pretty-much waved us all through. I have the card legitimately, I am a student, but I am clearly not under 25. When the three of us tried to enter the Italian paintings wing, I was stopped and told that my card was not good, because of my age. I sweetly insisted that I am, indeed, a student and she let me pass, begrudgingly. Hopefully, this won't be a problem elsewhere!!

We came across an artist who was faithfully copying this work in charcoal. He was crouching on the floor, moving only his hands. When I asked him how long he had been working on this painting, he told me that it was 30 hours so far. 

Back in Paris!

One of the assignments we have for our French class is a treasure hunt, which takes us throughout the city,, looking for interesting things, everyday things, and important things. Today, I discovered BHV (Bizarre Hotel de Ville) --  very nice department store (sort of like Macy's in San Francisco). The most interesting thing I saw was this vending machine for nail polish! My friend, Necia, bought some for the fun of it!

Another part of the hunt had me looking for the Métro station which was designed with Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I found it: Arts & Métiers.

Our class met on Le Ponte des Arts (the one with all of the locks, mostly put there by couples who hope to come back some day), for a walking tour of the 6th Arrondissement (some of its famous landmarks are St. Sulpice church, St. Germain des Pres church, Palais et Jardin du Luxembourg . . . and one of the best chocolat shops (and one of the most expensive): Debauve & Gallais.

Some examples  of the street art we've seen so far. I especially like what someone is doing with the "do not enter" signs:

Arromanches: Normandy Landing Beach and Seaside Town

Flags representing the countries who participated in the D-Day Landing

Quite a lot of  the debris left behind from the Landing is still on the beach as well as what is left of the artifical harbor, Mulberry Port.

Low tide lets people get up close to the skeletons of D-Day machinery.

There is a war museum, along with lots of souvenir shops (war and beach-tourist-related), alonng with a merry-go-round (these are all over France).

Leo

Le Petit Prince

Baron Rouge

The ticket booth for the Merry-Go-Round

Love this Banksy-esque street art, which looks like two little girls writing on the wall: "Please No More War...Love"