Paris: Day 2

Our first full day made up for any of the previous day's difficulties. One of my friends discovered a program that offers free walking tours throughout various neighborhoods in Paris, and we decided that it would be a good orientation to the city. The tour was given by a native Parisian who was in the process of getting a masters in history. He spoke English very well and gave us an insider's tour of the area, complete with a lot of funny stories about Parisians. The tour finished just in time for lunch, and we found a cute sandwich shop close to the Louvre. After a few months of Tuscan bread, the thought of a 60 cent baguette was almost too much to bear. Make no mistake about it...the French know how to do bread. 

Outside view of the Opera Garnier.

 

After lunch we headed back to the Opera Garnier in hopes of touring the interior of this impressive theater. Garnier was Paris' first opera house, and was the inspiration for “The Phantom of the Opera” because it was built over an underground lake. Though we were unable to enter the opera house at the time, we found some cheap last minute tickets to a Balanchine ballet that night. 

Ceiling in Opera Garnier.

The grand staircase of the Opera Garnier.

 

The ballet was performed by the French National Ballet Company, and was accompanied by an excellent orchestra. My favorite piece from the show was a dramatic reinterpretation of the Prodigal Son. It was a fascinating interpretation of the story, and I was very excited to find that I was able to understand the storyline by watching the dancers and listening to the music. I thought the orchestra and the dancers worked brilliantly together and I was amazed by the amount of coordination that this type of collaboration required. Despite having “the worst seats” I was able to see the entire stage and really enjoy this fantastic production. It was a very classy night in Paris.