After a quick prep for the day, we set out on the metro for the Louvre stop, where I sought out the Tourist Bureau so we could purchase the Paris Museum Pass. These passes could be bought for 2, 4, or 6 days and helped you avoid the ticket lines at Paris's many venues. We bought two 4-day passes for 100€, which sounds like a lot, but I think they saved us at least 20€ in ticket fees, not to mention hours of line-waiting time saved.
The passes weren't accepted at the Eiffel Tower, the Catacombs, or the Paris Opera House, so we decided to try visiting them today and activate the passes tomorrow.
Annie is a HUGE fan of The Phantom of the Opera, so she was thrilled by the opportunity to see the Palais Garnier, aka the Paris Opera House--home to her dear Phantom.
The outside was quite impressive with its ornate statues and gilding--putting Chattanooga's Tivoli Theater to shame. That's a joke. We knew the inside would be even more opulent, and we were not disappointed.
We guided our own way into the lobby, up the grand staircase…
…and found the undersized entrance to the balcony, from which point you could view the theater.
The viewing space was maybe eight people wide, so imagine the two of us and 794 other people trying to get a view and photos of the theater. It’s a wonder no one died.
Though I commiserated with the Phantom's homicidal streak.
After gazing at the inside of the theater, we walked around its promenades and located The Grand Foyer, decorated lavishly with chandeliers and Baroque décor: gold leaf everything, and painted cherubs on columns, walls, and ceiling.
After the Grand Foyer, we thought everything in the Opera House had been seen--until Annie spied Box 5, reserved for the Phantom of the Opera. The box itself was inaccessible, but the door acknowledged with a plaque that the space was reserved for the Phantom. Annie took many photos.
From the Palais Garnier, we walked south past the Louvre courtyard, crossing the River Seine to see the Pont Neuf, a famous arched stone bridge—the oldest in Paris. Its twelve arches connect Paris’ two banks with the Île de la Cité, the island that serves as heart of Paris and home to Notre Dame cathedral.
ABOVE: Pont Neuf
We saved Notre Dame for another day: our mission after the Opera House was to make it down to the Catacombs, several blocks south down the Boulevard St. Michel. Unfortunately, the Paris map we had must not have been drawn to scale, because it took forever to hike down--we should have hopped on the metro--and our efforts were for naught. The Catacombs had closed maybe fifteen minutes before we arrived, hungry and exhausted.
Somewhat crestfallen, I found us a market where we bought a baguette and Brie, then we lunched in the park next to the Catacombs entrance. Our failed mission to see the expansive ossuary (the Catacombs house an estimated 6 million people’s piled bones) encountered a different achievement: we inadvertently watched police and a mortician cart away a recently deceased body found next to the Catacombs. Thanks for that, Paris.
With food in our bellies and a creepy sight etched in our brains, we tried to salvage our ill-fated trip by at least seeing the Jardin de Luxembourg, an expansive gardens (and second largest public park in Paris) nearby.
Jardin de Luxembourg
After checking out a fountain or two in the gardens, we admitted our exhaustion and took the closest metro home.
ABOVE: Cool fountain sculpture.
At a corner market we bought more Brie, some salami, and toasted crackers for dinner. Laid out in the room, we ate and watched American movies with Arabic subtitles until we passed out late that night.
Paris July 21 Album:
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| Paris: July 21, 2011 |
Location:Paris, France
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