Landmarks and Landscapes

This morning after a wonderful night’s sleep in our extremely cushy beds (perhaps even more comfortable than my bed at home), we boarded the bus for a driving tour of the city. Along the route, we passed many of the sites we would be visiting later, such as the Arc de Triomph and the Eiffel Tower.

After passing L’Hôtel des Invalides, where Napoleon is buried, our bus dropped us off at the Palais Garnier, one of Paris’ many opera houses. This one however, holds a special place in my heart, since it is the opera house upon which The Phantom of the Opera is based. My obsession over all things Phantom has cooled slightly since the first time I had visited the opera house, but the excitement was certainly still present. I still got chills as I entered the building, remembering that there actually is an underground lake under the building. Of course, its story isn’t nearly as exciting as the novel and its accompanying musical would have visitors believe! When Garnier built the opera house and began to dig the foundation, he found water; lots and lots of water. He realized that not only would it be handy to keep the water under the opera house in the event of a fire but the water would also help with the acoustics of the auditorium! Reasons definitely more practical than providing a lair for a mildly psychotic musical genius! As we made our way up the world famous staircase and through the halls of the opera house, I was astounded again by their intricate decorations and the attention to detail that can be so lacking in present times. It is truly one of the most enchanting buildings I have ever been in. After taking plenty of Phantom inspired pictures with box five, the Phantom’s box, the group was given some free time for lunch.

Mrs. Marciano, my roommate Lisa’s mom, is a true Francophile at heart and had been traveling with us on the trip. She knows Paris better than anyone I’ve ever met, so Lisa and I decided to spend the free afternoon with her parents. What a great time! Just when I had begun to panic over what to bring home for my dad, the Marcianos' told me about Maille, their favorite mustard shop in Paris. With 260 years of experience and entire walls filled with different kinds of mustards and vinaigrettes, I knew this would be a wonderful place to find a gift for my dad. He loves mustard, especially of the spicy variety. Maille had sooooooooo many options, that certainly there would be several here to suit his tastes!

After a bit of shopping there, the four of us walked down the street to Laduree for lunch. It’s a pastry shop, the décor of which practically screams “Paris” at you, and the food was just as wonderful as the small restaurant and bakery looked. Lisa and I were thrilled with our éclairs, and before we knew it, we were ready to rejoin the group and walk up a rather steep hill to Le Sacre Coeur.

We took the scenic route, passing the Moulin Rouge as well as the houses of Renoir and Toulousse-Lautrec. The art history nerd in me was ecstatic! We reached the monumental church at the top of the hill and were given free time to explore. After walking around the tiny artist village and making a visit inside of the Sacre Coeur itself, the group walked back down the hill and rode the Metro to the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, one of the most famous streets in the world, for food and shopping. This night, instead of eating together as a group, we were given meal vouchers so that we could eat at any restaurant that would accept them. Lisa and I had a fabulous dinner together then squeezed in some shopping time before we had to meet up with the rest of the group near the Arc de Triomph.

Fortunately, this afternoon I was able to catch up on my multilingual Harry Potter collection. Everyone has something they collect from each place they visit: shot glasses, postcards, figurines. When I was in Germany with CCVA two years ago, I decided that I was going to create a multilingual Harry Potter collection, purchasing the series according to the order in which I visit various countries. I hadn’t thought of the collection the first time I was in France, and had only managed to find a paperback copy of the book on my last visit to Paris. So, I headed into the three-story Virgin Megastore in Paris, and there, in their book section, was a beautiful special edition, hard cover version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Now, my collection is almost complete; I only have to visit two new countries!

After more browsing and a few more purchases, Lisa and I rejoined the group yet again, this time to climb up the Arc de Triomph. I had never seen the view from the top of the Arc de Triomph, and I was excited to get some pictures of the city from its high vantage point. Of course, one can take some beautiful pictures from the top of the Eiffel Tower, but the Tower itself can’t be in them!

We all managed to get some great cityscape photos, then made our way back to the hotel for the evening after quite an exhausting day of walking and touring.