How I spent my time in Paris, mk 3

I gave a talk at a Paris lab and when they asked what I was doing that night, I replied that I was going to try to get tickets to the Opera that night because they were playing Rossini's Barber of Seville. The guys in the lab kinda looked at each other and then one of them said to get there very early because it would be sold out. It was sold out. But the guy at the ticket booth told me they have a policy that if people don't collect their tickets by 30 minutes before curtain call, those tickets go on sale. So I plonked myself down and waited two hours. I got a ticket for a mildly elevated seat towards the rear of the stalls. Was it worth the loss of time from my short life? HELL YEAH!!! The production was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. The sets were always folding around, being elevated and descending...it was like a giant dollhouse. The setting was interestingly presented as being in Moorish Spain. It was much different from the OA production I saw last year.

I did a bit of re-visiting the big museums that I'd either really enjoyed previously (Musee d'Orsay and Musee Rodin) or smaller places that had been shoved aside for the Big Deals - and hey, a Paris Big Deal is usually pretty big!

Queue outside the Musee d'Orsay. For future travellers, while it is shockingly long, it's mostly the security check and it actually moves quite fast.

The main hall

Behind one of the Musee d'Orsay's giant clocks.

Gardens of the Hotel Biron/Musee Rodin

The Thinker gets contemplated in return

Facade of the Musee Jacquemart-Andre (158 Blv Haussmann) - VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Sneaky photo of the Jacquemart-Andre Winter Garden. Photography is not allowed here.

The caves of the Wine Museum (Musee du Vin, 5 Square Charles Dickens). It smelt kinda musty but very interesting (only in French)!

Vive le vin!

The exhibits were broken up by displays of wax models making wine, selling wine, etc. Usually whenever I saw one it scared the crap out of me because I'd turn around and it'd be like a silent person was behind me. This guy looks like someone to me, a celebrity? Does it resemble anyone to anyone else?

Another thing I did to fill time was eating - duh! It was cherry season so you can imagine me just sitting around eating a bag of cherries during the afternoon! I also found it difficult to resist the smell of all those roasting chickens on Boulevard St. Antoine. I am pleased to report to Lydia that this time around, ingestion of a chicken and chicken-fat basted potatoes was achieved! I also did something I usually don't do and ate in cafes either very near or attached to museums. The Cafe du Musee is around the corner from the Musee Rodin...and I swear I ate rabbit at it during the Great European Trip 2004. In any case, I ate there again and had a HUGE salad. It gets quite busy because a lot of visitors to the Rodin eat there but it's still very good. The cafe at the Jacquemart-Andre, I had another salad that was pretty expensive (I think 16 euros? without tax!)...but it was sooooooooooooooooo good! I had the Tiepolo with smoked salmon and terrine of homard all served in the Jacquemart-Andre's former dining room. At Cafe Marly (in one of the wings of the Louvre) and had foie gras and sauternes to celebrate my happy day a few days early. Delicious in a beautiful setting overlooking the Louvre sculpture garden. *sigh* Num nums

Even more soon!