The Phaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaantom of the Opera is here!

Last week, Burke and I had an entire sunshiny day all to ourselves!  We decided the next place on our list to visit was the Opera Garnier.

While the outside was impressive, we were completely taken back by the grand interior.  Marble pillars and staircases, mosaic floors, elaborate celestial murals covering the ceilings, intricate candelabras, elegant sculptures and layers of gold leafing coating everything else!

It's no wonder Andrew Lloyd Weber was inspired with the story of "The Phantom of the Opera" within this majestic performance hall.  Our leaflet informed us that the opera house does indeed sit over underground lakes and that there are extensive underground chambers, but they aren't open to the public...rats!  I couldn't stop humming the musical score as we explored, but refrained from singing after the look on Burke's mortified face registered when I started bellowing, "The Phaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan-tom-of-the-opera is here!"

We were unable to see the actual five-tiered auditorium because rehearsals were in session, but Burke hoisted me up to the peep hole of one of the door's windows just in time to see a ballerina, all in white being hoisted into a graceful assisted leap across the stage!  It was breathtaking!  I would love to come back and see a performance here before we leave.

This last little shot is Burke on the opera's balcony that overlook a busy little square.  We went straight down that road and got to the Louvre Museum and Jardin ds Tuileries a little later that afternoon.  Pretty cool how there is so much to see in such a relatively close distance from one another.