2015.05.09 Paquita at Palais Garnier (Paris, France)

The Palais Garnier has been on my travel list (it's a looong list) ever since I found out that the setting in The Phantom of the Opera wasn't fictitious.

Self-guided tours are available for ten euros.

But out of curiosity, I decided to check how much a performance would cost, all the while thinking that it was likely out of my price range.

When I found out that the cheapest seat with a decent view only cost twenty euros, my mind was made up. We were going to go watch a ballet at the Palais Garnier.

So I went online, purchased tickets, and enjoyed a great ballet, end of story...

... oh, if only things were that simple.

I went online but tickets were "unavailable". Taking it to mean that the tickets have been completely sold out, it was looking like the self-guided tour for us. What I didn't know was that the tickets haven't gone on sale yet. The Paris Opera website actually has a schedule indicating when tickets would go on sale, which I didn't see. If you're interested, there is a great guide on buying tickets online here.

By the time I realized this, all the affordable tickets were long gone. The 20 euro, cat. 4 tickets are usually sold out within an hour or so.

I then signed up for the Paris Opera ticket exchange but I never seemed be to be quite fast enough. Yep, those ballet tickets were coveted items.

Some folks online had mentioned rush seats and partial view seats being available the day of the performance. After checking online and finding that partial view seats only cost 10 euros, the same as a self-guided tour, I figured I'll try my luck.

Box Office Entrance

So while my travel companions enjoyed their dinner at a restaurant near the theatre, I headed off to the box office. By the time I got there, which was about an hour before the box office opened, a line of about twenty people had already formed.

As the agent was selling me the cat. 6 tickets (everything else was sold out), she made sure to emphasize that the views were very obstructed and only one-tenth of the stage can be seen.

I bought the tickets anyways, figuring if the view was really as bad as she said, we'll just wonder around the theatre and go home early. It would be as if we did the self-guided tour.

Don't these nymph statues look like they've been imprisoned by the metal belt around their waist? Doomed to hold the lamps high for eternity. Total YA story material.

The hard-won tickets. Note how it says "scene non visible."

I had chosen Paquita over L'histoire de Manon because the plot of the former seemed easier to follow.

Basically, the gypsy Paquita and a noble fall in love. Bad guys try to interfere but the lovers persevere. Turns out Paquita is actually the long-lost daughter of another noble. They wed. Everyone is happy. The end.

Inside the opera house

Stunning. And not just because of the facade but the entire atmosphere. The candlelight effect completely transported you back to a period of corsets, evening gowns and tuxedos. 

I don't know why there's not a better photo of the grand staircase. I think I was just completely overwhelmed by my surroundings.

Our seats were off to the side, in one of the private boxes.

Ironically, in the olden days these seats were probably more expensive than those in the stalls with the better view.

Each private box had six seats, arranged into three rows of twos. We were seated in the second and third row.

Everything was covered in red velvet, even the walls. It was luxurious but also stifling hot. How did the heavily-gowned, corseted ladies survive these 2-3 hours ordeals?

From our seats, we were able to see about 1/2-1/3 of the stage.

The famous Chagall ceiling.

The Royal Box?

 

Sorry about the blurriness. I wish my camera wasn't so crummy in low light conditions. The gilded details of the opera house were breathtaking.

During intermission, I had the chance to explore some more. 

The bats on the ceiling of the Salon de La Lune were delightful. 

I had forgotten to download a layout beforehand so try as I might, I couldn't locate the small hall where old ballet costumes were displayed. Drat!

Paquita (from what we could see) was brilliant. The prima ballerina was exquisite - graceful but powerful. All the ballet dancers were so light on their feet, unlike another ballet I saw elsewhere a few years back. And the synchronicity of the ballet corps was just unbelievable.

In the end, we had to stand for most of the ballet to get a better view (about 2/3 of the stage) and there were times that I desperately wished the prima ballerina didn't favour the other side of the stage so much. 

Would I return? A definite yes. And I'll be prepared to get better seats next time.

2015.05.09 Rodin Museum (Paris, France)

Adjacent to Les Invalides was the Rodin Museum.

Unfortunately for us, the museum building was closed due to renovation (an inconvenient circumstance which we seemed to have encountered more frequently than usual on this trip. It might simply have been bad luck, or more likely, the attractions were all priming for the start of the peak season).

So we just wandered around in the garden, which featured some of Rodin's works.

The Three Shades

The Gates of Hell

Many of his works - including The Three Shades and The Thinker - were precursors to this one.

The allegories on this masterful bronze sculpture might be better understood by those who had read Dante's Inferno, which served as the inspiration.

Monument to Victor Hugo

Fallen Caryatid with Urn

As much as I do enjoy Rodin's works, it did get depressing after a while - all the solemn faces and bodies contorted in agony. Luckily, a flurry friend showed and cheered me right up. 

Culminating the visit, the most famous of Rodin's works - The Thinker

Dinner: Opera Mandarin

2015.05.09 Invalides - Army Museum and Napoleon's Tomb

Les Invalides originally functioned as a hospital and long-term care/retirement facility for veterans. 

While sections of the building complex have been converted to a military museum, the remaining sections are still being used for its original purpose. We saw a number of patients convalescing in the courtyard gardens.

The security for Les Invalides was particularly stringent, likely due to the presence of veterans.

I don't know why but these conical shrubs make me smile.

Cour d'honneur 

In the background, the golden dome of Napoleon's tomb.

The museum is divided into sections, organized by time periods.

Our first stop: Louis XIV to Napoleon III

For a fan of weapons and military history, this was their heaven. 

Me, not so much. 

To be honest, I didn't look through the collection too carefully, having had to go all the back to the museum entrance to get a museum map. (They should really have maps available at each section entrance. Would have saved me from so many, many stairs. Not fun.)

Dome Church of Les Invalides

Napoleon is not the only one to be buried here (although he is certainly the star attraction). 

The tomb of his brother Joseph Bonaparte (below) is also here.

Tomb of Napoleon

The actual sarcophagus contains six layers, of different materials, with the outermost layer being red porphyry. The coffin is surrounded by twelve figures of Victory, each representing a different battle campaign.

Statue of Napoleon

After the Tomb of Napoleon, our small group split up.

Two of us went to visit the nearby Rodin Museum while the military-aficionado stayed behind to see the rest of the Army Museum. I kind of regret doing so since the Rodin Museum was somewhat disappointing (the main building was closed due to renovations).

That regret grew after checking out the Army Museum's website. There are some pieces in the collections I'd love to have seen, such as the Enigma machine from WWII, beautifully crafted suits of armour from various periods and regions, including one for emperor Qianlong, and fantastically ornate swords, just to name a few.