Duane Hates the Opera

Duane hates the opera, but the opera house itself - Stunning. Garnier's Opera house does not disappoint. Napoleon achieved some remarkable things while he was large and in charge. This was certainly one of them! 

Here you can get a sense of the oppulance of the place in the Grand Hall. Reminiscent of Versailles Hall of mirrors, one can imagine the spectacular parade of fancy, schmacy opera people during intermission (That is what this is for - showing off!) inside it was less gold, but more red velvet. 

The highlight of the thing is the ceiling in the main theatre completed by Chagall to much consternation!

Of course the whole thing was largely hated by the French who had just barely recovered from their own Revolution. As with many things in the French capital, the French hated it and got used to it and now they love it. It was the same with the Eiffel Tower! Everyone hated that so much that they originally had it slated for distruction. . . . Then they figured out how to make money off of it and the rest is history. Thank goodness the French came to their senses in time. They're good about things like that!

We may have further observations after dinner (Pizza out tonight!), but while we wait for things to kick it up a notch here are some random thoughts. . . The French still smoke a lot. We sense that they are trying to fix this (Electronic cigarettes), but there are still a lot of people puffing away. And in a strange twist, more women than men it would appear. (To stay thin we think) Smoking is banned inside restaurants, but there are still Ash trays on outside tables. One has to be careful where one sits. Paula's observation is that a huge percentage of French women are a size ZERO. Duane disagrees, he thinks they are a size 2. Regardless, they are a skinny lot and owe it all to foie gras, baguettes and smoking. Thirdly, and then we have to head for dinner, they've mostly grown beyond wearing nothing but black that we saw a few years ago. Sure, black is still the "Go To" uniform, but we are seeing every other color sneaking in from orange shoes to purple blouses and yellow jeans. Duane is a Big fan of the Yellow Jeans, but you will NOT see him wearing them any time soon. Gotta go!