Wednesday

We grabbed a late breakfast consisting of croissant, pain au chocolat, and chausson au pommes with delicious coffee at the apartment.  The chaussson au pomme was perfect, filled with smooth apple sauce of just the right sweetness wrapped in flakey pastry perfection.  I had been dreaming about this for the past 7 years, since our last visit to the city!  Amazing that this pastry is available at every corner!   Baguette is also crisped to perfection and so fresh, we are consuming excessive quantities.  You know what they say, the French will have bread with their bread!  I know why.  We headed out to explore some open air markets in the area, filled with more deliciousness. There were dried fruit and nuts, olives, fresh fruits and vegetables, seafood, chaucuterie, and cheese.  We chose some of each to have a fresh dinner tonight.

At Musee Rodin

Outdoor statues are great!

We headed out to visit the Musee Rodin, a fabulous little gem of a museum beside the Invalides.  The Museum contains a garden full of Rodin’s statues including the Thinker.  More espresso was procured at the Garden Café and while visiting.  After the museum we headed home to have an early dinner before heading to the National Opera at La Bastille.  The opera started at 6pm as it was Sigfriend, the third part of Wagner’s Ring.  The opera consisted of 3 Acts, each lasting 80 minutes and separated by intermissions.  The first intermission was 45 minutes long, presumably to allow guests to grab some dinner.  We explored the enormous Opera House, with panoramic views of the city skyline. 

Early dinner at home before the Opera marathon

Opera critique is not my specialty, so I will leave that to the critics. Suffice it to say that I enjoyed the music, but was unimpressed by the modernist set.  Apparently the critics felt similarly as the set designer had been booed with the premier of each part of the The Ring this season in Paris. The Ring weaves a story of epic Norse mythology with gods, dragons, a powerful ring, and epic struggle. The set was not up to the mythic proportions of the plot and the music.  After 4 hours of opera, we walked back to our apartment.

On the steps of the Opera House, at La Bastille.