Paris - Opera Garnier

We walked to the Paris Opera, which is amazing from the moment that you see it. We were able to take a tour for 9Euro.  It was not crowded so we could move easily and take photos.

Click here for wikipedia description of Opera Garnier

This is the opera house that served as inspiration for the "Phantom of The Opera" setting.  Some interesting notes from the wikipedia page are listed below.  Remember the scenes in Phantom with the falling of the chandelier and the underground lake?

SetbacksThe construction of the opera house was plagued by numerous setbacks. One major problem which postponed the laying of the concrete foundation was the swampy ground under which flowed a subterranean lake, requiring the water to be removed by eight months of continual pumping.

Leroux's The Phantom of the OperaDuring 1896, the falling of one of the counterweights for the grand chandelier resulted in the death of one person. This incident, as well as the underground lake, cellars, along with the other elements of the Opera House even the building itself were the inspirations of Gaston Leroux for his classic 1910 Gothic novel, The Phantom of the Opera

The front of the Opera. Beautiful lamppost.

New Spring purses.  Very colorful.

Large bags in white and yellow.

This is inside the Opera.  This room is all gold.  We couldn't
go in. It looked like they were tearing down or setting up for
an event.

The main lobby.  Marble muted shade
(not gold)

Inside the auditorium.

The floor was beautiful throughout the building.

This is an air grate on the floor. I liked the design.

See the post on the Vienna Opera

Royal Palais Garden

I wanted to explore the garden at the Royal Palace. I had walked past this building before, with no clue of the gardens in the entrance.  There are also covered galeries around the outside of the garden with some really nice shops.

This is the entrance on the North side of the complex.

It quickly opens to a huge garden.  It's spring!
See the pink trees?

There are a lot of places to sit in the center and under
the tree.

Daffodils and other flowers around the edgeway.

Nice fountain in the center of the garden.

After we left, we walked past a wonderful chocolate shop.

Yummy light and dark chocolates.

Flat free form peices and pieces. Check out the prices!

The round billboards on the Avenue de l'Opera.
The opera is in the background.

Fashion statement for the spring season.

Galerie Vivienne

We arrived in Paris at about 9:30 am, took the train to Chatelet-Les Halles station and walked to the apartment.  Knowing that we had to get in sync with the new time zone, we took off on a walk to see the neighborhood.

Place des Victoires

Place des Victoires

Galerie Vivienne entrance w ith the cafe to the left.

Inside Galerie Vivienne. Beautiful cafes and shops.

We sat outside and had a light lunch.  Ravioli with cheese and spinach.

Four cheese ravioli.

iPhone, Kindle and Travel Books

The rule for this trip is to only have carry-on.  I'll have a wheeled bag and a backpack.  This isn't easy for a five week trip, although it is fortunate that the climate won't have great variations.  Every ounce and inch counts as I move from place to place.  I've done a lot of study on the major cities, marked maps (in the iPhone) so that it will be easy to get from one place to another walking, by bus, or by subway.  I have several tools in my iPhone that I am testing and will be able to report as to what worked best, what had limitations.

Travel tools that I have with me on the iPhone:
Currency
Tripit
CityMaps2Go
RATP Lite (Paris Metro system)
Rick Steves' Audio Europe 2011 (pick and choose your walking tours and podcasts...nicely organized and easy to use)
AirBnB

If you can suggest additional iPhone apps that work well with travel, please list them in the comments section.

I have also decided to use the iPhone Kindle tool for the tour books.  I wanted an up to date version of the tour books with me, but again I'm challenged with available space and extra weight. I had contimplated ripping out the pages for the specific city...and while that was still an option I decided to try Amazon's Kindle books for iPhone.  The Kindle books were half of the listed book price, so I saved some money with the electronic copy.  I bought one first, and looked at the quality and readability on the iPhone. Very nicely done, easy to read, and I was able to put a bookmark on the pages that had particular interest. 

Example of Rick Steves book on the iPhone Kindle
Map and photo are easy to see. 

Another example. This one shows a map
and the text that descripes the drawing.

This is the list of the books that I purchased.  (Amazon affiliate link). 

Rick Steves' Paris 2011

Rick Steves' Germany 2011

Rick Steves' Vienna, Salzburg & Tirol

Rick Steves' London 2011

Rick Steves' Prague & The Czech Republic

Portland's Restaurant and Wine Bar - Phoenix

The dinner started with an icy flavored martini.

Portland's is a favorite stop of mine for a leasurely dinner before a play at Phoenix Theatre.  It is located on Central Avenue in Phoenix.  The Light Rail stops right in front of the restaurant, and also in front of Phoenix Theatre, which makes this a good choice for a night out. I prefer going on Saturday night to get the Fixed Price menu and a bottle of wine at a reduced price.  The fixed price meal includes an appetizer, main course, and a desert. Here is a sample of what was available on one of the nights.



Prosciutto-wrapped Asparagus
Prosciutto di parma with Dijon cream sauce



Add a nice bottle of wine.
This is not included with the "fixed price" but is normally
a reduced price and good value.

Wonderful Sterling Silver Angus Steak
with creamy au gratin potatoes & demi-glace.
Very very good.

Claire's flourless chocolate torte
Dense chocolate cake made with Guittard
chocolate served with strawbetty coulis

This will satisfy any and every chocolate craving.

Tiramisu
Light and creamy layers of mascarpone cheese
& espresso-soaked ladyfingers

A light dusting of chocolate on the top makes this a great finisher.

I recommend calling for reservations and asking for a window seat.  There is outdoor seating, so depending on the weather that is a great call also.

Portland's Restaurant and Wine Bar

Books and Plans for Paris Trip

I've finalized the plans for the twelve days in Paris.  I was finally able to design the master map that I wanted to build. The street map, complete with wonderful chocolate shops, cafes, secret gardens, and hidden passages and galleries.  I can now plan the path that we take from museum to museum to be able to take advantage of all that Paris has to offer.

I've used several books to find my "best places", as well as independent internet surfing.  Here is the list from my library. These are all Amazon affiliate links for me.

Rick Steves' Paris 2011 - Nicely organized walks, sites. Rick has great advice for making a trip awesome.

Rick Steves' France 2011 with map - I used this for the day trips that we are taking to some of the chateaux.

Knopf Guide: Paris (Knopf City Guides) - This is a great book to have once you return home too. It's beautifully illustrated. Even though it is small, it's a little heavy to carry on the trip.

 City Walks: Paris, Revised Edition: 50 Adventures on Foot - This is a little box of 50 cards...walks.  It is easy to take one of the cards with you as your leave your apartment.  The walks start and end at a Metro station.

Historic Paris Walks (Codogan Guides: Historic Walks S.) - Provides historical background on various areas. I used it to compliment the Versailles Gardens walks.

Frommer's Memorable Walks in Paris - I got some great ideas for the Marais district from this book.  These walks also start and stop at Metro stations.

The Patisseries of Paris: Chocolatiers, Tea Salons, Ice Cream Parlors, and more - This is the reference that I used when I marked my map so that I know where the closest chocolatier is located at any given moment.

The Authentic Bistros of Paris - This is my reference for the bistros and cafes.  As with the Patisseries book, this support my cause to sample the cuisine throughout the trip.

Markets of Paris: Food, Antiques, Artisanal Crafts, Books & More, with Restaurant Recommendations - We have an apartment during the trip, so we often eat a nice sized lunch at a cafe or bistro, and then shop the markets for fresh cheeses, meats, fruits, breads, wines...and of course, deserts.  Arms are loaded as we make our way back to the apartment to enjoy our at home meal.  Shoes off, we can enjoy the new tastes while we marvel at what we saw during the day.

These books are great references to use as you plan your trip, remember your trip, or just dream of the trip to come.

New Orleans - Street Music

The streets are filled with sounds all day long.  You can talk about this, but the best way is to click on a video and tap your toes along with the tunes!  Here is a sampling of what we saw as we walked through the French Quarter. Some of the videos may be in other posts...to add to the atmosphere.

Check all of them out.  The last one is my favorite.  I should have bought a CD...

Tempe Town Lake Regatta

Tempe Town Lake from in front of the future Boat House.

Enjoying the great weather at the lake. Son is in a regatta today, two races, so I brought the camera for some action shots.

The Mixed foursome race

Happy with their results (2nd place)

Team of 8, mixed.  They came in first in their division.
(1 out of 1!!)

Having fun learning something new.

He had a fun day!

Interested in rowing classes? Here is your connection (no affiliation).
Tempe Rowing classes