The Phantom of the Opera is here.....inside my mind!

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Paris day 3

I had a slow morning, recovering from a big night of dancing and not quite enough sleep! I headed off to see Notra Dame Church, amazing that it has survived as there was talk for many years of destroying it rather than restoring it. Which is why the book 'Notra Dame' was originally written. Unfortnately, or fortunately western society took hold, made it popular but more for the hunchback. The original author wanted the church to be the centre of attention, not the character, but for whatever reason now the chuch has been saved and has been restored to its former glory. The line stretches out all the way to the street but within 10 mins I had gotten to the front doors. The intricacy of the stone work is truely incredible, up close it made me feel very small. The fact that it is so very old and yet has stood the test of time and remains in its original glory is astounding. It also imoressed me on the inside. There are so many 100's of people exploring the church and yet everyone was so quiet and respectful. The stained glass windows were probably the most impressive and today was a beautiful sunny day so the lights againt the glass were even more impressive. They are currently restoring the pipe organ and original church bells as most of the bells excpet the main one were used for materials in the war.

On my way out I was a liitle over awed by a statue in the courtyard which had a very scary look about it - it reminded me of a Nazgul from Lord of the rings. It was erie walking past it as his face looked like something from down in the depths of the earth. I also took some photos of a man feeding the sparrows which was quite enchanting and such a contrast to the scary statue. I met Inis and Patricia and had a quick chat about our various adventures before heading off to see the Lourve and Opera House via the love bridge again. I couldn't help myself as I am a bit of a romantic and it touches my heart that so many couples come here to lock their love. I took photos of some of the engraved locks, so much more special than writing names on with a niko! The special secret entrance our guide had told us about the day before was in fact not open, and aparently does not exist. The line was even longer than the previous day so I headed off to see the Opera house first.

It took a while to get through the line to get in but when I entered the main ballroom entrance way I was not at all disappointed. In fact I was enraptured with the beauty, opulence and glory of such an amazing building. I knew from our guide the previous day that it was the Opera house that had inspired 'Phantom of the Opera' and being a huge fan of any phantom production I was pretty excited to see the original inspiration. The entrance way to the Opera house is beyond my wildest immagination. There is so much gold, delicate curved stonework, intricate artwork and the whole picture left me lost for words. If you have seen the movie, it is where they dance for the masked ball and sing Masqurade. Personally I had a little muso moment and could very well picture myself dressed in a beautiful gown, dancing and singing up and around the staircases and balconies. It was quite magical and definately another favourite Paris moment.

I was impressed enough at this point but I hadn't even made it into the Opera venue! It was not an enormous venue but it was intimate and I would say that you would get an amazing view no matter where you sat. The ceiling and chandelier was stunning, again very opulent and glorious and each of the seats and balconies in the theatre were covered in deep red velvet. Luxury at its finest and I was overawed. Unfortunely there was no tickets available when I was visiting so I will just have to go back to Paris... I am reconsidering what I will do around my birthday this year....perhaps Paris will be more my flavour! :-)

Therr are so many alcoves in the Opera house and I wandered into a room filled with busts of famous Opera singers and stunning paintings of Opera scenes they were pictured in. They were quite lifelike and it felt as though if you listenined quietly enough they might just share with you their secrets. Just out from this room was a long hallway of windows and mirrors, I felt like I was 8 years old playing in the mirrors and trying to take photos. I was secretly picturing myself dancing down the corridor like a ballerina. Haha

The Opera house continued to amaze and surprise me with a very long corridor like room with massive clocks on either end. The roof was so decorative with beautiful drawings it was difficult to take it all in. The masks at the ends of the ceiling drew me in as one corner looked particularly scary and the other looked scared. I could definatley see how a play writer could be inspired to see a phantom in their faces. One side - perhaps the outer portrayal being so ferocious but the other - the inner side perhaps, simply scared and lashing out from fear. That was my deap and meaningful tie in to the phantom story anyway. :-)

Further along another corridor was a library with tiny minatures of the opera and ballet sets and backdrops, they were so precise! I finished off buyin a cute ring from the opera shop with tiny ballet shoes on it before heading off to the cemetary for famous dead people, called Pere lachaise, which had been highly recommended to me.

I had the strangest feelin walking in that I had been there before, but perhaps it is because it is featured in many movies. I visited Chopin's grave and then Jim Morrison's. Jim's was different as the tree next to his grave stone is covered in used gum that people have stuck their in memorial....gross. But wait, even more funny was the three French people who had turned up with beers and food and were sitting around his grave stone having a right ol' afternoon. I secretly tried to take a picture of them with the 'gum' tree in the foreground. I also saw Oscar Wilde's grave....an interesting winged naked man? And Edith Piaf's grave, after getting lost for about 30mins and going the wrong way more than twice....I had no map and was just trying to remember from the map at the front gate. I heard bells ringing at this point and saw the cemetary inspector calling us all to leave. Getting locked in a cemetary is not my idea of a good time so I head out and went back to the hostel for another dinner with Christine and an early night.

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