The Driving Vacation continues...

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Opera Palais Garnier

The day after, we decided to head northwest towards Opera Palais Garnier. The Baroque and Neo-Renaisance architectures blend of the building embodies the original building purpose very well. Established in 19th century, this building was dedicated to art, luxury, and entertainment. Opera Palais Garnier neighborhood features many department stores, theaters, galleries, and cafes. It is not only crowded with people rushing to get from one place to another, but also with cars and mini trucks carrying supplies to the businesses here.

Rue Bonaparte

We enter a coordinate somewhere on Rue Bonaparte into the navigation system. We read from a guide book that this neighborhood is whole heartedly the characteristic and allure of Paris.

Since we are on the hunt for more labyrinths of narrow streets to get lost, this seems to be a perfect neighborhood to drive around. Little outdoor cafes are brimming with conversations and laughter in this neighborhood. There are two interesting places for people with sweet tooth to visit on this street. Laduree is famous for its tea Saloon. The colorful arrangement of cakes, pastries, and sweets are salivating. The chic interior of the tea Saloon featuring a tastefully-done Victorian interior design is very inviting.

Another place to visit is Pierre Hermé. This boutique patisserie has a black façade with four colorful small windows. It looks more like a high-end luxury jewelry store than a patisserie from the outside. Inside, the ultra modern interior is accentuated by very colorful biscuits, macaroons, and designer cakes.

Laduree and Pierre Hermé macaroons are often considered to be the world best by critics and fans.

Countless difficult turns, narrow streets, and horrendous traffics have challenged us since we started our driving tour around Paris, and yet we are neither tired nor stressed out. Thanks to this Audi car, we can experience beauty, allure, and chaos of Paris from a serene oasis.

Fontaine Saint-Michel and Norte Dame de Paris

We drive towards another famous landmark of Paris: Norte-Dame. Just before we reach Norte-Dame, we pass Fountaine Saint-Michel. Dragons spouting water, Marble pillars, and Archangel Michael fighting the Devils make this fountain hard to be missed. Notre Dame de Paris has a unique architecture. Its flying buttress, the arched exterior support, is the trademark of Norte Dame featured in many postcards. The exterior of this French Gothic architecture is adorned by gargoyles, sculptures, stained glasses, arches, and pointy small towers...



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Photos

Opera Palais Garnier
It was founded by Louis XIV in 1669.

Rue Bonaparte
Rue Bonaparte is a street in the 6th arrondissement of Paris.

Fontaine Saint-Michel
Archangel Michael and the devil, by Francisque-Joseph Duret, centerpiece of the Fontaine Saint-Michel

Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris (French for "Our Lady of Paris")

Laduree
Laduree is a luxury cakes and pastries brand based in Paris, France. It is known as the inventor of the double-decker macaron