This is our last day in Paris and like the others it is cold
and cloudy out. Today we are going to take the Hop On, Hop Off bus to see a
couple of things that we have not seen. The bus takes you around the city
making ten stops and you can get off any of then and then just catch another
bus when you are done touring. They run at about 15 minute intervals, so you
never wait long.
Our first stop today was the Opera Garnier. It is the
largest theatre for lyric opera in the world (it covers and area of 11,000
square meters and can accommodate an audience of 2,000 and 450 performers on
the stage). It was built between 1862 and 1875, and is the most typical
monument of the era of Napoleon III. This is where Phantom of the Opera was
first performed.
But before we got there here are some of the sights we saw.
The gold dome that you see, is really covered in gold leaf. It is where
Napoleon is buried. The gold status is on the Alexander III bridge, which is
one of the most ornate.
Here are the pictures of the opera house.
When we got off at this stop, besides the opera house, there
was the Galleris Lafayette. This is a big shopping mall in two different buildings
connected by an outside walk way. Our guide driving into Paris had recommended
we go here. It was phenomenal. There is a beautiful stained glass dome and much
gold ornamentation. Up on the flat roof you can see forever, and it is free to
access it. Also, on floor 6 they have all sorts of souvenirs, not the ones on
street corners, but really nice items. This was a very high end shopping mall,
but a must see. Here are the pictures.
Our next stop of this bus was the Latin Quarter. This is
where Sorbonne University is. It is an extremely old part of Paris and it
became its scholarly center in the 13th century when the university
was moved from the Ile de la Cite to the Left Bank. This is also where the
Pantheon is located. It was originally the Church of Ste-Genevieve because of a
vow made in 1744 by Louis XV when he was seriously ill. It was completed in
1789. During the Revolution, it became the Temple of Fame, in which the nation’s
great men were buried. Napoleon reopened it for worship in 1806, but in 1885 it
reverted back to a secular temple. Here are some pictures of the Pantheon.
Here are some pictures of the Latin Quarter. Notice the plug
ins for electric cars.
From here we took the bus back to the Eiffel Tower where we
caught it and then went on a ride on the Seine River. So, weather. So far today
we have had cold, rain, little bit of sun and more cold and rain. Now we are
about to get on the boat. It begins to snow, sleet and hail. How lucky can two
people get. But, once we are on, tucked away from the cold the sun comes out
and we can go on top for the whole ride. This weather is amazing. Here are some
pictures from the Seine. You go under 22 bridges on this trip.
And that was the end of our touring. We have had a lot of
walking and seeing a lot of things, so we were going to relax this evening. We
went back to the hotel and unloaded our loot and went to walk down the block.
When we walked out the wind was blowing so hard it blew open big glass doors
and it was raining again. So, back for the umbrella. We walked to our favorite
restaurant and shared a bowl of french onion soup and had a couple of beers and
glasses of wine. We stopped at a pasty shop and picked up sandwiches and went
back and relaxed and packed. It was a wonderful trip and will come back to
Paris one day, just not when it is so cold. Notice my friend at the restaurant.
He belongs to one of the owners.
We are now packed and ready to go home. The bus will pick us
up at the hotel at 9 AM this morning and we will be back in Orlando about 7 PM
tonight. And, as to the weather, there is not a cloud in the sky.
