A Day at the Opera

Bonjour!

Last Saturday, Mary, Zach and I met up with our friend from USC, Julianne, who is going to Sciences Po here in Paris. We had some breakfast at Zach's apartment and caught up on what we've been doing so far. Julianne's doing a homestay and it was really interesting to hear about her experiences with her host family. 

After breakfast, we decided to go to the 9th arrondissement (our favorite) and see the Opera House! The Palais Garnier is a 1,979 seat opera house and was built in 1861. It's the setting for the Phantom of the Opera and is one of the most distinct symbols of Paris. We missed the last English speaking tour of the day, so we just walked around and admired the Beaux-Arts style architecture.

Wicked cool calendar that looks like a clock

Original Mozart scores

Just a casual 7 ton chandelier

Across the street from the Palais Garnier is the Galleries Lafayette. We went in and browsed but didn't buy anything except for a couple macarons at the Pierre Herme counter. The best part of the trip, though, was that the rooftop of the Galleries was open! This offers one of the best views of Paris, and we came at the perfect time: sunset. 

Mary, Jules and Me

So pretty!

A perfect view of Palais Garnier and the Eiffel Tower

A not-so-perfect view of Sacre Coeur

Taking hundreds of pictures of the opera house and the Eiffel Tower really works up an appetite, so we headed outside to find something to eat. We stumbled upon a small restaurant called Crepes City which had reasonable prices and a menu that looked promising. We all ordered galettes, which are like crepes but made with buckwheat. Mine was filled with sliced potatoes, onions, cream and cheese, topped with a fried egg. It was by far the best thing I'd eaten in Paris thus far. 

No picture of the galette, but there was this little guy at the register!

The next morning, Mary and I went to a cafe called Cafe Lomi near our apartment that I had read great things about. We both ordered a cappuccino and I also got a chocolate scone. We met a kid sitting at the table next to us who is studying at NYU's Paris campus for the year. He is a bike delivery man and delivers Cafe Lomi's coffee to other cafes in the area that don't roast their own beans. It was kind of expensive but worth it for a Sunday afternoon treat. 

Yum

Our barista won an award for his latte art!

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