Palais Garnier
We were into only the third day of our France trip, and it was already time to say good-bye to Paris! After all, Reims, Rouen and Mont Saint-Michel beckoned. But we wouldn’t leave before having a full day exploring some of Paris’ highlights – and for our activities that day, we had chosen an English tour at the Palais Garnier, the original home to the Opera National de Paris, and a visit to the idiosyncratic Musee Carnavalet. In between, we had a lunch reservation at the Palais Garnier’s house cafe, the aptly named L’Opera Restaurant.
When you see the Palais Garnier, with all its elaborate 19th century decoration, from the Grand Staircase to the Auditorium and the Grand Foyer, it is hard to conceive that architect Charles Garnier actually built the opera house on the cheap. But, as our guide told us, he kept detailed records of all that he spent, and compared what he was doing with his opera house to what was being done with all the other major opera houses in Europe (if not the world), and he apparently found ways to save money and still create a gorgeous building.
Therese had told me that for her, the highlight of the whole building is Marc Chagall’s auditorium ceiling. When I saw it, I had to agree with her, that there would be no better use of one’s time but to sit and stare up at that extraordinary painted ceiling for an hour or two. While in Chagall’s signature colorful mystical 20th century style, it nevertheless somehow goes very well with Garnier’s flamboyant Romantic decorative scheme.
The 90 minute tour of the opera house somehow tired me out, and so I was happy to be ushered into a seat at the L’Opera Restaurant and sit down to contemplate lunch. With my allergy, the choice of entrees was rather limited – the server pointed out just two that she was sure could be prepared dairy free. No worries – I picked one, and that was that.
I started my lunch with a seared tuna appetizer that was hearty and very satisfying.
Seared Tuna Appetizer
While not usually a fan of radishes, the little bit of crunch added nicely to the dish, as did the smear of pesto and the small white beets (I think that’s what they were).
For the entree, I went with a slow-cooked chicken dish with vegetables.
Chicken and Vegetables Entree
I’m sure that, were it not for my allergy, there would’ve been a sauce to cover the chicken. But even without the sauce, this chicken tasted great. For slices of chicken breast, it was remarkably tender and moist. And the vegetable puree, artichoke hearts and green beans were simple but full of flavor – in effect, the puree served as my sauce.
The restaurant’s decor was refreshing. After all the heavy gold leaf and dark wood of the opera house, the restaurant’s modern plush red and white is a nice contrast, which like Chagall’s modern auditorium ceiling, manages to mix with the Romantic style very nicely.
Refreshed by our lovely lunch, we boarded the Metro and returned to our “home” Marais district and the Carnavalet Museum.
Therese had been hinting that we should visit this museum for a while, and I’m glad that I finally listened to her! The Musee Carnavalet is a quirky museum housed in two period mansions that have been connected by a corridor. The holdings are diverse, but focus on three-dimensional pieces like dioramas and French Revolution-themed art. I can say that, having now seen paintings depicting Louis XVI’s and Marie Antoinette’s beheadings, I don’t need to see those again. But it was fun walking through the labyrinthine museum and experiencing its idiosyncratic and sometimes bizarre holdings.
Before leaving the Carnavalet, we purchased some Cokes from a vending machine and sat in one of the courtyards in the middle of the museum and relaxed with our soft drinks. In parts of 3 days, we had seen enough of Paris to leave us wanting more. At the same time, I was eager to experience Reims and the other cities we had planned to visit. We picked up our luggage at our hotel and took the Metro to the Gare de L’Est, where we would board our train for the land of Champagne caves, Reims!
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