As we got toward the end of our trip we had already seen
many of things we had come to Paris to see.
Siena had seen, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower and Disney Paris. I had seen what I had wanted to see most as
well; my two girls smiling and having fun every day and look of amazement,
wonder and intrigue in the eyes of a little girl trying to absorb this amazing
world. But Lisa had still been shut out
from the one thing she loves best in Paris.
And so we headed across town to take a second run at visiting the Paris
Opera house.
Our first visit to the Opera Garnier was pre-empted by
ballet rehearsals. With the Ballet
season only a few weeks from opening (the ballet now inhabits the Opera house,
the Opera has actually moved to the new Opera House in the Bastille), we needed
to come back on weekend when no rehearsals were occurring to see the inside of
the theater.
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| More Snow |
Another snowy day in Paris provided a dramatic white back
drop for the gilded statues and façade of the Opera House. With no buses running and no snow plows in
existence, the snow also kept the people away and we visited the theater
without the crowd factor. Siena seemed
to love the Opera House almost as much as mommy. With ballet costumes on display throughout
the Opera House and statues and exhibits galore, Siena took off exploring. She enjoyed looking at everything and seemed
to especially enjoy the inside of the theater where the plush red interior
encapsulated in gleaming gold adornments and amazing ceiling can capture any
heart. So it was to be, that Siena
returned to her role as Iphone photographer capturing a child’s eye view for
us.
My guess is that Siena will one day be a ballerina (or at
least that is what her dad secretly hopes for). On this trip she seemed to gravitate toward
anything ballet oriented and our nightly reading of Miss Lina’s Ballerinas re-enforced
that at least for now ballet was a hit with our little girl. We spent a long time enjoying the Opera House
and then headed off for another lovely evening in our apartment. Local cheese,
bread, macaroons and wine awaited us as we watched the Eiffel Tower’s hourly
show which Siena now announced each hour as it began.
