Paris Day 3 – Opera

Cindy and I woke up late, which was probably a mixture of being really tired from the previous days’ walking and pent up jet lag we just hadn’t gotten over. We headed to Opera Garnier and checked it out, though unfortunately we weren’t able to see the main amphitheatre as it was closed for a performance. So, we headed to the two largest and most prestigious fashion stores in Paris, Au Printemps and Galeries Lafayette.

Cindy and I walked around and found that most of the stuff we liked was well beyond our price range. However, Cindy did nail a very nice “boyfriend blazer” from a European brand called Diabless. All in all though, Cindy felt like it just wasn’t as amazing as the shopping was let on to be. Largely, she suspects this is because all the major labels have pursued an internationalization strategy which means that almost all of their collections are available at home in Beverly Hills or South Coast Plaza. Hope does yet remain, and we are headed to “la marais” or a series of boutique shops at St. Paul’s metro stop in search of unique pieces.

In the evening, I prevailed on Cindy to walk to the restaurant “Deux Theatres” and the food was exceptional. Between the both of us, we copied the dinner of a French gentleman who was sitting next to us – who knew exactly what to order. His name is Mr. Fabrice Moretti, an internationally famous saxophonist, and we chatted with him a bit. Later on in the evening, we also chatted with the couple on our left, who hailed from London. Overall, we’ve found people to be friendly and talkative, as long as you make an effort to speak French.