Palais Garnier et La Tour Eiffel

A three-hour leave pass from shopping with the girls found me on the door step of the Palais Garnier (more commonly known as the Paris Opera), and for the first time a silent "wow" escaped my lips. This is truly a maginifent building where all the attention has been placed on the lavish interior. My only regret is that I was not prepared to pay the higher entry fee for the official tour which would have included the terraced balconies and the magnificent stage. Instead I chose the cheaper do-it-yourself tour for 9 euro, and whilst being overawed with what I saw, I can't help but feel that I missed a whole lot more.

With still an hour to go on my leave pass, and no desire to enter the throngs of people who were milling around the entrance to Galeries Lafayette, I strolled into Eglise de la Trinite and joined the lunchtime crowd who had sat down in this very old and run-down church to enjoy a free recital. A single violinist supported by a cellist performed for an hour, and the acoustics were amazing.

The early evening saw us navigating the Metro once again for a visit to La Tour Eiffel. This structure is always visible on the horizon during the day. I have seen it from the dome at the Pantheon, and I have seen it from the rooftop observatory cafe at Printemps, but to see it at night changes it from just being there to dominating the night sky. It is truly amazing and no real words can describe it. Also apparent was the very lengthy queue of visitors all lined up to purchase their tickets for the ride to the upper levels for the night-time view of Paris. We chose to stay on the ground, walked over to the Trocadero, and once again I revelled in the marvels of another Nutella and banana crepe - and once again I blame Cookie.

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