The tour itself was great, with our very informative guide telling us a lot of the history of the opera. It's called "Opera Garnier" rather than just The Paris Opera because there have been many Paris opera houses. Today there are two - Opera Garnier and a new (1989) one at Bastille. Much of the interest was in the history of the place, but if you've seen Phantom of the Opera you will recognise many aspects, including the grand staircase, and the seven-tonne chandelier in the auditorium.
Today was quite hot and sunny, and the huge gilded sculptures on the roof of the Opera looked brilliant in the sun. We lunched extravagantly at the Cafe de la Paix across the road, another Paris landmark. Tomorrow we'll eat just bread and cheese, to balance the budget again. Today was designed to be an easier day, because we have walked large distances over recent days and worn ourselves out! We wandered about the glittering aisles of the Galleries Lafayette again for a while before returning home for a lie down and a cup of tea.
