A Missing Day

June 11 and 12

On Monday I attempted to catch another opera. Lohengrin was playing at the Opera Bastille, but the girls and I were less than successful in attempting to get tickets. Clearly, when you want student rush tickets on the closing night of a Wagner, you have to be aggressive. Instead, though, we wore our opera clothes to the Cafe Opera, where we had a delicious French dinner, and the girls told me what they like in a professor, for future reference.

However, on Tuesday of that week, we had another group outing, this one fabulously romantic. We began our afternoon at the Musee Quai Branly, the anthropological museum that constitutes Jacques Chirac's cultural contribution to Paris (most of the presidents did such a thing). An anthropological museum, you say? Yes, I do. And it was fantastic. A bizarre looking building, surrounded by a lovely garden. The inside is filled with treasures of indigenous societies from all over the world, both past and present. I, for one, thought it was fascinating.

From there, we walked to the nearby Champs du Mar below the Eiffel Tower for a picnic. Sandwiches, wine, cheese, and great company made for a lovely evening. We also climbed to the top, which is pretty anti-climactic if you've done it before, and seen a better view from Notre Dame. But we climbed it at sunset...which is spectacular. And at night it lights up, complete with sparkles for 10 minutes at the top of the hour. Sigh.

More photos, plus one of our group.