I'm back to having trouble loading pcictures to this website, so check back later for today's photos. Today was Opera day! That's the good news. The bad news (which really wasn't bad) was that I had to return to the Palace of Versailles to attend the opera. On the last trip to France, Versailles was MY Waterloo. After being pushed and pushed and pushed through the Palace by members of a certain ethic group which will remain nameless, I finally lost my state of peaceful vacation tranquility and planted an elbow in the belly of the guy behind me (who was, of course, pushing). To his credit, he apologized. I did not. I left Versailles that day and said "never again".

Attending a performing arts event was a priority for this trip. I was hoping for a ballet or the orchestra, where the language barrier would not be an issue. However, arts events in Paris sell out almost instantaneously, and I couldn't find any available seats the 2 primary performating arts centers in Paris. I was thrilled when I learned that events were held at the Royal Opera at the Palace and that there were seats avaialble while I would be in town. I booked a seat for the Opera, Persee.

In a nutshell, Versailled continues to be a pain in my neck....everything from train track work that made getting there a headache, to gouging once there. But the opera was worth it. The theatre is small since it was only for the King and his court guests. I had a cheap seat in a box with 6 other people. My seat had a somewhat restricted view, but I was in the corner and could stant up without disturbing anyone. I couldn't get any good pics of the theatre itself because the lighting is dim. If you are interested, you can see a good pic of the theatre here: http://www.opera-online.com/en/items/opera_houses/opera-royal-du-chateau-de-versailles. The opera was in French with the lyrics displayed on a screen above the stage. I was able to follow to a degree, and a french woman sitting near me filled me in on details during intermission. She also made a point of telling me that her parents always told her when she was young (she was probably mid to late 50's) that she had the Americans to thank for her freedom.

So, I loved the opera, which is the first I had ever attended, and hope to attend more back in the US. And, in true Versailles fashion, I missed the turn to the train station when I was leaving the Palace and got lost. I met up with a couple British guys who were also lost, and we eventually found our way back to the train station. I met Kristen, who had spent the day touring the Palace and the grounds, back at the apartment about 9:30pm, and we went for another after-dark walk of the city. Just under 34,000 steps this day!

And when I finally get the photos posted, you'll see a few pics from a botanical garden I visited earlier in the day. It was very nice, but not as grandiose as other gardens I've seen in Americal.