Day Five brings beautiful things!

Today, Saturday November 5, 2011, was a wonderfully cultured day. Unlike on our first day in France, most of the group woke up in time for breakfast! We enjoyed a delicious meal of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, a baguette, and a croissant with jam and butter. The group then headed to the Musee d'Orsay, which features expressionistic, impressionistic, symbolistic, and other art forms that were "breakthroughs" for their time periods. Personally, I enjoyed this museum the most out of the three that we visited. I love the painters' use of light and their focus on nature and regular people. My favorites were Degas's dancers and Renoir's "Le Bal." Afterward, we walked to the Centre Pompidou to enjoy some modern art. At first, I was a bit confused by some of the pieces, which seemed to be simply found objects or furniture that could be bought in a store, but I came to appreciate other pieces such as paintings by Picasso and Chagall and the full-room works of art. The Pompidou's architecture is as much of a spectacle as its art is, and its gift shop was full of colorful and quirky home decorations and gadgets. Then, we split off into small groups to find a bite to eat at various cafes, then returned to the hotel to rest. After a solid two and a half hours of rest and chatting, we were ready to go the ballet.

I was extremely excited to go to the ballet! I've dreamed of going to the Paris Opera House for years now. We enjoyed our first trip on the Parisian metro, and managed not to lose anyone. (tres bien)! Most of us were dumbfounded by the beautiful sight of the Opera Garnier, and took many pictures inside and out. After a slight bit of seating confusion, we all made it to our boxes. Our seats were on the stage left side of the theater, giving us only slightly inhibited views of the stage itself. The ballet was incredible. It was the the best dancing I have ever seen , the costumes were dazzlingly sparkly, and the choreography worked perfectly with the music. I was mostly speechless afterward. We went to get crepes and sandwiches, which were especially delicious given the fact that we had not eaten dinner, then returned to the hotel. Tomorrow (je crois) we will be going to the Eiffel Tower, which I know has been much anticipated!

A tout a l'heure!