matinées, mas iglesias, and monarch mansions

Not rest for the weary. This week has been packed with activities.

Sunday, I arrived back in Paris and immediately changed to try to make it to the last showing of the opera. I managed to arrive at the new Opera house near the Bastille an hour an a half before the matinée started at 2:30pm. I was waiting in line for the cheap 5 euro tickets. They sold out when I was in line. Again. Luckily, my liaison was there, and she suggested I go to another ticket counter where they would sell discounted tickets to students. An hour of standing (in heels) later, I got a ticket to Les Capulets et les Montaigus. I paid 25 euro for a seat that was normally sold for 150 euro! The seat location was great - center right on the floor level. The opera lasted about 2 1/2 hours. I have never gone to an Opera before. These people's voices were incredible.

Monday, after our Consumer Behavior test, a couple friends went down to the Eiffel Tower at night. There was a picnic and a photo shoot:



Tuesday, I went to Palais de la Cite and St. Chapelle on the Il-de-la-Cite. The Il-de-la-Cite is one of the two islands on the Seine. The Palais currently houses the Palace of Justice, but this was the official residence to French kings from the tenth to fourteenth centuries. St. Chapelle is two-leveled Gothic church with gorgeous stained-glass windows. Here is a shot of the lower chapel:

The upper chapel is the gem. Fifteen gigantic stained glass windows circumvent the church walls. There is a total of 1,113 scenes from different books in the Bible.


Ceiling shot:
We had a group excursion to the Chateau de Versailles on Wednesday. We took the forty minute train ride west of the city to visit. This is where Louis XIV and the descending French royalty (including Marie Antoinette) lived until the French revolution. Also, the treaty that ended the World War I was signed here. Way back when, there were no restrooms in Versailles. People would pop a squat, do their business, and wait for butlers to come behind to clean up the mess. Sounds pretty royal to me. Overall, the palace is very gaudy. Gilded gold and marble EVERYWHERE.

This is the famous Hall of Mirrors. The seventeen panes of mirrors stand opposite a wall of windows looking out to the gardens:

A famous portrait of Marie Antoinette:


Outside in the gardens:


The trees in the right hand picture reminded me of snowmen (or treemen):


Rachel, Frances, Meagan, and I:


We leave for Barcelona this weekend. I am looking forward to seeing La Boqueria, Park Guell, Sagrada Familia, and paella. The beach will be another attraction as I should probably work on evening out my one-sided nose tan from last weekend. I apparently fell asleep on the right side of my face.

I recently discovered new tricks on camera software = Kristin spending even more time messing with her pictures. I am going to try to post them all online at some point. There are just too many to post on the blog. Will keep you updated.

Voy a Espana hoy!