To start off, I went to the Roland Petit ballet at the Palais Garnier in the afternoon. I had booked my ticket online so the seat was totally random (although they only had expensive tickets left so I knew it was bound to be good) but I got an entire first row balcony box to myself! Seriously - an entire room in the Paris Opera with a separate entrance, walls covered in red velvet and super cushy seats. The rest of the place was packed, so I totally lucked out. And other people definitely noticed my prime position and had the look of trying to figure out who I was (I wonder who they were thinking of?!) and I caught some definitely taking pictures. It was a total Marie Antoinette moment.
Besides the venue being absolutely incredible, the ballet itself was amazing too. Roland Petit is a renowned French contemporary ballet dancer and choreographer, and this performance was three different pieces choreographed by him from the 40s and 50s. The first and last one were almost more like theatre and had a similar story line of women leading men to death (but in the most elegant, exciting way, of course!) The middle one was a lot more colorful and dynamic, but also ended up with death - this time of a wolf and the woman who fell in love with him. Despite the recurrent tragedy, it was beautiful the whole way through. The orchestra was incredible, along with the sets and costumes. Petit and Picasso used to be friend, I think, and Picasso did a super cool backdrop for the first piece.
After that, I was really hungry and went to the slightly less glamorous salad bar at Lafayette (although how can you go wrong with somewhere that has wine on tap?) I refueled just in time to discover Lafayette was having a sale! In France, the government legislates when sales happen and they’re not suppose to be now, so it was definitely a pleasant surprise. The only problem was that there was just too much stuff to look at and so many people! I tried on some Ferragamo flats and Vivienne Westwood heels but didn’t really love either so passed them up (and within seconds of leaving my hands they were grabbed by other girls!) I did stock up on Wolford tights and bought a black cashmere sweater, but I’d say that was pretty minimal damage considering the purchasing potential!
Lafayette was open late so I stayed until about 8ish and then made my way on the metro to Montmartre for fireworks! Its the Harvest Festival so they have a firework show, along with row upon row of food and wine vendors at the top of the hill. I stopped for a glass of champagne, which I drank while wandering through a sea of people - it was so busy! I went to a cafe at the bottom of the hill to try to get a good seat but had to stand at the bar. I met an older man named David who let me practice my French, which was super exciting! At least I can hold a basic conversation when I’m forced to - its a pretty big step! Luckily as my vocabulary started to falter, the fireworks started. They were set to funny French music and lit up the entire hill in front of Sacre Coeur. It was amazing and actually pretty surreal.
I didn’t take very many pictures because I was just too busy enjoying it all - sorry! And none of the pictures of the room at the Opera turned out! Although I thought it was time to prove again that I’m actually here, so did a timed photo at the ballet.
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