Weekend in Paris (Part 3)

The weekend in Paris has been incredible. I've seen things I never thought I would, and have had the best people-watching in quite a while! People often say the French are snobby or rude, but I've actually found quite the opposite to be true. The French people I met were actually quite nice. The rude people weren't French, but other tourists! Anyway, its been really great to be here, if even for a short time. I am so blessed!

I didn't have a lot of time on Sunday morning, so I decided to make one last stop at a place I had been wanting to visit ever since my love of Broadway musicals developed - the Palais Garnier- the Paris Opera house. For those who don't know the story of the famous "Phantom of the Opera", the Palais Garnier is the setting of this story. I have loved the story and music ever since I first saw a road show version in my teens, then later on Broadway in New York. So when I had the chance to visit the real Opera house, I had to take it. 

Unfortunately, as things sometimes go, this was the sign on the gate when I arrived... :(

So, I decided to walk around the building and check it out anyway. Of course, being the persistent person that I am, I wasn't really going to let a silly sign stop me from seeing one of the major items on my list while in Paris... ;)

I noticed that the gift shop was open on one side, so I decided to go check it out and found that the main lobby area was roped off. The problem with this was that it was the one area that I wanted to see more than anything because the staircase is the original one that is replicated in The Phantom of the Opera's famous "Masquerade" scene - my favorite of the play. So, with a lot of pitiful looks and a (honest but slightly dramatic) story about wanting to see this my whole life, I managed to talk a guard into letting me past the ropes for 2 minutes to catch a glimpse at this beautiful scene. 

I felt very excited to get to see this. I was so excited, in fact, that I nearly became the victim of a pickpocket scheme. All over Paris, there are warnings of pickpockets, however, being a bit naive to such things, I did not realize how sophisticated their schemes are. I had two young ladies walk up to me with a petition for a charity supporting handicapped children. It looked fairly legitimate. What I didn't realize was that while one was explaining to me about the charity and having me hold and sign the petition, the other was looking in my jacket pockets, attempting to extract anything that was available. Thankfully, I had heeded the warnings and had nothing in my pockets, when a security guard at the opera house started shouting and yelling to the girls to go away and proceeded to tell me to never sign the petitions because they were just looking to take advantage of me. Chalk that up as a new experience!

After my wild experience leaving this beautiful palace, I headed towards the train station to grab a bite of lunch before hopping on the Thalys train back to Rotterdam. It was then that it occurred to me how unique the people of this city were. Everyone was an entertainer, an artist, or musician of some sort. There was no better place to see and experience the people than the metro or train station. I've heard preachers on the metro, accordion players, incredible student musicians, and even met a few sidewalk chefs. 

...and with that, I wrapped up my weekend in Paris!! :)