Paris: part zillion

Ok that's it. I'm going to finish this already. (I've started the two previous posts this way and then changed them since I realized I wasn't near finished.)

We went to the symphony to see Bach's St. John Passion performed at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, a fitting performance considering it was Easter weekend. We had bought seats that weren't too terribly expensive but that, as always, comes at the expense of the view. The seating arrangement was so steep that there were bars in front of the seats -- pretty much at eye height. Oh well, there were much worse seats in the place, including some from which literally nothing of the stage could be seen. Ah well, it will just make Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto that much better next time.

Since *we* (cough, cough) very much wanted to go shopping, we went to Printemps, a major French department store. The one in Paris (Paris being one of those fashion capitals) carries many brands of clothing and other goods anywhere from almost affordable to high-end luxury. It is housed in several massive old buildings up to 9 stories high. But that's not the point of this tale. We discovered that there was a restaurant and viewing/lounging terrace at the top of the one of the buildings, so we eventually made our way there to take in the view. And the view was great but it was warm out so a drink sure would be nice. I bought two cans of Coke (which in Europe are slightly smaller than those in North America) and kept a straight face as I shelled out the equivalent of $8 for them. Needless to say, we took extra care to really enjoy those drinks and not waste a drop.

Another must-see department store was Galeries Lafayette. Ten stories with a nice domed roof... about the fanciest department store I've ever seen anyway. Sorry Zellers.



The Seine is the river that snakes through Paris in a number of S-curves. There are at least 32 bridges in the city that cross the Seine. Some are old and plain, others are old and quite striking.



There's always more to tell, but I'm leaving it at that. Next city please!