A Spring Trip to Paris - Part 1

I went to Paris this week for a quick trip to see the ballet La Bayadere at the Opera Garnier - more of that later. Paris was bathed in lovely sunshine so it was very nice to wander around. My first stop was Hermes FSH followed by a taxi ride to George V, then I walked back to my hotel along the Seine and across the Place de La Concorde.

The Eiffel Tower from the Right Bank somewhat in silhouette as the sun was behind it!

The beautiful Pont Alexandre III

The Place de La Concorde

Looking up the Champs Elysees towards the Arc de Triomphe.

On my walk back from Avenue George V, I walked along the avenue parallel to the Champs Elysees to avoid the crowds - I happened upon a rather lovely square - François 1er which had some beautiful buildings.

In the evening, I went to the Opera Garnier theatre to see Nureyev's La Bayadere ballet. My seat was not the best in the house as the tickets were like hen's teeth so I was very lucky to get just 1!! It was a very lovely production with the most beautiful costumes, but of course La Bayadere is most famous for it's stunning Kingdom of The Shades/Les Ombres scene. The ballerinas pulled it off perfectly and to very well deserved applause.

Here at the curtain call are the 3 Étoiles who danced for me(!) left to right - Dorothée Gilbert (Gamzatti), Aurélie Dupont (Nikiya) and Nicolas Le Riche (Solor) (he could jump really high!) - I was lucky to meet all of them after the show at the stage door and they kindly autographed my programme for me so I have a lovely souvenir!