Dave and Teneille's Excellent Adventure

WHAT'S THIS?

Today was a free day and we didn't do too much so this should be a short post. Teneille slept in and then spent half the day finishing off her job application for work next year. I say 'finishing off' but in essence she spent long periods staring at a computer screen while periodically taking deep breaths and sighing loudly.

After her procrastination period was over we head out towards the Palais Garnier or... the opera house. It is quite a grand building so we stood on the front steps and looked through the gift shop. We were going to wander through it but simply couldn't find an entry point (you couldn't go in via the gift shop as that was an exit only). We'll likely attempt the opera house again before we leave as I've since learned the building and some of its history inspired Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera. Teneille loves that story/play/movie.

The opera house that inspired a classic.

From the opera house, we jumped one street over to Galeries Lafayette, a massive shopping complex spread over two blocks and seven levels that houses nothing but designer fashion brands. The place was packed with people so we'd hate to see it over Christmas. It would be a nightmare. Teneille ended up buying a Moulin Rouge magnet and a perfume spritzer so just she had a Galeries Lafayette bag that made her look rich and fashionable. Because to shop there you really do need to be freaking rich. We spent most of the time playing a game called How Expensive Is That Ugly Piece Of Clothing? We saw some gross jackets with bits of fluff stuck on them that cost more than 1000 euros each. That's where today's blog title - from the Nightmare Before Christmas - comes from. Because we spent a large portion of the afternoon looking at ugly clothes and asking ourselves 'what's this?'

Seven levels of really expensive shit.

It is pretty though...

We got a bit lost after leaving Galeries Lafayette because exiting from a different part of the building disoriented us slightly. But we did find this cool shirt store my father would have been proud of. Some of the patterns were insane.

That afternoon stroll cost us 5km to make it 82.5km so far.

 

The view from the the terrace at Galeries Lafayette

The cool shirt shop.

We finished the day with dinner at an Italian restaurant in our foodie street up the road from home. The food was great and we both felt sick afterwards we'd eaten so much. The only annoying thing was the passive smoking we had to endure as we ate. Teneille loves Paris and would happily live here but the smoking is really starting to get to her.

Tomorrow we have a day trip to the Loire Valley castles so it will be an early start and a long day.