Day 23: Birthday

Wednesday was my birthday.  This post is going through a lot of editing; if you'd like a more real version of it let me know.

The morning started off well.  I got a delicious pastry called an Opéra, which was almost as heavenly as the hot chocolate from Angelina's.

Yum yum yum

It was the last day of class, and so we concluded with Amélie, one of my favorite movies.  It was amazing to see it again after having been to most of the places in the film, including the restaurant at which Emily and I ate that first weekend we were here.  It's such a feel-good movie, too.  So I was feeling good.

Then we went to lunch at Pizza Bob's, a very cheap place near the Bastille.  I really wanted a hamburger, but the cook just said "No." when I ordered one, so I got a panini instead.  It was yucky, so I ate a lot of fries.

Yuck yuck yuck

It rained off and on for the whole day.  After lunch we went to the Opéra Garnier, which is the opera house off of which the Phantom of the Opera is based.  Apparently there was no chandelier accident to the extent that the book/musical/movie has, but at one point in its history a chandelier did fall, killing the person sitting in seat 13.  Creepy!

Outdoor view of the opera house

The visit was fairly disappointing; we couldn't really go many places inside because a dress rehearsal for the night's show was going on.  The parts we did get to see were very pretty; I've been spoiled by the architecture here.

Inside the opera house

My favorite part was a giant library we stumbled across.  I felt like Belle from Beauty and the Beast, my own personal salvation from the afternoon.  And then I looked closer, and realized the library was entirely composed of opera scores, which made me even happier.  I accidentally found the score to Gershwin's Porgy & Bess, which was a real treat.  I looked really hard for Carmen but couldn't find it.  

I want to go to there (again)

In one room of the library there was a display of model sets from openings of famous operas.  There were a few scenes from Tristan and Isolde, which made me really happy.

Model set from Tristan and Isolde

After the opera house we figured we were right nearby the Galeries Lafayette and stopped by.  It's this giant shopping mall filled with designer clothes/bags/perfume/makeup.  Ridiculously expensive, but pretty.

Galerie Lafayette

Much later in the afternoon we saw a movie that will never receive an MPAA rating without extensive editing, Antichrist.  My initial thought after the movie was wanting to throw up and "WHY??" because it was filled with an obscene amount of disturbing content and extremely graphic violence.  The only thing I feel comfortable enough posting here is a fox eating itself.  That's the tamest scene of violence in the movie.  If you want details, ask, but don't eat beforehand.

I wanted to write off the film immediately as horribly vulgar and tasteless, but after been given a few days of reflection, I wouldn't like to do that anymore.  I don't want to merely classify films as "good" or "bad," as I stressed in my last entry, and that's precisely what I did initially with this film.  So although it was incredibly out there and wasn't entertaining per se, the director succeeded in making us think extensively about his work, and I can appreciate that.  I'd like to write more about the film at a later date.

Dinner [elliptical edit there] was at an Italian restaurant, which was alright.  I had lasagna, which ended up not sitting so well.  Then I came home and read nice messages from my friends and family, so that's what counts.

Walking total for the day (why am I so infatuated with this?): 5.8 miles.