Is that the Fat Lady? 8-2-15

Today being Sunday we decided a more leisurely pace was indicated so Deb put together a little picnic and we made our way down to the Tuileries for a lunch in the shade.   Our timing on the bus was good so we had only a short wait to board and in no time we decamped at the Eastern end of the Louvre.  We made our way through the arches and through the courtyards and into the Tuileries.

As one passes the Arch du Carrousel there are two flanking little areas that are raised above the street level and in each raised area are a border of trees with benches under them so that there is shade to be had throughout the day.  When we arrived many of the shaded benches were taken while the ones in the sun were deserted, so we shared a shady bench with a woman and read until another shady bench was available at which point we moved to our own bench.   We sat for a while reading and then took our pastoral repast (lunch),  sandwiches, wine, and fruit, perfect for a warm day.
There are a number of crows that hang out around this area and they are fun to watch when someone offers them a bit of food, one will be walking around soliciting and if it gets an offering suddenly there are 12 or 15 buddies that are hanging out with him.  I succumbed with a bit of bread and had a good time watching the interactions as they jockied for the food.

After a while an Asian woman came wandering through looking for a place to eat lunch and we offered her one end of our bench.  That started a conversation and we found that she was a citizen of France and had lived here for over 40 years.  Her family is Chinese and had lived in Cambodia, during the Pol Pot regime her parents sent her to boarding school in Paris and she has lived here ever since.   Sadly most of her family perished at the hands of Pol Pot.   She married a Frenchman and has a son of about 25 years old.   She has travelled in the U.S. and has been to California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, and Colorado.   She works as a tour guide for Chinese tourists and helps them to adjust to French culture.  A lovely person.
After our lunch and visit with Phang, we walked further into the gardens and found another shady spot to sit and read,  interestingly we seemed to be surrounded by Brits, it sounded more like Hyde Park than Paris.  The people watching is really interesting, people in every costume imaginable from just about any ethnic group you could imagine.

A little later we decided to go and tour the Opera Garnier building, a masterpiece of Rococo excess. Completely over the top, there doesn't appear to be a single expanse that is not decorated in some manner or other.  We were able to visit quite a large portion of the public area including the actual theater itself, but nothing backstage.  They have an interesting picture gallery and library, where set designs and musical books are displayed along with portraits of prominent personnages associated with the opera house.  We are resolved to get tickets and see some performance(s) this fall when the season begins again, just for the experience.  And of course, to see the Fat Lady Sing.