Kow Tails: free opera mornings turn into imprisoned moated nights

Due to the fact that there are innumerable sites to see and things to do, we had a free morning and decided to take full advantage of all time and do as much as we can. We, meaning Beccah, Mal, Whitney, Jenna, and I headed on the metro to the Paris Opera House. This is the one featured in Phantom of the Opera. Luckily not many people were there so early on a Saturday morning so we got to explore and take full advantage of the space. I can’t even begin to explain the grandeur and beauty of this space. Out of all those I’ve visited thus far this one seems to be the most decorated and golden. It too has a hall of mirrors like Versailles. The balcony hangs right off of this hall. A cool feature that I noticed were these two small domed rooms on either side of the mirrored hall, one represented the sun and the other the moon. The sun greeting room had gold leaf on all details and the moon room had silver on all details. It was a nice contrast and attention to details. The actual amphitheater wasn’t as big as I suspected but what I didn’t expect was the modern Chagall looking painting on the dome roof. It was nice to see a modern twist on something so classical and traditional. Red silk damask lined the walls and the lighting was so mood and picturesque. Definitely a good trip to make. We just hit up souvenir shopping after that.
We met up with our group at 2, and we were running a little behind thanks to me having to go last minute shop at the Eiffel Tower with ten minutes left. Beccah and I ran and totally made it in time. I was so proud to get my errand done and be back on time. The group boarded the bus and headed to Fontainebleau for an audio guided tour. It definitely was no Versailles. To be fair though it was really gorgeous just more of the same fancy schmancy décor, but it was nice to hear facts in our ear and not just shouted from a distance. I did learn, promise. I just can’t remember details right now other than the fact that everything was monogrammed and I mean everything. Regardless, we got back on to the bus and headed to a super market. I walked in and it smelled like Smith’s, looked like smiths, and I was in heaven! It was so nice to not have to eat out, I felt like I was on supermarket sweep though because we had to run around fast. It was so nice to just have that back.
We headed to Vaux le Vicomte which is the palace of Nicolas Fouquet who happened to be the minister to Louis the king. He built this grand palace and story goes that the king came to a dinner party, decided that it was too lush and that he must be stealing money and had him imprisoned for life. So I guess don’t ever have a nice house. Honestly, this house was incredible, the gardens were magnificent, the rooms elegant, and the moat just iconic. The best part of this entire tour was the candle lit paths. No lights were on and it made it so much more real, oh and the fact that they had mannequins that lit up. It definitely added a special uniqueness to the trip. We took lots of pictures but what happened oh yeah… rain. Like always. The bus trip back was incredibly long and uncomfortable but it was a good time. Out of the three palaces we went to I definitely loved Versailles the most. It was so magical and most ornate. Time for bed. Toodles.