Hermes always has fabulous windows at their store. This time they are especially sumptuous. I even saw a special on the news about the woman who designed the windows. When the windows were opened up to view the people on the sidewalk gave her applause. She deserves it.

A side view of the front window. I love orange with silver.

I have several views of this fantastic window. It is all is the theme of India and mostly in silver.

Isn’t this fabulous? Looks like a palace in India.

Just incredible.

Most people want to see the ceiling painted by Chagalle in the Garnier Opera House. It was done in 1961 on canvas to cover the original ceiling. I’m not a real fan of Chagalle although I like his angels but this ceiling is wonderful to look at.

Here’s a look at the ceiling with the famous chandelier which, by the way, never fell on the audience as seen in The Phantom of the Opera. There isn’t a lake underneath the building either although there was a water table which had to be built over.

I don’t think I ‘ve ever seen more comfortable seats for any performance. The color was picked out so that the gowns and skin of the women would be set off to a nice affect. Chagalle’s ceiling has some of the same red in it.

A blue angel.

The Opera House itself.

The Eiffel Tower.

I’ve been in the Opera House several times but never for a ballet or opera. Going inside gave me the yearning to make sure I do it and soon. The Garnier Opera House was created in such a way that there were all sorts of areas, stair cases and balconies so you could see and be seen. That was actually more important than what was going on on the stage. The chandelier was even kept lit.

These were gas lights when the opera house first opened found at the base of the main staircase.

Can’t you just see stylish women gracefully coming down this staircase in their beautiful long gowns?

The ball room copied from The Hall of Mirrors at Verseilles. This room can be rented for special occasions. In fact, Stella McCartney, the daughter of my good friend Sir Paul, had her first fashion show in this room.

The sumptuous curtains in the ball room recently remade by the same company who made the originals.

Isn’t this incredible? It’s an original ceiling in one of the foyers. It looks so Art Deco to me but was done in 1870.

It’s hard to pass up taking photos of the Garnier Opera house when it is shining in the sun. I’ve done it before. I did it again.

That’s Apollo at the top. A sort of Apollo theme can be found inside.

A reflection of the Opera House in the hotel across the street.

Here’s Garnier himself. There are also a couple of likenesses inside.

This is on the side of the building. The rounded ramps going up on either side were built so Napoleon III could enter the opera without getting out of his carriage outside having escaped an assasination attempt on a narrow Paris street before. He, by the way, is the one who decided to have this opera house built. He would have exited the Tuleries Palace where he lived at the time (burned down in the Commune), turned left on Avenue de l’Opera (which was to be called Boulevard Napoleon III) and gone straight to the Opera House. However, he was no longer in power when the time came. In fact, the opera house was not finished when he was forced to resign and it’s lucky the Garnier was finally able to finish it. It’s also lucky that it wasn’t burned during the Commune since most of Paris was against Napoleon III at the time. Once you see it, especially the interior, you are so glad it is still here for us to look at.