Pinch Me!

I guess it's really happening.  It must be!

Two presents came in the mail today - 2 boxes of film for 'em precious 8 Polaroid shots, and Lonely Planet books the Dutch ordered for Paris and Roma.  The hotel room in Montmartre, which I guess is less touristy and is an arrondissement where local Parisian artists and bohemians flock to has been booked and arrangements for a Parisian cooking class is underway!  As you can tell, I'm very close to booking something at the Opera National de Paris, but the quagmire is whether to see a Balanchine Ballet at the Garnier (and I've seen one George Ballanchine choreographed performed by the New York City Ballet in Manhattan and to this day, that remains one of the most moving performances I've seen, and one that has reduced me to tears and subsequently, a raspy throat from yelling "Bravo" too much from my very cheap seat) OR watch a four hour long opera called "Les Noces de Figaro" ("The Marriage of Figaro") for the very first time in my life, and in Paris, at that, at the Bastille. Heck, maybe I can see both!  (Note:  Although very prestigious, these performances are made accessible to the public.  Tickets can run as low as 5euro.  The catch is that you have to go to the Opera three hours prior to the show and if they have unsold tickets for that evening, you score.)

The one thing that is not causing me any perplexity (at the moment) is what to wear.  The true recovering hoarder that I am, I have a plethora of never-worn dresses patiently waiting in the closet for that one perfect occasion.  Its day has come.  Little did I know, it was waiting for the Paris Opera all this time.  :)

Just a couple more purchases to be delivered in the mail (i.e. Sperry - yes, top-siders/loafers are like marshmallows on your feet!  They make them colorful and chic nowadays that you won't be embarrassed to be seen wearing a pair!  Plus, they're not cheap either..), a Paris 3-Day City Pass, and I think I will be ready to count down the days.

And to all my friends from Manila who have gone to Paris before me and whose brief Parisian interludes I've lived vicariously through, merci beaucoup!