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2 In Paris/ Travel

Paris: Academie Nationale De Musique (Paris Opera)

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My relationship with Paris would best be described as a love-hate relationship. I hated the underground and was wary of all the pickpockets, but couldn’t help but marvel at the architecture and statues. Unfortunately, I didn’t arrive at the Paris Opera until after it was closed, but it was still worth the trip to visit its doorstep. Isn’t it just grand?

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One of the advantages of traveling with a camera with a zoom lens is being able to see objects that are out of reach. I’d only been using a kit lens (Nex-3, 18-55mm), but still managed to capture a pretty clear shot of this statue on the roof. It was hard to make out the details from down below, so it was a bonus experience getting to see it close up through my camera. It sort of reminded me of the Victoria Memorial in London because of the color and wings.

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The Paris Opera had some amazing statues that cheered me up after experiencing the Paris underground. I thought the detail in the draping was absolutely amazing and loved the details in the hair and wings. Overall this statue looked pretty dramatic and radiated a sense of strength and victory!

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This playful statue put a smile on my lips with all the fun and dancing! It’s incredible how much movement you can feel from a still statue, isn’t it?

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Even the lamp posts had intricate detail! It’s a shame that lamp posts these days are so plain and boring when they could be so artistic.

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The distinctive characteristic of Paris felt like the way the roads and buildings had been blocked out. It was as if they had plowed through a field of buildings to create this maze-like effect. I stopped to think about why I felt this way, seeing as other major cities can also have long stretched avenues and tall buildings. I think part of it has to do with the uniform look and height of the buildings.

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Which was amazing because you can look back while walking down Opera Avenue and see the Paris Opera in all its splendid glory. It must be amazing to drive down the road with the Paris Opera right up ahead. I hadn’t even realized the top of the opera was so magnificent when I had come up from the underground Opera station. I’d been too close to see anything other than the facade as you can tell from the first photo of this post.

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I walked along Opera Avenue until I reached a certain iconic building. It’s peeping out from the corner. Can you guess where this is?

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