The Fourth and Final Day in Paris: Palais Garnier Opera House, Notre Dame, and a very lovely walk by La Seine

Our final day in Paris started slowly, with some wonderful baked goods -- a raspberry macaron, chocolate croissant, and brioche -- from one of the many well-priced bakeries near our apartment. We then took the metro down to the Palais Garnier Opera House, where we'd briefly passed by the day before. Intending to just take a closer look at it, and then head to the Tuileries Gardens, we quickly changed our plans when we saw the place up close.

I would have to say that this building is the most beautiful one I have ever seen in my life, and this is coming from someone who's spent the past few days in the Louvre and Versailles. Around the building were images and names of renowned composers and musicians, and there was such an elegance to the decor. I could've stared at it forever. After a walk around, we decided to go inside and explore.

The halls inside were even more beautiful and stately. One room in particular was very similar to Versailles's Hall of Mirrors, and had doors leading out on a balcony that overlooked the block.

It was amazing to find such magnificence so casually around the city, and that pretty much sums up my favourite part about Paris: art is so accessible and appreciated. I've never seen architecture like this before and I've never respected it so much as an art form. The promotion of every form of art -- architecture in the stunning buildings all over the city, painting and sculpture in the easy-to-access museums of priceless work, literature in the independent book stores and stalls -- is so refreshing to see and it really adds culture and humanity to the setting.

We left the opera and walked down past the Louvre to the Pont des Arts, where I met with another friend, Susan, for lunch. We had Italian food -- a budding tradition of ours as we've now had an Italian meal together in three different cities -- and then walked to the Palais Royal and its garden, another casual beauty in the middle of the city.

From there, we walked to the entrance of the Tuileries Garden and took a peek.

From that spot at the entrance, The Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Obelisk Monument, Louvre and its glass pyramides, and the gardens were visible all around. We headed back to the Pont des Arts after taking in the view, and I finally got to appreciate the love lock bridge I'd been wanting to see for ages. I'd seen some copies of this bridge in Ottawa and Toronto, but it was nothing like this one. The bridge was practically made up of locks itself.

Then came one of my favourite parts of the trip so far. We walked down along the Seine and dozens of stalls selling books and art lined our path.

Again, I love how Paris flaunts its art at every corner. As the weather was finally nice, it made for such an enjoyable stroll. I felt like I really got to take in the city and all its little quirks. For example, this was how I filled my water bottle up at a public fountain:

Along our walk, we stopped by Patrick Roger, the "best French chocolate" store, and shared one small but wonderful piece of pistachio chocolate. We also stopped by the Shakespeare and Company bookstore, which was unlike any other bookstore I'd been to (unfortunately, no photos allowed).

First off, there was a small line to get in. They had old books and new books, some for sale and others not. The air in the shop smelled strongly of lavender, and a snow white cat slept on a leather couch upstairs, in a room that had a large window looking right at Notre Dame. Book nooks were everywhere -- on the window seat with red curtains, in an alcove with a writing desk and old typewriters, on rocking chairs and cushions and benches -- and readers sipped hot tea as they read and chatted in whispers. There was a piano in one room, with a yellowed pile of sheet music beside it. The decor was simple and rustic, with poetry and quotations painted on the walls or hanging from scraps of paper. It was really a place that encouraged reading and literature as art, as opposed to the big box bookstores in North America that are mainly businesses.

It started to rain again as we stepped out from the store and we rushed over to Notre Dame across the street. After a highly frustrating 20 minute wait for a gross free public washroom, we were luckily able to get into the church quickly.

It was stunning to even be in such an old building and European churches are absolute masterpieces in general.

We stayed around for the evening services and mass, which was lovely, despite my not being able to appreciate much of the significance behind it.

As soon as the rain let up, we made a dash for the metro and headed back to our apartment, concluding a few wonderful days in Paris and a stunning start to our adventure in Europe.