I arrived in Paris two days before the start of the tour.  

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I wandered around Montmartre and took the elevator to the summit of the Eiffel Tower.  Due to my interest in art history, I visited the Basilique St. Denis to see the origins of the Gothic style.  I also stopped by the Louvre and the Picasso museum.  (Plus a little shopping in the passages.)

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The highlight was attending a Tchaikovsky opera/ballet double bill at the Palais Garnier.  I managed to snag a seat in the front row of a box where I ended up chatting with a ballet mega-fan from Germany during intermission. (And no, I don't know what the big golden wheels on the staircase were for.)

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(Click on photos to enlarge.)