The Merry Widow

Painting The Tuileries Gardens, Paris by Maurice Prendergast (1858-1924)

Hied myself off to the opera this afternoon. The Merry Widow.  It was quite amusing about a wealthy widow, her feckless suitors, and her true love. Her true love won out of course. It took place in Paris at the end of the 1800s. There were dancing girls, lavish costumes, and witty dialogue - performed in English, thank heavens! The operetta was written by Austrian Franz Lehar and was first performed in Vienna in 1905.

I have hit my stride with The Greater Journey. Not only am I enjoying learning about the Americans who lived and worked and studied in Paris in the 1830s but I am also getting a fine history lesson about the beautiful city as well. When McCullough writes about the avenues, the Tuileries, the Louvre, and the Seine, I am right there with him. I have been lucky to have visited the City of Light twice now. And I have bruises on my toes to this day from walking its wide sidewalks and strolling down its garden paths. Badges of honor, n'est-ce pas?