The Opera Garnier is famous for many things. It is stunningly beautiful-- a tribute to the arts in every possible way. It's beauty is captured in paintings by artists like Degas (who used to attend regularly). Somewhat lesser known is that the story "Phantom of the Opera" is set here because the building sits atop a small reservoir. Even lesser known is that the Opera is home to a school of trout and several hives of bees.
As the story goes, it was several years ago that then-prop man at the opera, Jean Paucton, was looking for a place to keep his new beehive until he could get it to his country house. He apparently asked his friend, who worked on the Opera's fire brigade and was raising a school of trout under the opera house (I couldn't make this up if I tried!), for advice. The gentleman recommended putting the hive on the roof. Mr. Paucton was reticent as he was unsure where the bees would find pollen, but he had no choice. He returned the next week to find the hive overflowing with honey-- significantly more full, in fact, than hives get in the countryside! The hive has continued growing for more than 25 years now and he now has over 75,000 bees residing in 5 hives, collecting more than 1,000 pounds of honey per year.
The honey is said to be especially fragrant as these bees have access to Paris' most prestigious gardens. From the flowers of the French "White House" to the Jardin Tuileries and even as far as the Bois de Bologne, the bees collect pollen throughout the city and return to produce mini pots of gold (available for sale in the Opera shop and at the gourmet food shop Fauchon).
After hearing about the bees for some time, I decided to try to find the honey. I marched over to Fauchon and paid dearly for my 125 grams of "gold." I have to say, though, that in the end, it tastes like honey. Perhaps it is a little more floral, perhaps a little sweeter even, but the thing I like about it most is that it is a little taste of heaven from what must be some of the most inspired bees on Earth. I wonder how the trout made out...
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