A Paris Adventure (cont.)
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| Confronting mortality at Les Catacombes |
After a quick breakfast at the apartment, Shawn, her son, his girlfriend, and I caught an Uber to Les Catacombes. (Susan, being a bit claustrophobic, opted not to explore this attraction.) This was another place that had been on my list during my previous visit, but I'd missed it. Shawn was excited about it, too. To ensure we'd get a chance to stop by this time, we'd pre-purchased timed tickets. This allowed us to skip the reeeeally long line and get in a much shorter line for entry.
If you don't know much about the Catacombes, you'll learn some fascinating history at this attraction. Basically, the dead of Paris were outgrowing the cemeteries designed to hold them. This was leading to public health problems, so the city selected this spot (which was then a rather remote old quarry) and began transferring remains here at night. (The work was done at night to avoid offending Parisians.) And all was well and good.
Over time, however, there was a need to shore up the stability of the quarry itself. At the time, a mining engineer named Héricart de Thury had jurisdiction over the Catacombes, and he had an idea. He'd use the bones themselves to create walls and stabilize the quarry. And he'd arrange them in a museum/monument approach so the quarries could be opened to curious visitors. (Leave it to an engineer to come up with an idea like this. Solve two problems - a structural issue and a funding issue. So practical!)
In 1809, the Catacombes were opened to the public, and the rest is history. Today, it's one of the top attractions in Paris, and they host all types of events and concerts down there as well. When we arrived, we checked in and began our descent. Along the way, you'll pass some small "museum rooms" that tell you about the history of the Catacombes. You can also get an audio tour.You'll step down, down, down, feeling the temperature of the air drop. (You'll want to wear comfortable shoes that get good traction, as you'll be walking for 1-2 hours and climbing some 250 steps down and back up again. It can also be a bit chilly down there. I expected the air to be musty or dank down in the Catacombes, but it was very well-ventilated, though some of the spaces can be a bit close.)
And then, after traveling through some long tunnels, you begin to see them - walls of bones. Many of them are five or six feet tall. Artistic effects have been achieved by grouping like bones together, so you'll see a a stacked wall of leg bones, perhaps, accented by occasional rows of skulls or a stone cross. Placards provide limited information (dates, sources of the nearby bones), and some encourage you to contemplate. Visiting the Catacombes is an exercise in considering your own mortality, the ever-spinning wheel of time, and how these two forces are great equalizers of humanity. It's striking how much each skull looks like the one just next to it.
Then, it was back up, up, up! We found a nearby wine bar and settled in for some lunch - croque monsieur, salads, fries, quiches - washed down with good red wine.
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| The Pantheon dome is an architectural marvel. |
Our original plan was to meet up with Susan at Luxembourg Gardens for a stroll. We set Angelina as a rendezvous point, enjoying a rich cup of hot chocolate as we waited for her to arrive. (And the hot chocolate here is soooo good. Thick and velvety.) Once we'd all connected, we went to enter Luxeumbourg Gardens. However, we were dismayed. The garden had been closed due to high winds. (Wind? I mean, it was windy, but it wasn't raining or storming. The only thing we could fathom was that the older trees in the garden might have weak branches, and so they were concerned about falling limbs.)
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| This photo of Susan in her red beret is one of my favorite images from this trip! Très chic! |
The dome is very impressive, and we loved watching the slow, steady movement of Foucault's pendulum, which demonstrates that the Earth is continually rotating. Additionally, there are gorgeous murals and statuary throughout the space that illustrate the history of France and celebrate the country's values.
Then, it was down to the crypt. Beneath the Pantheon lie the remains of some of Paris' greatest thinkers - Victor Hugo, Marie Curie, Voltaire, Alexandre Dumas, Louis Braille. It was nice to be able to pay our respects to those who have had such an impact on our world and culture.
Ready for a break, we headed back to the apartment. We did a little additional supply shopping in the area, popping by Á la Mére de Famille for jewel-like chocolates. (This was another place we visited repeatedly during our stay in Paris. Such good sweets, and lots to choose from!) That night, we laid out big appetizer boards at the apartment - cheese, bread, olives, nuts, cured meats, wine, chocolates - and just spent the evening drinking, eating, laughing and talking. It felt so homey and comforting. Then, to bed!
Day 4
On day 4, beautiful Caron finally joined us! She arrived around lunchtime, and we wasted no time in getting her acclimated to the city. We began with a hearty lunch at Le Petit Cler. Caron had made a pledge to drink wine with every meal during her trip, and she set about achieving her goals. (So did the rest of us! Heh.)
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| Bonjour, Paris! |
Pleasantly full, we made our way to one of the stops on Caron's must-list: Caron Parfums. This jewel of a shop sells high-end fragrances, and not only does it bear Caron's name (spelled correctly, I might add), it's so completely her. There's a chandelier in the center. Everything is pink and delicately scented. There's a chaise lounge to sit on.
Caron selected some fragrances for herself and some of her family members, and then we took a leisurely stroll back to the apartment. Since our full party was now in the city, we decided this was the perfect time to get closer to the Eiffel Tower, so we mapped our route to take us nearby and snapped some lovely photos.
We had a low-key dinner that night to let Caron get some rest.
More to come . . .
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