The Catacombs

Today, after sleeping in and more grocery shopping, we finally got going at about midday. We decided that the Catacombs would fit nicely into an afternoon, and we could still relax tonight. It's great to be here for a month, and not to ever have to hurry at all. Some guidebooks leave out the Catacombs, and I have read some negative comments about them in tourist forums. I think they're fantastic. It's a 1.7 km walk through tunnels made from quarries in the eighteenth century. Various cemeteries were emptied, and the bones were placed in the tunnels, lining the walls in patterns. I very glad when we made it to the bones, to see that the sign said "No flash photography", as going anywhere with Alex and Rachel is a bit like being caught in a lightning storm... I love the Catacombs. It is an eery place, but you can't help but feel a sense of the people when you are looking at their skulls. Various signs along the way explain that this section contains the bones of such and such cemetery or convent, and other signs have quotes about the passing nature of life, the certainty of death, and the hope of the ressurection.

Other signs tell you clearly that you must not touch any of the bones, and I admit I couldn't resist. I wondered how strong those skulls were, and before my brain had a second to think about this choice, my knuckles tapped one of those dry old craniums. I was surprised how hard it was. Hugo told me off, and I realized that it wasn't very respectful. I hope no ghosts come after me.

I did notice that the skulls were quite small, and I used the brochure to measure David's head, then held it up to some of the skulls. This will not surprise you, but David has a much bigger head than the average 18th century person...

On the way home, we emerged from the metro exit to find a very long protest march happening on the street onto which our tiny street joins. Many unions were marching together to protest the new pension plan.

I forgot to record than on the first night, when we went to the Eiffel Tower, we had an interesting metro experience. First, as we were tired, we went down the stairs in the wrong direction. Having already swiped our Navigo cards, we couldn't reuse them at the same station, as they're programmed so that you can't keep swiping them and let lots of people through. I had to explain to the attendant, who buzzed us through, but somehow we kept getting that wrong too, and it took a while for us to all get through the gates outside his little counter. He didn't seem that impressed. When we got down to the quai, Rachel accidentally dropped her ring onto the track. I was all for leaving there, but her friends had engraved it for her, so she managed to convince to go and ask the same attendant for help. I explained it to him, and he said he would come down. We waited a bit, and he turned up with one of those claw things people pick up rubbish with, and rescued her ring. I think he was glad to see the back of us

Time to relax now - not sure what we'll do tomorrow.