High Above the City.

Kerry's birthday Saturday night was so much fun.  Her friend Fran was in town, so we all had a night on the town to celebrate.  She wanted to show Fran the fun, touristy Paris so of course we met at St. Michel.  We went to this place first called "Ze Bar" which, to hear me say it in my fake French accent is hilarious.  We sat down at ze tables, got ze menu, realized how much ze drinks were, and left out ze door.  We popped in and out of several different places before deciding on a really really tiny place that was probably 85 degrees inside.  Yuck!  They had really fun drinks though....at quite the expense.  But we don't do this all the time so...why not get a sparkly drink every now and then?! 

Addie and Ashleigh

Ashleigh's sparkly drink!

Addie, me, Ashleigh, and Cathie

The next morning, Ashleigh and I went to church while Kerry and Fran packed in as much of Paris as possible during the few short hours they had.  We all met at The Catacombs, and waited in an enormously long line with really annoying American teenagers in front of us.  No wonder the rest of the world thinks Americans are crazy....because we are!  They were so typical...girls in their leggings, Uggs, huge designer bags, big sweatshirts, and "messy" but "fixed" hair.  The guys in khakis, tennis shoes, North Face jackets, and baseball caps.  

We knew what we were getting into by the name of course, but each step we walked down, and each corner we turned deep underground we became a little more freaked out.  We turned corners with much caution, not knowing what was going to be around each one.  We finally reached a sign that read:

Stop!  This is the empire of death.

So, here we were, 19 meters below ground, 1 km into our journey and around the next corner we saw walls that looked like small stones.  As you walked closer, you could see that actually, they were orderly piles of femurs and tibias, occasionally divided by a row of skulls.  It was SO creepy.  The tunnels were quiet and eerie, with the occasional drop of water hitting your head.  We kept going and going and going...would this ever end?  Around 6 million people were buried here from 1786 to 1814.  The noble piled against the poor, the young next to the old, all because there was no room in the cemeteries.  Most people were buried back then without a coffin, and over time, the deteriorating bones seeping into the ground was unsanitary for a city depending mostly on water from the wells.  Many people got sick, and in turn, they decided to remove the bodies from the cemeteries and put them in the old quarries.  The quarries are 185 miles long....that's longer than the entire Parisian metro system.  Since the lighting was so dim, and no flash photography allowed, pictures weren't all that great....which is probably for the best.  

It of course was impossible in the 1700's to document the 6 million skeletons placed in the quarries.  They did however use a fairly organized system and each stack of bones has a stone plaque with what cemetery they came from and the year.  When we finally we reached the end and ascended up some 80 stairs to get the the top there was a man checking bags and coat pockets.  "For what," we asked?  He simply said, "bones."  Like it was no big deal and people actually tried to get away with stealing bones on a daily basis.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  That was the most disturbing thing I've heard in awhile.  

Onto a more enlightening tourist adventure, Addie, Ashleigh and I headed to the Promenade de Plantée near Bastille.  Its an elevated garden walkway, if you will, which use to be part of a railroad track for freight trains.  It is 4.5 km long and expands the entire length of the 12th arrondissement.  Beginning at Opéra Bastille and ending at the Bois de Vincennes, it showed the first few signs of spring....so exciting!  

It was getting late, and I was meeting the other girls at the Eiffel Tower at 7 to attempt to go up again!  Luckily, there wasn't any bad weather, the line wasn't long, there were no technical difficulties, and we were able to get past the ticket booth this time!!!! We all crammed in the lift pushing our way to the edge so we could have a good view going up.  The lift takes you up to the second floor, then you have the option to purchase another ticket for the top, or descend to the first floor.  Kerry, Fran and I chose to go to the very top, while Natalie and Cathie waited for us on the ice rink.  I felt that since I was halfway there, I might as well go to the top...right?  We crammed in another elevator for what was another fairly lengthy ride up.  We stepped off and the view immediately took my breath away.  All the lights of Paris twinkling in the distance, the Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur, and Notre Dame gleaming with pride.  It was incredible and I could have stayed there for hours despite the cold and wind.  

Fran and Kerry

I took about a million pictures, but have tried to only pick the best ones to post here.  Now, I want to go on a sunny spring day and catch everything in the day time!  We descended back down to the first floor and met up with Natalie and Cathie for a little skating.  The ice rink was quite small...although I don't know what I was expecting on the Eiffel Tower.  Luckily, there weren't a lot of people so we actually had room to skate.  Most were amateurs like us, and were doing it just for the sake of saying..."Yes, I've been ice skating on the Eiffel Tower...haven't you?!"  

The ride down to the ground floor was sad, and I didn't want to leave, but the wind was beginning to pick up and I wasn't wearing as many layers as I should have!  

It was late, but I decided to grab some dinner with Fran and Kerry...completely losing track of time.  I sprinted to the metro, twiddled my thumbs the whole ride and dashed up my stairs because I forgot I was suppose to Skype with my Mimi at 11!! Ooh la la.... it was the fastest I have ever made it up my stairs and the chances of that happening ever again are slim to none. :)  

Wonderful first vacation week, although I hope my second week is a little more relaxed.  Going to Brussels Saturday and Sunday with Kerry and am SO excited!!  Ready to get out of France for a couple of days!