Back to Paris

Back to Paris
We tried to arrange to go to see Mont St. Michel but because the volcano in Iceland blew again, we were unable to arrange seats on the trains. Maybe we will try again after our trip to Corsica on May 14th.

Paris Catacombs (warning for young eyes– Pictures of skulls and bones below)
I was surprised to see such a long line for the Catacombs in the middle of the week, this early in the tourist season. We have been very fortunate to see so much throughout Europe without having to deal with the tourist hordes. After waiting in line, in the rain, for a half an hour, we finally descended the long spiral staircase and walked what seemed like a half a mile underground to get into the ossuary. The picture above shows nearby representations of Ports and was carved by a miner who was killed in a cave-in.

The graves in Paris were filling up with people from the many wars and pestilences, so it was decided to move many of the bones to catacombs underground. They were moved in carts down the streets of Paris in the middle of the night and placed with reverence deep underground.

An amazing sight to see thousands of bodies piled on each side for several blocks.

It is said that even the bones of the King and Queen Marie Antoinette of France are down here although during the July Monarchy, after about a decade, the king sent down some men to look for these bones. They were able to find some that still had some very expensive stockings that supposedly belonged to Queen Marie Antoinette.

A very cool lion in the square outside the catacombs. He is said to be facing away from the then powerful Prussians.