Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Tuesday Night in Paris
So, today we started at Notre Dame. It's a gorgeous, 700-year old cathedral. We got to see the inside and out, though we didn't climb the over-400 stairs to the top. Go figure!
From Notre Dame, we walked to the Conciergerie, a prison built in the 1780's. The room shown in the photo above is where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned before she was taken to the guillotine.
From the Conciergerie, we walked to the underground catacombs of Paris. This was eerie, fascinating, creepy, scary, and grotesque. In 1786, the citizens of Paris decided to relieve congestion and improve sanitary conditions by emptying the city cemeteries into an official ossuary. The used an underground limestone quarry and stackeentd bones five feet high and 80-feet deep. There is a sign posted before the stacked bones begin which reads: Halt: This is the empire of the dead" in French. The tunnel we walked through is over a mile long and is 60 feet underground. I'm glad I saw it, but hope to never return.
We spent the rest of the day enjoying some "open air markets" in Paris where flower shops, bakeries, restaurants, souvenir shops, etc. are lined on cobblestone streets closed off from traffic.
Tomorrow, we're off to Versailles to visit Marie Antoinette. Or at least her former home.
Wishing you all a wonderful evening!
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4 comments:
It sounds like you two are having a fantastic time. I've been wanting to visit those catacombs for years. I hope you resolve your flight problems but like you said, Paris is a great place to be stranded.
Paris is beautiful. I hope you problems with the strike will soon be gone and you are able to fly home.
What great places and things you have seen! Hope someone gets you home soon!
Thanks again for the pics. I enjoy visiting Paris with you.
Stay Safe!