De la Vie, l'Amour et la Mort

Aujourd'hui, I went to Le Catacombes de Paris.

STOP
THIS HERE, IS THE EMPIRE OF THE DEAD

If I thought the catacombes in Rome were creepy, Paris was ten times worse

Triplets?

History 101: The catacombs used to be stone quarries in the 1700's but were later transformed into a burial ground due to the lack of consecrated space (ie. space around churches). These catacombs contain about six million people and are 45km in length.

After climbing down a tiny, dark, spiraling staircase 103 steps down, you walk through these tiny, dark hallways with water dripping from the ceiling. You then go beneath the door that says "this is the empire of the dead". Once you step inside you are surrounded by rows and rows of bones that go on forever.

It was awesome.

J'ai fait semblant que je ne parlais pas anglais et j'ai demandé à cet adolescent américain de prendre une photo de moi. She stared at me for a second and then her friend said "I think she wants you to take a picture for her." 

I love speaking two languages. 

This is probably the most morbid thing I have ever done

After getting a little lost (but not too lost!!!), I found my way to Notre Dame where I stumbled upon Pont de l'Archevêché, which is the bridge where lovers lock padlocks onto wire sides to seal their love.

The ultimate Forever Alone photo

I then walked around Notre Dame where I found an old man feeding the pigeons.

"Feed the birds, tuppence a bag" - Marry Poppins

He saw me watching and handed me some rice and one of the pigeons flew onto my hand and ate from it. 

This is Katrina trying to be as brave as the little girl over there

I was frightened, fascinated, and finding the moment fantastic all at the same time. How often does one get to stand in the square in front of Notre Dame and feed pigeons?



I finally went inside Notre Dame.

Is it just me, or do the round window remind you of those dutch cookies?

History 101: Construction of the church becan in 1163 during the reign of Louis VII because Bishop Maurice de Sully thought the old church unworthy. It was completed around 1345: 182 years later! Notre-Dame de Paris was among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress (arched exterior supports), which was popular in Gothic architecture in the medieval period.


It was really lovely, because I was able to stay for a vespers. It was absolutely beautiful. The organ was playing and they had this wonderful alto singing. It would bring tears to your eyes to think about the hundreds of christians and catholics that had worshipped here for thousands of years.

Cara! They played a magnificat!

Music 101: The organ has 7,374 pipes, with ca 900 classified as historical. It has 110 real stops, five 56-key manuals and a 32-key pedalboard. A two-year restoration of the organ was completed that fully computerized the organ under three LANs (Local Area Networks). The restoration also included a number of additions, notably two further horizontal reed stops en chamade in the Cavaille-Coll style. The Notre-Dame organ is therefore unique in France in having five fully independent reed stops en chamade.

To continue living like the French, I finished off my day with an espresso and crepe confiture in a brasserie beside the cathedral.

 

C'est la vie.