We make it through the entrance and here goes. We go down what might have been the longest set of circular stairs ever. We had a stop a few times to prevent nausea. We make it down after about five minutes and it's pretty dark. No one is ahead of us and the people behind us were not in sight. Creepy. The history of the Catacombs is along the walls, so we are able to read all about it. We didn't know much about it before going. Then we walk along more corridors. They were dark and cold and you would occasionally have water droplets drip on you. I almost felt as if I was in a cavern with no stalagmites or stalagtites. Alright, give me props for remembering those terms.
I took quite a bit of pictures, but not many turned out since the lighting was less than favorable. I managed to get a few and I hope they capture what it was like down there. I can't even express to you how many bones are down there. Millions of people are buried there. The story behind the Catacombs is this - Back in the 1700s there were diseases that were killing of tons of people. The cemetaries were filling up too quickly and some were speculating that the dead bodies in the cemetaries were causing some of the diseases as well, from improper burials. The already existing querries were used. Our tour was 45 minutes and it was just a small part of the Catacombs system which is approximately 300km/186mi in length.
Most of the pathways were very narrow and gave hardly any headspace. Then we would walk into these areas with massive ceilings like this.
We read about all the famous people that are buried down there. It gave the story of who they were and how they were killed. What an unjust time in history! I can't imagine. By the time the tour came to an end, we remembered all the stairs we came down...knowing we now had to go up them all. I thought it would be fun to count how many there were, but just before we started, I noticed a sign saying there were 84 steps. Not as many as I thought, but still a good amount when you are in a staircase the width of your body going around and around and around. Right when we thought we were home free, there were security guards checking bags for any bones. Now, this is funny to me. Usually we operate on a supply-demand/cause-effect system. There are people checking for bones, because at some point bones must have gone missing. That's morbid people.
Alright, church was in a few hours. We still had to go see Pompidou Center, which is actually located just near Hillsong. We didn't actually go inside. We were just happy to get the pics of the outside. I love Paris because you are always hearing musicians just playing anywhere and everywhere. It's not limited to saxophone players. You will see more men dragging a karaoke machine around than a guitar. Actually I don't think I've seen anyone with a guitar. Back to Pompidou, it's pretty cool. Not like something you would think you would find in Paris. It sticks out in such a traditionally French area.
We had two hours to spare until we had to be at church, and I didn't have a plan. Hmm what to do, what to do? So we walked. I really don't know the area, because I usually just get off at the Rambuteau stop and hop on over to church. We were all starting to get quiet and irritable again. That meant we needed chocolate and Coke. I didn't know where I was going, Sam and Melissa were tired of walking. In my head I was thinking, "There HAS to be a Patisserie around here SOMEWHERE." No luck. I have never gone more than two blocks anywhere in Paris without seeing some sort of bakery or snack place. We saw a McDonald's, which meant we were at a main area, which meant there HAD to be a patisserie nearby. We walk down this random street near this huge majestic, yet out-of-place, arch with a mass of pigeons underneath.
This was the Middle Eastern sect of Paris. The patisserie wasn't necessarily "French", but they sold the pastries. We didn't have time to be picky at this point. Melissa and I really want the Pain Chocolat. We found them, but noticed a gnat buzzing around. I said, "Melissa, there's a gnat." She said "I know." I said, "Do you think we can ignore it if there is only one?" We both got the Pain Chocolat. Sam got an eclair. Sodas at McDonald's are cheaper and include ice, so we trek over there to eat our pastries. It wasn't the nicest Micky Ds I've been to, but whatever. I didn't even get ice in my Coca Light. None. Sam's coffee was only half full. We don't speak French so we can't complain to them. We just have to suck it up. After we finish our desserts, Melissa takes out her anti-bacterial gel. Randomly Sam says, "I'm glad we didn't eat each other." We all cry from laughter. I couldn't breath and the vein in my forehead was popping out. She meant to say sarcastically that she was glad we waited till after eating to use the gel. Whatever the case, she made a good point. I am glad we didn't eat each other also.
We walked back and stumbled upon a cool church with door that I loved. Love love love.
We made it church a little late. We sat towards the back. It was hot. Steamy hot. Metro car hot. Great service. Sam and Melissa were able to experience a bilingual service. However, this time we had a speaker that spoke French and the translation was in English, which is backwards from what we are used to. I feel as though I learned more French that night than any other. We talked afterwards to a few friends, but then headed out in search of food.
We walked around Saint Michel again so that we could pick what we wanted. Sam had been craving pizza for days. We found a pizza place, but we knew it probably wouldn't satisfy. Then we remembered there was a Domino's Pizza near my building. We were off! We got there, walked up to the menu on the wall to look at our future feast, only to have a worker say "Closed, sorry". The feeling of defeat poured over us. The girls said that they would be happy with sandwiches. As much as I dearly love sandwiches, that was not going to fit the bill on this night. I needed REAL food. I looked up Rue Saint Dominic (which happens to be so pretty this time of night) and saw the good ole Asian Restaurant that I had eaten at with Zac and Verena the day before they left for Greece. It was open and I was happy. We got back home and enjoyed our feast.
Melissa really wanted ice. On this trip, I learned that Melissa has a thing for ice. When I told her we didn't have an ice machine, she looked so sad. I said that I thought there were ice trays in the freezer. She hopped up and ran over.
She couldn't believe the lack of use of the beautiful trays. Why don't the French use ice? I can't answer that. She dumped out the old ice with crumbs stuck to them and began making new cubes while praising Jesus.
It was a good night. We had to get to bed soon, so that we would be ready for breakfast before heading off to the Eiffel Tour. Stay tuned for some great pics!
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