Viaje: Paris

"Hey Molly, do you want to hang tomorrow?"

"No, I can't. I'm going to Paris for the weekend."

First time (and maybe the only time?) I have ever said that in my life!

But yes, it is true. I did go to Paris, France for the weekend to visit my dear friend Tyler Mitchell. It was a hoot. We had three full days of tourism, pictures, and pastries. 


We visited Arc de Triomphe, Tour d’Eiffel, Les Catacombes, Les Vendanges, Sacre Cœur, Hôtel de ville, Notre Dame, Jardin Tuileries and Le Louvre (French courtesy of Tyler). Talk about a full weekend!

Arc de Triomphe

Me

Tyler

Our first must-see attraction was of course the Eiffel Tower, which is indeed impressive. It is pretty tall (although if you will remember from a previous post: not as tall as the Rock of Gibraltar!), and actually a beautiful sight to see. 

And of course, we had to go to the top. After waiting in lines for far too long (and feeling like I was about to ride the Raging Bull at Six Flags), we finally made it to the elevator that would take us to the tippity top. The elevator ride was actually scarier than I imagined, but the end view was definitely worth the nerves. 

From the top, you can really see the massive city of Paris. I honestly did not realize that it is incredibly HUGE. 

View of the Arc de Triomphe

We also saw it at night for the light show!

Not a very good quality photo, but that is me being very excited about the light show

Although the Eiffel Tower was lovely, and made me feel pretty French, my favorite activity of the weekend was definitely the Catacombs. 

This was a definite must-see for me because my brother told me that if I had the chance, I had to see the Catacombs. I guess you could say he would die to see them. And he was right--they are awesome. 


I really did not know what to expect from this adventure, but upon entering the Catacombs, I read a sign that read "Warning: We inform people suffering from cardiac or respiratory insufficiency of risks related to the visit of the Catacombs. The ossuary tour could make a strong impression on children and people of a nervous disposition." And then I thought, "This is gonna be sweet."


Here is a little background on the Catacombs:

At the end of the 18th century, rampant disease in the les Halles neighborhood caused by the adjacent Cemetery of the Innocents led to the mass grave being entirely exhumed. In 1785, it was decided that the bones were to be moved to the building stone quarry under the Montsouris plain in the south of Paris. On April 7, 1786, after being properly converted and readied, the quarries were consecrated and became the principal ossuary of Paris. Until 1788, cartloads covered with black clothes, escorted by priests chanting the office for the dead, crossed Paris by night to deposit their remains. 

After descending a spiral staircase that seemed to never end, we walked down narrow stone hallways 20 meters below ground level, beneath the metro and the water sewer systems. We also passed by some random historical sights, such as this sculpture:

"Port-Mahon sculptures"--Models representing the Port-Mahon palace in the main city in Minorca in the Balearic Islands. Made from 1777 to 1782, they were sculpted by memory by one of the first workers in the Quarry Inspections, who was imprisoned in the fort opposite the palace for a very long time. He was killed in a cave-in while trying to build an access stairway at this location.

While that was all interesting (and sad--that guy died there!), things really started to pick up when we entered a cavern with a sign above the arch that read "Empire of Death." And in a few seconds I saw why my brother was so interested in the Catacombs. 

 You really cannot imagine what it is like to walk through the Catacombs, and my pictures (though I am a talented photographer) do not fully convey the sight nor the feeling of walking through over a mile of human bones.  

 An estimated of 5 to 6 million bones have been moved to the Catacombs, and are now stacked in huge, orderly piles. 

They also had engraved signs posted around the stacks of bones. Some indicated which cemetery the bones came from, others had poems on them. For example, one read: "A man should always consider that the same fate awaits you." How uplifting.

Another creepy tidbit: They used to hold mass here

Tyler and I spent a lot of time down there, taking inappropriate pictures with the dead and making morbid jokes. 

Lady Gaga in the Catacombs
Inappropriate, I know, but I just had to do it.

We had a great time. And when we finally felt we had seen quite enough bones for the day, we had lunch in the park. 

My bomb sandwich: kinda like a grilled cheese, but better

 Then, right next to the park, we pretty much accidentally found Les Vendanges, a parade to celebrate the harvest. We watched Parisians in traditional outfits march down the street carrying grapes, wine, fish, and other French delights. There was also some musical entertainment as well. 

 Next we went to Sacre Cœur. It's no Sevilla Cathedral, but beautiful nonetheless. 

 We also (again accidentally--what good luck we have!) found a wine tasting festival on the church grounds. And I tried escargot for the first time! It had garlic in it, so I was sure to like it. And indeed, I did. 

 We had dinner with a friend of Tyler's in one of his favorite restaurants. I had the very French dish of steak tar tar.  

 We also visited Notre Dame, another fine Gothic cathedral.  

 Sunday morning, we visited the market in Tyler's part of the city and bought fresh shrimp. 

 We then spent our afternoon sitting in the Jardin Tuileries under beautiful fall colored trees (which made me very happy since I was missing Wisconsin fall), reclined in our chairs and eating our fresh shrimp with our French baguette, butter (the French make excellent butter), wine, and dessert of course. 

 As we sat down, I actually had to laugh a little: What a way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Life is so stressful abroad.  

 Last but not least we went to Le Louvre. This thing is huge.  (I couldn't even fit it all in one photo!)

What a great couple
Tyler and I in front of the pyramid

But enough of all that boring stuff. What you really want to know is how many French desserts I tasted! Well, 11 to be exact. 

If you are interested, here is the complete list of desserts according to Tyler: Pain au chocolat, Longchamp, Strawberry shortcake type thing, Tarte fraise, Tarte framboise, Tartine du chocolat, Crème brûlée, Demi cuit, Croissant aux amandes, Crossant aux noix et chocolat, Crêpe Nutella et banan. 

Overall, Paris was definitely a change of pace for me. First of all, it was a little strange to not be able to communicate at all with anybody. My Spanish is not perfect, but I can always get by--but that is most definitely not the case in Paris. Although I will admit it is a little fun floating ignorantly around the city not knowing (or really caring) what anyone is saying, it can get a little frustrating at times. Secondly, it was also strange for me to spend time with an old friend. I have made many new friends in Sevilla, but none of them know me as well as Tyler. And it was actually a little weird for me to be in a brand new place with one of my best friends. Lastly, Paris is a huge city. The pace of life and general attitude is much different from what I have grown accustomed to during my time here. Sevilla is a much smaller city, where people walk slow and take naps during the day. Paris was lovely, and I had a great weekend with my pal Tyler, but I realized that I prefer the pace of life of a Spaniard. (guess it's a good thing that I am studying here, huh?). 

I don't think I will be learning French anytime soon, but it was definitely a fantastic weekend.  

And of course, I can check this off on my list of "Things to Do!" =)