Paris

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OK, Paris. Basically this town is really dirty, the people are strange, but somehow it is incredibly attractive. It is also huge beyond comprehension, from the very top of Sacre Couer one can see city in all directions as far as the eye can see, a concept that does bode well for myself.

The coolest thing about Paris is how limitless it is, you can get anywhere affordably and quickly, and there are noteworthy things of all sorts around from all periods of history, and at all cost ranges. For instance: you can visit the Notre Dame for free (not reccomended: it has a wierd touristy air to it. go see another basilica from another old part of town) or the Catacombs for something like three euros (highly reccomended).

M

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Photos

Arc de Troimphe
This is an arch erected in memory of Napoleon's victories in the nineteenth century. It is also a memorial to the French victories in WWI and WWII, as well as the monument to all the unknown French dead in WWI and an eternal flame commemorating them.

Notre Dame de Paris
Though unfortunately touristy (to such a degree that one might feel little to no spiritual significance from being here), this building is most outstanding. It was built mostly between 1160 and 1225, but not fully completed in 1345. It is in the French Gothic style. My personal reccomendation is to go during a mass (we did this by happenstance) stay and enjoy it. This way, there are less tourists walking around and you can enjoy the church more for what it is than as a piece of art.

Sainte Chappelle
This church was built by Saint Louis to be a reliquary and church for himself. It is incredible, and my photos do it no justice.

Eric At Notre Dame
This is Eric, he's kinda dorky.

Fountains at the Musee du Louvre
These are some really cool fountains at the Louvre. The picture turned out neat and it seems that people would like to see more of us. So, voila... Eric.

Palais
Some palace near the Louvre. I am not sure who lived there, but it was probably some overpaid French beaurocrat or aristocrat of whom neither of has heard. It is of interest though, because it has the revolutionary motto "Libertie, Egaltie, Fraternite" engraved on it now. Also, it is really sweet and it has nice fountains.

Seine
This is the Seine at night, near the Cite area.

Eric in the Catacombs
Eric and I went into les catacombes de Paris. They are a series of old quarries dating as far back as the first century AD, but predominately used around the 18th and 19th centuries.

Les Catacombes
This is an old tunnel in the catacombs, I think this one dated to the 1800s. It went on and on for quite some time. We went down something like 86 stairs before even getting to this part.

Les Catacombes - Part Deux
In the mid to late seventeen hundreds, some cemetaries around paris became full. So, many (around three million by the time they quit in the mid 19th century) bodies were exhumed and put into the catacombs. They are arranged with incredible intricacy, and morbid beauty. Some places are patterns of skulls, et cetera. The majority of the place is a large expanse of bones walled in by neatly stacked femurs.

Les Catacombes - Plaque
The skeletons are grouped by when and whence they were exhumed, so most groups have a few plaques saying when that was, some poetry pertaining to the materal, and some even had alters. The whole area where there are bodies is an area sanctified by the Catholic church. This is a small poem from in there.

ORLY
hahaha

In the immortal words of Sammi Kreider
Storm the Bastille!
Except someone had that idea and now the Bastille is no more. But theres a nice one of these there in its memory.

Comments

[Mommina]

Have Fun
We are all so happy for the two of you. Thanks for the informative captions. May I please have your express permission in writing to lift your photos for scrapbooking purposes? :) Love ya Matty. Hi to Eric. ~Mom

[Mommina]

PS
Eric doesn't look dorky; he looks classy.

[t3h Beav]

duuuuuude!
Those are some sweet pics, mate. How long did you guys stay in France? Are you finally in Vienna, or what?

[paul]

wtf
where's all the pic of the people. building, building, building omg

[Kandi]

Are you really there?
Please have Eric hold the camera and take some pix of you at your next stop. I know there will be plenty of opportunities before you move on. As you make new friends, take pix with them, too. You must keep your audience happy!! A.Kandi