catacombs. i see dead people. then also cafe charlot.

thursday. catacomb day. woo.

thank you wikipedia:

The Catacombs of Paris or Catacombes de Paris are a famous underground ossuary in Paris, France. Located south of the former city gate, the "Barrière d'Enfer", at today's Place Denfert-Rochereau), the ossuary holds the remains of about 6 million people^[1] and fills a renovated section of caverns and tunnels that are the remains of Paris' stone mines. Opened in the late 18th century, the underground cemetery became a tourist attraction on a small scale from the early 19th century, and has been open to the public on a regular basis from 1867.

we arrive at the catacombs, no line. we head downstairs. long long spiral staircase. dark. keep walking. walk through all these tunnels every corner i keep stopping. slash baby-stepping. slash being terrified. so amelia agrees to lead the way. i have NO idea what to expect. i assume dead bodies will just be there. around the corner.

we walk. and walk. and walk. it slopes down. we go deeper and deeper underground. the ceilings get so low. and after what feels like ages. we are there. the entrance to the bones. we walk in. and at first i am in shock. so many bodies. they are all completely taken apart. walls have been created using large bones as bricks. with skulls dispersed throughout creating patterns and crosses. behind these walls of bones other bones are literally thrown. just piled up.

the catacombs were made a result of a common problem. there used to be a tendency to build cemeteries on hills. which lead to health issues with run-off and what not. cemeteries were dug up, and all the bodies were transported to the catacombs. the process was extremely long, and many body parts were lost. not that you'd be able to tell since all the bodies have been taken apart bone by bone.

the piles of bones go on forever. winding paths lead to sign after sign of different cemeteries. we take photos. touch the bones. water drips from the ceiling creating an eerie environment and fuzzy bones in some places.

we eventually exit through an endless and steep winding spiral staircase. we find ourselves in the 14th. we walk for a bit. and hop on a metro. head first to the first arrondissement then split to go home.

i shower (dead people), nap, and eventually get up to meet sophie greg fel and ben for dinner at cafe charlot in the fourth.

sophie greg felicity and i meet at the metro, ben has arrived at cafe charlot early (well, rather, he has arrived on time and we are late) and gotten a great round booth table. we arrive by 8:30, happy our ends at 9:00. parfait.

this place is know for its burgers. we order drinks. we order food. we enjoy the atmosphere. schmooze. the cafe is tres francais in decor. we then also notice it bares striking resemblance to the cafes of soho. haha.

we ultimately had burgers in soho. no big deal. we all split. ben is heading to barca in the am. i am l'tired. greg sophie and fel head to the social club for a DJ performance. concert? show? whatever a verb a DJ is associated with.