Bones of the Long Departed and Bubbly Balanced on a Balloon - Friday, 30th April 2010

This morning Asha and I visited the Catacombes. In 1785 it was decided to solve the hygiene and aesthetic problems posed by Paris’ overflowing cemeteries by exhuming the bones and storing them in the tunnels of three disused quarries.

We entered through a small dark green belle époque style building and descended 130 steps down a small stone spiral staircase, about 20 metres underground. We then walked about 750 metres through small dimly lit winding stone tunnels and after what seemed quite a long distance, arrived at the Ossuary. It was an eerie and strange sight which went on forever! The bones and skulls of approximately 6 million Parisians are neatly packed along each and every wall. It is a very unusual and very out of the ordinary sight to behold! I wasn’t really sure how I felt while I was down there and wouldn’t do it again here. To depart the catacombs we ascended the 83 steps of an even smaller stone spiral staircase and exited out of a very non-descript building in a different part of town. A very unique and unusual part of Paris – which seems to have a bit of everything!!

The remainder of the afternoon was spent just relaxing with a bit of a Nana nap thrown in! I think I might be uber dehydrated because I’m feeling overly fatigued – so am currently trying to drink as much water as possible and rehydrate back to my usually non-stop energetic self. Too much to see and do!

In the evening I went to the Paris Pardis Latin Show. It is in a Theatre built by Gustav Eiffel and is extremely ornate and beautiful. The show was lots of fun. Each of the shows I’ve seen in Paris all have their own special touches and I really enjoyed this one. I was most impressed with the man on the uni-cycle who balanced a bottle of champagne on a balloon on about a 30 cm long round stick he held in his mouth like a straw. He then popped the balloon and caught and balanced the bottle on the stick all while riding the uni-cycle. It was very cool!

I’ve also noticed that Indians love these shows and saw large contingents of them both at the Lido and Paradis Latin. The ladies are dressed in their traditional Saris and the groups look like they have a lot of fun. I think my next overseas trip might need to be back to Fabulous India!