so today we didnt have class and it was so nice!! we chilled in the morning and then headed over to the Eiffel tower to meet some friends. from there we went to the catacombs of paris. the catacombs consists of underground passageways that are lined and lined and lined with bones…human bones. back when the plague was around, the people of the town thought that the cemeteries were a danger to public health so they decided to move all the bones from every cemetery…not a fun job i would think.

anyway, we get to the entrance (which is just a very unassuming black building) and wait in line for about 20 mins. then we go in and go down this spiral staircase that seems to go on forever. then when we actually get underground, we have to walk down a very long tunnel that just keeps growing deeper and deeper beneath the city. it is very dark, and very cold. so after walking through all these narrow tunnels with low ceilings and taking a countless number of twists and turns, we make it to the actual catacombs. above the doorway is a sign that reads, “stop. you are about to enter the room of death” or something like that…whatever it said, it was creepy.

so we walk in and are immediately welcomed by hundreds and hundreds of bones. it was so strange and kind of sick because they had arranged them in patterns, kind of like turning them into a work of art. it totally wasnt art though. the skulls were just everywhere and the femur bones were all stacked very meticulously. this went on for a very long time. i can not even imagine how many bones were in there. and it wasnt just like a wall was covered in them, the walls consisted of them…they were quite deep too. then we got to this place where water was dripping and that added to the unsettling mood already in the air. it was pretty cool, and we had fun, but it was just very strange. i only took like 2 pictures because it was the same thing all the way down…skulls and other bones (so is that like a chi-o’s paradise? just curious). i think the whole tour was about a kilometer. we went through it in about 30 mins or so. then we went back up the very long spiral staircase and came out of another very unassuming building on a random side street. interesting afternoon.

then for dinner my family wasn’t here (they have a house in Normandy and they go pretty frequently, so they are there until tomorrow night) so ashley and i cooked a pizza. it was pretty good too! and we were quite proud for figuring out the oven. i don’t know what is happening tomorrow, but there is a city wide music festival so we are going to check that out. apparently they have concerts all day, all around town, including churches. should be very cool! i woke up from a nap the other day to a group in the street practicing…it was really cool and they were good! oh did i tell you that there is no air conditioning here? and that there is a school right under us so the kids at recess are sooo loud? and that we have to keep our windows open all the time? so yes, i wake up to children yelling every morning…haha! it is ok though. i am not looking forward to the 100 degree weather back home. here it is a perfect 60 or 70 every day. be jealous. :)