We started the day slowly and we visited the Catacombs of Paris. It was very sobering as there were thousands of bones from hundreds of years ago. There were stacked together and even had designs made from the skull bones. It was lit with lanterns and you had to climb down a lot of stairs and through a hall way of brick and stones. There were poems and quotes in French along the route and was a very interesting experience.
After the catacombs, we walked and toured the Eiffel Tower. We took the elevator to the top and walked down afterwards. The elevator operators will cram you in with as many people as it will hold. It was uncomfortable for sure. We went to the top and had a glass of champagne and enjoyed the view. It was so much bigger than I thought it would be and the cable mechanisms were crazy. At the top, there is even a small apartment that the designer had used to host distinguished guests. It started to rain as we were descending on the stairs so a lot of tourists hide under alcoves and trees, which meant that we were able to take some great pictures without a whole lot of people around. We crossed the bridge and took the view from Place du Trocadero but it had a lot of people trying to sell you keepsakes or try to get you to let them take your picture. We didn’t stay long there.
We took the metro to the Montmartre area and walked all around it.
We played on The Carrousel de Saint Pierre, the Funiculaire Gare Basse, and Basilique du Sacre-Coeur. It was raining off and on the entire time. The panoramic view from the top of Sacre-Coeur was a beast to get to the top of. The stairs were very narrow and it took forever. It was exhausting honestly and my knees were not happy. Going down was even worse. I kept both hands on the walls since there were no rails and I got a bit of motion sickness since it felt like the stairs were never going to stop. On the grounds of the church, lining the fences were thousands and locks. The staff was actually using bolt cutters to remove them one by one from the fencing since it is now illegal to place them there.
Inside the church was very quiet and Maria and I both lit candles and had moments of reflection.
After the church. We went to Place du Tertre and had lunch. We tried frog legs. I didn’t really like them. The tiny bones were too much for me.
Then we started exploring different artistic pieces around the city and the national cemetery.
Afterwards we went back to the hotel, showered and went to the Moulin Rouge show.
I had no idea that it was a mostly topless show with the dancers wearing a thong for the majority of the time. I guess I didn’t pay enough attention when I watched the movie to realize what was actually going on.
The seats were very packed with about 800 people in attendance and the dance routines and costumes were really interesting.
My favorite were the solo and couple acrobatics. The strength and flexibility was insane.
I realized that we were going to something more risqué when it was surrounded by topless and nude bars with lots of security.
The next morning we caught the train headed to Saint Jean to get ready for our adventure
Living A Shattered Life 