I went to Europe, part 2

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

9 days in Paris, day 3 . . .

sculpture of Port-Mahon by Decure

a resident of the Catacombs

High on the list of things Husband and I wanted to do was visit les Catacombes de Paris. We stood in line for over an hour to get in, but I think it was worth it. As with much of sight-seeing in Paris, the tour comes with a history lesson. We opted not to take the guided tour and followed along with the visitor's guide and signage.

Musee du vin

The geology bits were interesting, as were the stories of the removing of the skeletons into the ossuary. The whole process was just fascinating. I enjoyed reading all of the verses about death carved into the walls throughout the catacombs. I can't help but wonder if the people who moved all of the bones and arranged them into patterns found the process creepy, or if they adjusted to it very quickly. I didn't think it was creepy, but then again, I wasn't the one arranging skulls into heart and cross shapes. I was surprised that some of the bones had been tagged. Why would you sign your name on someone's skull? The photos we took in the ossuary are all very dark, as you can see here, so we bought a few postcards before heading to the wine museum.


The Musee du Vin was cool. Of course the wine tasting at the end was the highlight (I liked the sweet white, Husband preferred the red). Most of the exhibits were tools for making and drinking wine, and the process of making wine was explained. We have some cool photos of old bottles and cups and various implements. I think we had the most fun making up conversations for the wax figures though. We think the guy in blue has had too much to drink, and based on that outfit, may have started before getting dressed. The guy in black looks much more sober considering he has two empty bottles and heavy eyelids.

Part 1 and the reason for the long posting break.