It was a really short trip, of course, because we only had the weekend, but we really packed in a lot. My three friends and I arrived on the Eurostar early on Saturday morning, checked into our hotel, and then hit the streets.
Our first stop (after we enjoyed a fine Parisian breakfast, of course) were the catacombs. It's where all the exhumed plague-ridden remains were taken in the late 1700's. The passageways go on forever, and I can't even guess how many hundreds of thousands of humain remains are there. We were down there so long that the poor air quality eventually got to the four of us and a bit of headaches and nausea set in. It was unfortunate, but still didn't detract from the experience.
We spent the rest of the day wandering and eating, and in the evening, we wandered and ate some more. We had delicious food and fantastic champagnes, and I had a chocolate mousse that was so good I proposed marriage to it.
Eventually, we made our way across the Seine to Notre Dame cathedral, which was a sight to behold, inside and out. The stunning interior was bathed in very soft light and many prayer candles. Images of the life of Christ were being projected onto a large screen at the rear of the altar, and gothic music was playing softly. It was quite reverent and very moving.
After that, we continued walking, exploring the city at night, and eventually took a very long walk back up the Seine toward our hotel. The Eiffel tower was shining a revolving light out into the foggy sky, making for quite an unbelievable sight. I'll never forget it. Though the walk was incredible, we eventually got tired and took a cab the rest of the way back, getting in very late.
The next day, the group split in two, and I spent the day at the Louvre. We saw indescribable beauty in the art there, and I won't even go into it all, because I'd never shut up about it. The paintings, sculptures and artifacts there were breathtaking. Interestingly enough, the most famous works- the Mona Lisa, the Venus De Milo- were some of the least interesting things I saw. There was a sculpture of Cupid and Psyche that completely stole the show. Just stunning.
That evening, we all met back up, and before we knew it, we were back on the Eurostar to London. Short, but sweet.
Better than my words are some pictures I took, which you can find by clicking THIS LINK TO MY FLICKR PAGE.
Merci beaucoup, Paris!
