Day 23 ... highlights Paris Catacombs and sitting "on deck"

... today is our last full day in Paris and we spent some of it waiting in line, some of it underground, and some of it observing lifeforms ...

Catacombs

The Paris Catacombs is an ossuary that houses the bones of approximately 6 million human remains ... some facts and personal observations pour vous:

• Paris cemetaries were too full and becoming public health concerns and in 1785 State Council decreed that the task of preparing a site for these remains fell to the Quarry Department
• Paris has quarries under the city that were used to mine limestone to build most of Paris' buildings
• the Quarry Department decided to house the remains in the quarries under the streets of Paris
• I was a bit awe struck at: a) the number of bones [lotta dem bones]; and, b) found it interesting how they were stacked so neat and tidy ... very organized in a most A-type fashion ... & there were a number of areas where they made designs out of the skulls ... heart shape in one area, a happy face in another, a design I couldn't quite figure out with three crosses, and a stand-alone wine barrel using mostly tibias and skulls [about six feet high ... and much wider than that] ...
• c'est tres macabre ... and I'm proud to say that Sabine found this all rather interesting ...
• there is even poetry on plaques lining the walls of bones, here's an example:
• Latin:

Mors te manet certissima; / Ir certa sed mortis dies.

Ut mente semper excubes, / Homo latet lux ultima.

~ Hezette

• Translated:

Your morning of death is certain / A deadly day even upon contest
When mind always exhumes / On one's self to be an avenger of unknown light. ~ Hezette

• I could go on about the history of the how, what, why but I'm sure those that are interested will Google this ...

So, oddly enough as I was walking through the catacombs I felt like I was still on our boat abode ... felt like as I was walking the ground beneath me was swaying ... ... the last day or so we've had some pretty big swells on the river and have really felt the rocking ... I guess you get so used to the motion that when you get on terra firma you still "feel it" ...

"On Deck"

Repeatedly today we found ourselves "on deck" ... just enjoying the view and observing life in gay Paris. Every time we returned to the boat it was time for a glass of wine [pineapple juice for Bean] and a moment to take pause and observe life on the River Seine and its banks. I would say my favourite moment today on deck was ... upon return from the Catacombs, whilst drinking the remainder of one bottle of white:

• Captain Bob joined us on deck and as we conversed a rather large albino-looking spider was swaying to and fro behind him whilst trying to make what appeared to be the world record of spider webs ... first Sabine noticed it around his neck area and it made its way down to his mid-torso area ... swaying, swaying, swaying ... and then it dive-bombed down to the deck ... and then proceed to spin its way back up ... almost touching his calf a few times and then - phew! the conversation ended ... and there it was, that rather large albino-looking spider hanging around eye-level ... it was given a swat with a beer can [and you wouldn't believe the loud "thunk" noise it made ... and then it was spinning] ... then using its web and the beer can the poor shrivelled albino-looking spider was laid to rest ... on the deck ... sad - I know
• in the meantime ... ... there was a lot of police activity on the water ... 4 officers [2 in uniform, 2 in dive suits] went zooming past our floating abode in a black dingy-type boat with a powerful motor ... and then a larger, slower police cruiser type boat went past ... and then the black dingy-type boat went zipping past again this time on the left bank across the river ... honestly, that is the first time I've ever wanted to be a police officer - but, only if I could get "boat patrol ... in the black-dingy thing" ...

Today's Photo: taken mid-way through the Catacombs at waist level a row of perfect skulls - skull after skull after skull after skull - thought this perspective and angle was kind of cool ...

Cheers - RGR