Although we did manage to see a crazy lot while in Paris, it seemed to Christine and me that the majority of our time there was spent, not seeing great historical monuments and art, but waiting in line to see them. We were going to go to the Louvre on our second day, and actually put it off because of the overwhelmingly long line around the pyramid. As it turns out, we probably could've gone in through the Metro entrance, and waited about ten minutes, but we didn't know that (we did do just that, though, a couple days later, but then had to wait in line, again, just to show the people at the ticket counter our passport/visas to get a free ticket). So instead, we looked at the line, said "No effing way," and took another nice long walk all the way down the Champs Elysées.
Really, now that I'm thinking about it, at no point did we not wait in some unacceptably long line to get into wherever we were going. We waited for around twenty minutes outside Notre Dame (which is beautiful and amazing and I still recommend anyone going to Paris to see it because, well, duh...), and we waited to get into Musée D'Orsay - no, not at the ticket counter, to get in to where the ticket counters are. That was still a good visit, though, for me. I think it's my favorite Paris museum, really. If you like Impressionism, it's the place for you.
I am not joking about the lines
Our third day also consisted of a lot of waiting. In the morning, we caught an RER train to Versailles, where we waited. To be fair, we were actually waiting for Katy, who had been to the royal stables to see them exercise the horses and rehearse the equestrian show. But we were still waiting for around forty five minutes. It's pretty stunning, though. Everything about Versailles is opulent, down to the gilded gates of the courtyard and the cornices of the buildings.
I had actually already been to Versailles once before, on my very first trip to Europe. However, to our disappointment, at that time the all-famous Hall of Mirrors was undergoing restoration, and we didn't get the full effect. This time it was all open, and it is really quite beautiful (minus the hordes of people). We also took a brief walk around part of the grounds after coming out, which was nice because the last time I was there (in July, mark you) it was freezing cold and rainy, so we spent our time sheltering in the gift shop instead of looking at the elaborate, meticulously maintained gardens.
That night, we also waited. At the Moulin Rouge. Yes people, I have now seen a show at the Moulin Rouge, which was certainly an interesting experience. For starters, we were told to come about half an hour before the show "started", which meant that we waited outside for around half an hour, then they let as many of us as would fit into a small waiting area inside, where we waited for at least another half an hour. Then, when the earlier show finally let out, we were shown to our seats, where we waited again while they served up the champagne for those who had ordered it and seated the large numbers of asian tourist groups. The show itself was pretty okay; kind of a variety show like I would expect to see in Vegas with lots of feathers and sequins and boobs and lip-syncing and so-so dancing (the Can-Can, however, was amazing). There were also a few circus-like acts and a ventriloquist telling jokes in several languages. So overall, pretty fun, but definitely a one-time thing.
Our last, and most impressive, wait in Paris was on our fifth day there. It was totally worth it, though; we waited about two hours to go through the Catacombs. If you are at all claustrophobic or ossophobic (Is that a word? It is now...), I would not recommend going there, but it's honestly soo cool and creepy. The first part is not too terrifying, really; it's just cold and damp, with very small, dark passages that wind around a lot, but then you get to this door:
"ARRÊTE! C'EST ICI L'EMPIRE DE LA MORT"- STOP! THIS IS THE EMPIRE OF DEATH
In true nerd fashion, the first thing I thought of was the Paths of the Dead from Lord of the Rings, and actually, what follows really reminded me of that whole scene. Basically, the Catacombs were originally stone quarries, which were later filled with bones from overflowing Paris cemeteries during the late 1700s. Hence, the walls are literally made of bones, that the workers thoughtfully and artfully arranged. For example, a heart:
Or simply interesting shapes:
They also used relics found in the cemeteries to leave us appropriately creepy messages, such as:
"SILENCE, ÊTRES MORTELS"- SILENCE, MORTAL BEINGS
All in all, a truly haunting and impressive, but disturbing, experience. I felt like some prison rat emerging after years in a dark cell when we came back out to the land of the living, blinking because the clouded-over sun was too bright...
So that's basically it for our Paris trip. We had a good time and good food, and saw some cool things. And now, I will leave you with this deep and thought provoking question: Does chocolate make you liverish?
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