Paris, France – I advised the twin-agers to try to sleep on the overnight flight from Boston to Paris, but they did not heed my advice. They watched movies. So here we are in the taxi from the airport to our AirBnb.
So we didn’t do much on our first day in Paris. But never mind, we did make to our pre-booked entry into the Paris catacombs. This place is incredible. The Paris catacombs are the final resting place of six million people, whose remains were essentially used as landfill.
The history here is that in the 18th century, Paris became overcrowded and the many cemeteries (dead bodies) were considered a health hazard. The administration decided to relocate the contents of the cemeteries away from the city center. Yes, the bodies. They moved the remains to abandoned underground quarries in southern Paris. From 1785 to 1815, dozens of cemeteries were systematically dug up, under cover of night, and the remains were dumped into the quarries.
Nowadays, you can descend 20 meters (131 steps) into the former quarries and pay your respects to the dead. Different sections of the catacombs are labeled by parish, so visitors can see what cemetery the remains came from. But the bones themselves are in piles on top of each other, with no distinction between honored citizens and forgotten paupers. Death is truly the great equalizer.
So everything passes on earth
Spirit, grace, beauty, talent
Such is an ephemeral flower
That the slightest wind overthrows.