Best day in Paris so far!
Elyse and I left at 930 for the Catacombs, and who should I see in line? My senior year French 2 Student teacher, Mr. Schelagel! I feel bad, but I don't know how to spell his name. I was shocked. Who expects to see someone from Boise, Idaho who was your teacher traveling abroad? He was on the phone and asked for me to hold on for a second. Elyse headed to the back of the line to hold our spot. I waited as he got off the phone. It was crazy. I couldn't get over the fact that I was seeing someone I knew in Europe! He introduced me to his wife and two other family members. He asked why I was in Europe and I told him I was studying and told him about Utah State and the Interior Design program. I also told him about how my french has declined after he asked me about it. But he totally understood. He understood that after a year with speaking no french and only having two years of schooling it would decline. We talked about what to do in Paris and I told him about my experience at the Eiffel Tower the night before. He said he wanted to go at the same time we did. It was so good seeing him and all my memories from first semester French 2 came flooding back. Our class loved him. He was such a great teacher and so much fun! He would break into song and he made learning French so entertaining. After saying goodbye I went back to Elyse to wait in line. We didn't have too long to wait compared to Benae and Susie who got there after we did. We got in line and paid for our tickets and headed down to the catacombs. For a long while it was just long tunnels and some words on it. I was starting to get worried. I mean my idea was always bones, and what I was seeing wasn't bones. It turned out I wasn't going to be disappointed. A little further and there were these really cool carvings of buildings in the stone. They were small but very detailed. The person who carved these did an amazing job. After leaving the carvings behind we soon came to the bones. They tell you no flash because this is consecrated ground. It also asked you to be respectful. It is a a grave so you should treat it like any other. It was crazy to see. I wanted to but it was crazy that these were real bones, of a real human. It was mind boggling. There were patterns made out of the bones. They had skulls in one line and then a chunk of I’m guessing tibias. And then another line of skulls. At one point the skulls made a heart. It moved me. It made me think of the people they once were. It made me think that they probably loved someone. It was just a really moving symbol. Since it had rained and we were underground there were some drips. It was kind of gross. But as it fell I couldn't help but think, is this holy water? I mean it is falling into consecrated ground? I also couldn't help but think of “Bones,” the tv show. I wanted her there to figure out who all the bones belonged to and to have Angela to draw faces on the skulls. It was so worth the money. I loved being there and seeing it. It was something I had always wanted to do. I recommend it to everyone. Once we got out it was like the sun is so bright! We went across the street to the gift shop. They had a lot of skull stuff and hokey things, but they also had some items to remember I. I got a postcard that showed the heart. I also got a pin that said “I survived the Catacombs.” After this we were off to our next experience. Elyse and I headed toward Notre Dame. Elyse wanted to go in unless the line was really long. Once we got there though the line reached the street. It was crazy long. So we decided to just take pictures of the outside and us and the outside. Plus it would have been kind of pricey to go in. I had already been in so I felt like I wasn't missing anything. We then headed to our next destination. Elyse collects glasses from Hard Rock Cafe, so we decided we needed a break and some food. We headed to the Hard Rock Cafe, it is right next to Paris's version of Madame Tussauds. We headed in. I needed food, I got chicken strips. It was so good. It was the first time I had those in a long time. After she had her drink and I my food we had one more stop. We took the Metro to the Paris Opera House. It was just like in “Phantom of the Opera.” I struggled with the decision to pay to go in or not. Elyse convinced me too, and I am glad she did. It was beautiful! I could see the movie in front of my eyes. It was so beautiful. We came upstairs and the auditorium was closed because of rehearsal. But they left a window open so we peaked in the window and saw them rehearsing! It was so cool! Then we tried for like thirty minutes to get a picture on the grand staircase without other people. It was comical! It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the day. It was great to see my teacher, and it was a great chance for me to see things I've never seen before.
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| Me in the Catacombs |
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| There are the bones... those are real |
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| the carvings |
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| Me and Notre Dame |
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| Paris Opera House |
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| Me on the staircase |
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