Joie de Vivre et Mortality

Today I checked another two things off my bucket list: lunch at Les Deux Magots and a visit to the Paris Catacombs.  Both were fantastic!

I met up with a friend from Babson for lunch and I am so glad we were able to get a table at Les Deux Magots!  It is your typical French cafe, lots of good dishes, and Poliane bread to boot(Poliane is the bakery in Paris).  Many intellectuals and artists were known to frequent this cafe on the boulevard St. Germain, including Albert Camus, Ernest Hemingway, Pablo Picasso, just to name a few!  It was great to be able to catch up in such atmosphere.  Le Deux Magots does not mean 'maggots' but means figurines. 

 Voila un photo du deux magots

 Un tartine pour moi et une salade pour mon amie! 

French food is really just simple food, simple and fresh ingredients prepared well.  Delicious!

The priority for this picture was not me, but the raspberry and rose macaron.  

All the desserts were displayed on a tray that a waitress was carrying around.  After watching the tray pass by several times, Jess and I gave into temptation and ordered dessert.  In retrospect, we should have asked how much those beautiful macaron were.  We were a little surprised when we saw notre addition, mais, on ne vit qu'une seule fois! You only live once!  Et oui, that is a real rose petal on top of the macaron.  I could really taste the rose flavor in the creamy center!  It was worth every centime I spent. 

Apres notre dejuner magnifique, I met up with my Sweet Briar friends for a visit to les Catacombs.  They were created at the end of the 18th century to serve as an ossuary for Paris's old cemeteries which were starting to overflow.  Gross, I know.  The responsibility for moving all the old bones fell to the quarry department who decided to store them in Paris' old limestone quarries.  We climbed down a seemingly never ending spiral staircase (the catacombs are about 20 meters down, past the metro!) after reading this sign....

 Merci capitaine evidement*

*Thanks captain obvious

Now I do not have a nervous disposition.  So I ventured down into the morbid depths of the catacombs.  At the start, there is a long tunnel.  I would not recommend the catacombs if you are claustrophobic.  Or over 6 feet.  Or dislike bones.  As you can see, the tunnel is small and narrow...

After a while, we finally came to the Porte Mahon Corridor.  There are some sweet sculptures carved into the limestone.

Sorry about the lighting, flash is not allowed, and the humidity underground kept making my lens fog up.  I was expecting it to be cold underground, but it was warmer than outside!  The air was very humid as well, and occasionally some ground water would drip on your head.  At least I didn't have to worry about having a Parisan pigon poop on my head down there.  Eventually, we made it to the entrance to the ossuary.....

 STOP! THIS IS THE EMPIRE OF DEATH!

Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones

 Who knew skulls and tibias are the next hot thing in interior decorating?

 Where is death? Always in the future or the past.  It is present, as soon as it is no longer there.

Don't worry, I did not touch the bones!  I am merely pointing to them.

 The Crypt of the Passion: The Barrel

These skulls and bones surround a pillar supporting the catacombs.

The remains of about 6 million Parisians are in the catacombs.  Originally, the bones were just dumped there, but around 1810 they were rearranged to their current design.  There are other plaques with quotes on mortality and death around the tunnels.  Overall, I enjoyed my visit to the catacombs, but I won't be rushing back.  I was filled with such a 'joie de vivre' after my exquisite macaron with my friend in Les Deux Magots, and then I was forced to contemplate my own mortality.  Thankfully the gift shop shocked me back to reality.  Yay capitalism!  You can even buy skull Christmas tree ornaments.  

On my way home, I stopped at a patisserie to get some treats for my host family.  I can't believe I've been here for a month already!  Time flies when you are having fun and are filled with joie de vivre.  The pastries filled my host family and I with even more joie de vivre....







An opera cake (some amazing chocolate thing), a raspberry millefeuille and a coffee eclair.

I love France.  Still got some joie de vivre after the catacombs. :)

Bisous,

Allison