The first thing we did was go to Montmarte. This is one of the most famous areas in Paris, as it was the center of the Bohemian Revolution during the late-1800s and early 1900s. It is also the location of the infamous Moulin Rouge and Paris' red light district. The first thing we checked out was the Moulin Rouge. It was cool to see it in person, especially after watching the movie probably hundreds of times in the last 10 years (I can't believe it has already been that long since its premier...my mom and I saw it in the theater! And I don't care what anyone says...it's one of my favorite movies of all time!).
Anyway, it would have been amazing to catch dinner and a live show there, but unfortunately this costs a minimum of 150 Euro per person, which doesn't exactly fit into a teacher's salary. Instead, we took lots of pictures of the outside and also read the history that was posted in the facade. We stepped inside for a few minutes to ask where the gift shop was, and saw some of the original, personal items from some of the first women of the Moulin Rouge. There really was a "Sparkling Diamond" who was the star of the show...and her shoes, elaborate diamond necklace, and perfume bottles were on display.
The gift shop was definitely a disappointment. It was tiny, and everything was locked up in cases and extremely expensive. Don't bother going there if you ever find yourself in this neck of the woods.
Just down the street (still in the red light district), there is the "Museum of the Erotic," which had been recommended to Margie as something we should check out. It was definitely a unique adults-only display...something you would never find in Montana! Needless to say, there were many sexually-explicit objects, sculptures, artworks, gadgets, pictures, paintings, films, etc. from cultures all around the world and from the earliest times to the present. My favorite was the French section from the late 1800s-early 1900s, especially about their brothels. For some reason, this is always fascinating. We also watched parts of a pornographic 1920s silent film...hahaha. It is a legitimate museum over 7 floors that is worth checking out if you aren't too prude and can handle it with a mature and open-minded attitude. Otherwise, it may be too uncomfortable.
Next, we were off to the Catacombs. Back in the 1700s and 1800s, the cemetaries of Paris were overflowing. There were too many people and not enough enough space, which led to unsanitary conditions and disease, causing even more death. The solution: to exhume over 6 million bodies and place their bones in catacombs, or special underground cemetaries with tunnels, rooms, and other recesses dug out as a second resting place. This saves a ton of room, and frees up space in the normal cemetaries for the "more recently dead." We were quite surprised at how far we needed to go underground and how long it took us to get through the series of tunnels that led to the bones...and I was starting to think it was just a hoax. However, just around this time we found them....and it took us an hour to walk through the corridors. The bones were arranged in patterns, alternating leg and arm bones with skulls, while the rib, spine, hand, foot, and pelvis bones were scattered over the top. It is hard to fathom 6 million dead, but walking through the catacombs helps give you an idea. Read more about it here, it's really interesting! Catacombs
After this, we walked through the Luxembourg gardens....although it was a little bit dead due to it being winter. I think that's more of an activity for any of the 3 other seasons in the year.
Next was the Notre Dame cathedral. It was unbelievable how many tourists were crammed into this church...it kind of made it a little bit harder to enjoy, but oh well. It really is a beautiful gothic cathedral...so beautiful in fact that it even inspried Victor Hugo to write his classic, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." There was a house next to it that appeared to be part of the church, and Nate was convinced that this was where the hunchback lived. Who knows?
Achieving our goals for the day, we headed back to the hostel. After relaxing for a few hours, we went to a very quaint, very French bar/cafe. Margie and I wanted to try some French cuisine that wasn't crepes, so we ordered foie gras (duck liver) in an egg sauce, as well as veal with mushroom sauce and noodles. This was way too much food. I wasn't so much a fan of the duck liver...it basically dissolves as soon as it falls in your mouth, but the veal was good. Nate stuck with steak and fries, although he couldn't escape some Frenchness thanks to the bleu cheese sauce over the top.
The waiter was really nice to us, which was nice. He must have thought we were Canadians.
Oh, that reminds me...on the subway, we accidently made some people a little mad because we sat down in the chairs before them, even though we were there first. They ended up getting some seats next to us anyway, and were obviously talking about how much they hated us in French. At this point I loudly said, "I GUESS WE SHOULD JUST GO HOME TO ENGLAND NOW....".
I hate being slightly embarassed to admit that I'm an American thanks to the douche bags that ruin our reputation. It's not fair, but hopefully someday the damage can be undone? I don't know. Whatever. Europeans will continue to simultanously love and hate us until the end of time.
