Catacombs and Old Friends

This was the closest I got to seeing the sunrise

So today actually felt like 2 days in one. The plan was to get up absurdly early and watch the sun rise from Sacre Coeur. Well, somehow we missed the fact that the sun rises in the east...and Sacre Coeur faces west. Yeah so we didn't really get to see the sun rise at all, there was a huge church and apartment buildings in the way. However we did get to see how disgusting the city is after a night of partying before the garbage collection people have a chance to clean it up. It's really gross, and quite sad actually. The steps of the church were riddled with pigeons, beer bottles, trash, and the smell...ugh, let's just say you should be glad you don't live in a big city. (If you do, I'm sorry, I don't know how you stand it).

After a really nice nap (of about 4 hours!) I got up to meet my old friend Kole. He's studying in Spain right now but came up for the weekend to see Paris. We've known each other since we were 1, but I haven't seen him since we were 13 (he's still super tall!). So that was really cool. We met up with a bunch of my friends and went to the catacombs.

It was interesting, they weren't what I had expected at all. I thought it would be creepy, spooky, you know the way they show bones and bodies in the movies. But actually I felt almost reverent, and a little sad. And safe--it wasn't scary at all. Just looking at all of those bones, it struck me how alike they all looked. Of 6 million people, who were vibrant individuals, with lives, jobs, families and dreams, all that is left is their bones. And they all look the same.

It really doesn't matter how they were different in life, in death we are all the same. It was a very humbling conclusion to come to, and it really made me realize how great the worth of a soul is, how alike we really are. We all have the same potential. And I'm so grateful to know that they won't be there forever--death is not the end. So if you are ever in Paris, it is so worth it to go to the catacombs, definitely a really good experience.

After the Catacombs we went to the Louvre for about an hour, I had forgotten what an amazing museum it is, I want to go back more than once. For dinner we wandered around the Latin Quarter, I found some postcards and a book I wanted to get, and we had a delicious meal in a cafe. I think we were sitting there for almost 2 hours, it's kind of nice the way the French just let you sit there and talk. At home, I'm always just eating as fast as I can it feels like. After dinner we went over to Notre Dame and watched these crazy rollerbladers do flips off of a ramp, it was pretty cool. So overall it was a great day!