Paris, France

The Catacombs, The Eiffel Tower, and the Louvre

We wrapped up our 2 1/2 weeks in England ready to jump back into a relatively packed itinerary that would take us all the way up to our return home in the middle of June - and it all started with Paris. If you've been following along, you know that this was one of the few arrangements we made for our time in Europe before we left for our trip at the beginning of January. May 22nd is Carter's birthday and when we had asked him, so many months ago, how he wanted to spend it, he didn't even have to think: "I want to climb the Eiffel Tower on my birthday!" Now, if you were to look at a map of our trip and the 8,000kms we've driven, it would make absolutely no sense to any rational person, and that's due primarily to this commitment (though we've been told that the data we're collecting has been incredibly useful, so that's nice :)). But, I digress....

After leaving our lovely stay in Canterbury and taking the Chunnel back across the English Channel, we arrived in Paris in the early evening on the 20th of May. On the 21st, we visited the Catacombs, which were super cool (literally and figuratively- it's starting to get hot in Europe, and the cool underground temps were very welcome). We descended 243 steps, reaching 20 meters underground to what were originally quarries of limestone and gypsum, used to build Paris, above. Our earlier visit to the Ossuary in Czechia prepared us well and, while not at all eery or haunting in any way, it was overwhelmingly incomprehensible to try to think of the six million people whose bones reside there, organized and displayed throughout the maze of underground tunnels (we, of course, only saw a fraction of the 180 miles of tunnels that undergird much of greater Paris). As if the bones don't do the trick thoroughly enough, there are periodic inscriptions in Latin and French to remind onlookers of our ephemeral existence; A common one among them was "Momentus Mori" -- "Remember, you (too) must die." There is also a rich history of rascally and mischievous behavior in the depths of the sprawling tunnels, and I like thinking those perpetrators, smugglers, and other miscreants were doing nothing more than taking the "live now" message to heart.

After the Catacombs, we walked the streets of Paris with no particular destination and strolled by the Pantheon, where the remains of Voltaire, Rousseau, Marie Curie (and husband, Pierre), Hugo, Dumas and so many more famous French people from throughout history are housed. Rousseau's teachings on the importance of experience in education have always been a source of inspiration for me and are foundational to my own theories and practice as an educator, so I was excited to see a beautiful statue of him out front. Next, we visited Marie and Pierre Curie's office and lab, which, though brief, was super cool; to be in the actual rooms where they worked, studied, and invented so many tools in their service to science left us glowing (ha!).

Next up was the BIG DAY! Carter is a big fan of all kinds of fruit, and also of sleep, so he awoke late on his fourteenth birthday to a variety of fresh fruits from the fruteria down the street from our stay, along with a fresh French croissant (another birthday wish). Then we were off to the subway and at the base of the Eiffel Tower before we knew it. Maybe more than many other places we've visited, there is something so universally iconic about the Eiffel Tower, and standing in its presence was pretty indescribable. It's been on postcards, in pictures, featured in movies, videos, and shared as a highlight of countless friends' and family members's vacations for my entire life, and there it was, looming imperceptibly tall over us as we walked toward it from the subway. There are some landmarks that are almost diminished when you see them in real life- the hype in your head (and in the media) makes them more than they actually are. This was not one of those landmarks. We had some time, so grabbed a quick meal, played some Euchre (of course), and walked around a little more before we met up with our tour guide. Once gathered with our group, it was finally time to enter and begin our journey up, up, and up. Carter was bubbling over with anticipation and his excitement never waned the entire day. We climbed the 674 stairs to the second level (with a short break at the first level), then took the elevator to the tip-top where we ate baguettes (another birthday boy request), and Carter opened some birthday cards that we'd been carrying with us for five months. The tour was great, but the wonder of the structure itself - the design, engineering, and construction - and the views of Paris were what captured my attention the most. After some time, we finally descended back to earth, then lay on the ground for a while just soaking it in (which also had a cool effect of making it look like the tower was perpetually falling over on us). We then headed off for a walk along the River Seine, passing the Flame of Liberty, which is an exact replica of the torch held by the Statue of Liberty and was given to the French as a symbol of brotherhood in 1989. It later became associated with Princess Diana (and true love), as the torch is just down the road from where she died. We then had a lovely dinner and walked back towards the tower just in time for the culminating event of the day: the lighting of the 20,000 sparkling lights that adorn the landmark and are lit for five minutes at the top of the hour every night from dusk until 2am. It was beautiful to see the lights sparkle and reflect in the river. For us, dusk meant 10pm, so we were pretty beat; it had been a full day of excitement and celebration of our little dude, and it was time to head home.

On our third day in Paris, we had tickets to The Louvre. What is there to say? It was amazing. Stunning. Remarkable. Awe-inspiring. The paintings, the sculptures, the MONA LISA! Yes, the Mona Lisa. This is another one of those things that sometimes gets so built up and I think often disappoints in real life, but, despite the insane crowds and wait-time to get up front and personal, I did not find it disappointing. It's not grandiose, and doesn't depict some great scene from history or have some deep meaning or representation in the world, but the sheer skill, technique and accomplishment of this young, multi-talented artist, and all that it has come to represent in art and culture since, is something to stop, pause, and appreciate.

As anticipated, Paris was a stark contrast to our previous two weeks of relative relaxation in the West Country of England, with museums and tours and major sites on the agenda each day. With three packed days done, though, it was time to move on to our next deep dive into ancient European history: Italy!