The Champs-Elysees

Today was so much fun, and so incredibly exhausting. We went to the catacombs (this computer won't let me upload photos because I can't connect my camera, I'll post them later) where there were literally walls made of bones. In the 19th century, there was a huge epidemic, and after the mass graves filled up, the people decided to fill up one of the excavated quarries below the city with the bodies. So there were layers upon layers of bone, and sign after sign that said things that translated to stuff like "at death, one allows everything". Really cool. Also, to add to the effect, there's a sign above the entrance to the ossuary that translated to "Stop! This is the house of the dead!" (It wasn't added for effect by the museum, either, the entrance was carved into the wall and had been there since its construction). After that, we went to a pizzeria for lunch, where the waiter nearly gave up because of the twenty loud Americans all shouting at him at once. But I digress. And insult myself. Moving on.

After all of this, we went on a scavenger hunt around the city to look for various things and take various pictures. The first one to came back won, and we made it back in time. Unfortunately, it also meant sprinting the entire way, and when we arrived, we realized that no one else had done the same, and that we could have relaxed and actually enjoyed ourselves. But at least we get a prize. Plus, we got to walk the Champs-Elysees all alone, which made me feel pretty damn cool. You know, just walking down to the Champs-Elysees with my friends. We also spotted out several bike rental stations (something totally foreign to me) and checked out the tiny cars. Anyways, I really felt proud because, when I wasn't with my friends, I could totally pass as a frenchman, and when I spoke French to them, they spoke it right back. When I was with my friends, though, they just spoke straight English, mostly because their cameras and obnoxious handbags screamed tourist. All in all, it was a great day, and even though this makes for a really short post, I'm too exhausted to write right now. I'll see if I can follow up tomorrow.