Final leg of Paris

Downstairs of the Boat

My forth day in Paris and a fine looking day its was, hoping to complete the rest of my sight- seeing I headed out early with the crew. First stop the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur.

Basilique du Sacré-Cœur

Located at the summit of the butle Montmatre, the highest point in the city. The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Paris (Basilique du Sacré-Cœur) is a Roman Catholic Church and a minor basilica dedicated to the Scared Heart Jesus.

The inspiration for this Basilica arose in the decades following the French Revolution, in the wake of the division in French society between devout Catholics and legitimist, royalists on one side and democrats, secularists, socialists and radicals on the other side.

The Basilica today is asserted to be dedicated in honour of the 58,000 who lost there lives during the war, the decree of the Assemblée nationale 24th July 1873, repsonding to a request of the arch bishop of Paris.

I was recommended to visit sight by Nico (one of my friends from the boat), and is definitely worth the time :)

The building has stayed a magnificent white due to the travertine stone it is built of, the stone exudes calcite which ensures the Basilica remains white even in weathering and pollution.

The view from in front of the Sacred Heart is awesome, being the highest natural area it is a great vantage point. For a small fee you can enter the catacombs and roof area, the catacombs were closed the day I went so only got to visit the roof.

ascending the spiral stairs
Sacred Heart

After ascending the (yet another) spiral staircase I finally came out at the top. NB: while descending these stairs I actually got dizzy, there where so many of the forkers.

The view is quite spectacular, you can still see the Eiffel Tower and a lot of the surrounding land.. It is totally worth it for the €5 entry fee.

lift up the hill to the Sacred Heart

Leaving the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, I missioned down the hill and passed a store where I found the cheapest postcards i had come across, and thus purchased a few.. it is funny how many different prices you can get for postcards in a city, it is definitely worth spending the time (if you have it) before purchasing anything, you can save a considerable amount of monies.

@ Basilique du Sacré-Cœur

 I continued down and headed for the metro. From here I went back to Notre Dame and covered off what I missed yesterday.

Please Note: this has been covered off in my previous blog so will skip to my next stop.

I left Notre Dame to 'We Will Rock' blaring out the front. There where some break dancers about to start, and this was there I wanna get your attention song...
They could really bust a move... This is the second time I have witnessed this in 2 days, they where also at the Eiffel Tower when I was leaving it..

out front of the Catacombs

Next stop the Catacombs, this was only a short journey from Notre Dame.
I got there to another line up, (this seems to be a given while in Paris)... we did move quickly and I wasn't standing out there for very long.

the walk to the Catacombs

The Catacombs are a famous underground ossuary in Paris located south of the former city gate at the Barrière d'Enfer, today's Place Denfert-Rochereau. They where created in 1786 due to a need to house the dead somewhere else other than the city's cemetery's.

map of the Catacombes

From the Roman times the dead were buried in the outskirts of the city, this changed with Christianity and its practice to bury its followers in the consecrated Church grounds. With the rise and growth of Paris these places soon became over crowded with only the rich being able to afford burial plots, leaving the poor to be buried in a mass inhumation.

The residues from these mass graves began to effect the ground water (which is the primary water source in Paris) created by the mix of decaying organic matter and limestone. Thus some other practice was required.

The ossuary fills a section of tunnels and caverns that where stone mines underneath the Paris streets. You descend a narrow spiral staircase of 19 metres into the darkness and take a long twisted dimly lit corridor of mortared stone with the only noise the dripping of water.

First thing you stumble across are sculptures that has been there before the ossuary existed the first being a model of Paris's Forte-Mahon fortress created by a quarry inspector. These are very impressive
Passing these sculptures you are nearing the sepulture.

The catacombs are an eerie and morbid place, when you reach the actual human bones the trepidation has built.
There are stacks of body bones framed with skulls, you can actually touch the remains (if you wanted to). Out of respect to the dead no flash photography is allowed, so you can only get good shots near the light.

The consecration ceremony for the exhumation and transfer of all Paris's dead happened on the 7th April 1786 by a procession of chanting priests with a parade of black covered bone laden horses. This precession continued for years.

There are sections that have some specific designs made out of the skulls, such as crosses and hearts. These can be seen throughout the entirety of the catacombs.

I left in awe, feeling strangely quiet and contemplative, it was a moving experience.

I came out a few blocks from where I entered, so I whipped out my trusty iphone and using the CityMap2Go ap I made my to the train station past a McDonanlds (in which I had also used my phone ap to find) and happened to be on the way.

My day was complete, this is all I had set out to see while in Paris, I started my mission back to the houseboat for the night.

On my way home as while waiting for the train I noticed a Chemical Brothers advert. Having missed them in Aus I decided to look into it.. I msg my friend Kayne to tell him about it.. and he compelled me with this very persuasive argument... and i quote...
''Morty...there are some events in life where you are either there or you are not. I try very hard to be one of the few who are there more often than not. Being able to see the chemical brotehrs in beautiful Paris is one of those momnets. Don't be a fool. Just be there!!''

And it was done, tickets booked, I now need to be back in Paris on the 14 Jan 2011.. Woot!!! Thankyou Kayne :)

I had also been deliberating as to what my next stop would be and how I was going to get there.. After throwing a few ideas around with some of the 'Crew' and hearing some recommendations I decided it was to be Lyon while on the way to Nice.

Having looked into the exuberant prices of individual train journeys, and finding no bus major bus services in France... I opted for a Eurail Pass, costing around $700 AUD, I got a Select Pass which covers me for 3 countries, I chose France, Spain and Italy in first class travel.

 - I should have bought this before I left as it would have been cheaper, but having no major plans sometimes causes these small hiccups...

As I ordered it while traveling I needed a postal address. I contacted the hostel I was going to be staying at in Nice, and confirmed with them that it was ok to get it delivered there... This was my first contact with the amazing hostel 'Villa Saint Exupery' (which you will find more about later :)

NB: Now I am further down the track travelling I feel it has sometimes been restrictive, due to it only being for the 3 countries, and my erratic travel behaviour (lol :)

It does however give me 10 days of travel in 2 months so I will hopefully get to maximise its use.... At times it has been very convenient with little prior booking times needed, you do have to pay a reservation fee every time you use it though, which brings the overall cost of the Eurail pass up substantially

I had one more day in Paris before I was to leave, which I used for a down day- washing my clothes, doing some blogging and just taking it easy.

That night with a big thanks to Nico I had my first taste of escargot (snails), which I found to be very tasty... it is all about the garlic butter!! They have the texture of mussels but without the seafood taste.

Again a huge thankyou goes out to everyone on Péniche Marie Joséphine- Marc, Nico, Romona, Florian, Marco and Sabine, I had a wonderful stay on your amazing floating home and look forward to seeing you all again in January. Also thanks must go to Emil whom made this all possible :)

Goodnight Paris, I will be back.... Next stop Lyon, France