Day 4 in Paris

Today was cold and rainy, but we didn't let that stop us from seeing as much as possible. In the morning, we paid a visit to the catacombs-- a series of underground tunnels that span underneath all of Paris. Near the end of the 1700s, lack of space in Paris graveyards and plague forced the powers that be to create mass underground graves, where they deposed millions of bones. Parts were also used as headquarters for the French resistance during the second world war. We missed the guided tour by about 10 minutes, but we were still able to walk around inside. We walked down a narrow gravel path surrounded by walls made entirely of bones and skulls. Many of them were made into designs, and every few meters, carved into the pillars, quotations all realting to death. After this enlightening experiece, my sister, my dad and I met my mom outside of the Pantheon (she had no desire to see the catacombs). We walked to Saint Sulpice, a gorgeous church that was featured in The DaVinci Code (if you haven't read it yet, I strongly recommend you do), and where the original rose line is etched out along the church floor. A rose line is a line of longitude, and today, longitude zero is in Greenwich, England. Longitude zero used to be in Paris (don't ask me when, I don't know), and the long brass line can still be seen today inside Saint Sulpice.
Despite the rain, we had a short walk through Luxembourg gardens, which were absolutely magnificent. We then did a little shopping on the Rue de Rennes and the Blvd St Michel (or as those in the in call it, the Blvd St. Miche), where I bought 150g of the most amazing dark chocolate for 7.50€ ($11.25 CAD). I still think it was well worth it.