Today we finally visited the city's sewer system and catacombs. In fact, we visited the sewer museum. Who knew there was such a thing.

Sure, it smelled. I thought it smelled of chlorine, but the others thought it smelled much more foul. The best part was getting to see the gigantic ball the sewermen used in the 19th century to push along all of the sludge. The sewers are all tall enough for a man to stand, which means that the ball has to have a circumference of at least six feet. All of the sewers are on a slight tilt, which enabled the ball to roll and consequently drive the animal carcasses and other solid matter through the system. Another blogger wrote on his experience much better than I could ever do.
Read it here: http://itotd.com/articles/432/paris-sewers/
For the Frenchies: http://www.egouts.idf.st/

I’m sure there is no relation whatsoever, but I find it interesting that the French word for “sewer” is only one letter away from “taste”. I could go on forever about how completely different words or phrases sound exactly alike. It puts a real damper on my conversational skills.

On to the catacombs, which I think is the best (authentic, interesting) site in Paris. First, the explorer must descend an incredibly long stairwell that twists so tightly he might as well be spinning in circles. Then, he is spit out into a dark, damp tunnel with low ceilings. After following the narrow passage a ways, he comes across the catacombs. There, bones are stacked from floor to ceiling, completely exposed. In most areas they seem to be sorted by type (femurs stack the best), but they are placed in varying designs so that there is an apparent rhythm. In some places, crosses are made with skulls. Some of the skulls still have teeth and others have holes straight through the cranium.

The humidity forms little stalactites that drip onto the heads, or into the ears, of the catacomb's visitors.