Back in the Depths of the Earth

In the depths of the catacombs


Carving in the rock

Today's inside visit was to the catacombs beneath the streets of Paris. I had missed seeing the ones in Vienna because they were only open in the afternoon and on our one day there we had an afternoon tour of a palace. So I was looking forward to getting to see the ones here. If I thought I was a little morbid for wanting to go there, I was reassured when I got there and the line to get in was three quarters of the way around the block -- and most of the people in line seemed perfectly normal, like the neighbors who always say "hi" and wave when they see you. The museum does cap the number of visitors inside the catacombs at one time at two hundred, so it wasn't quite the same as the line to get into the Eiffel Tower, but we waited for about an hour and a half to get in. It was worth the wait. The only drawback was that they asked that no flash photography be done, so what pictures I took were basically black and blacker, as the lighting was not the best. One of the reasons I wanted to see this place is because I have read a series of mysteries set in Paris/France during World War II (by J. Robert Janes). One of the books climaxes with the French detective clashing with the murderer in the depths of the catacombs with the lights out. The French Resistance had their headquarters here, and it would be easy to "get lost" among the many tunnels before they were blocked off to keep the tourists from roaming. There are over a hundred steps down to the burial level, and about ninety going out at the exit. Near the entrance are several sculptures carved out of the stone, reminescent of the ones in the Polish salt mines near Krakow. As you move deeper into the underground passages, you come to the stacks of bones that were placed here when they were moved from the Cemetery of the Innocents during the 18th Century. It was thought that moving the bodies out of the cemetery and into the catacombs would halt the spread of disease. Under Napoleon, the bones were arranged into patterns with rows of skulls alternating with rows of other bones. Some of the other bones that were brought in after the French Revolution belonged to such famous people as Robespierre and possibly even Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI. Towards the end of the tunnel are several places where one can look up and see great caverns in the roof where there had been a collapse. Today the roof is repaired with injections of concrete whenever it gets shaky. Otherwise the cars traveling above might suddenly find themselves in a huge sinkhole. While this type of museum might not be for everyone (their website warns that it is not for those suffering with "nervous disease"), it was a very interesting way to spend the morning.




Today was our day for contrast photos. This sign for free Wi-Fi in the park was in direct contrast to all the trouble we were having at the hotel uploading photos and staying on the Internet. This is an example of irony!

It's Paris and the Louvre!

French Frog at the Louvre

The Louvre is the home of the Mona Lisa and many other famous paintings by such artists as Giotto, Raphael, Titian, Botticelli, and other names familiar from art classes. The building in which the museum is housed is so extensive it could take several days to walk through all the rooms and see everything, let alone absorb it all. We were allowed to take photographs without the flash, and our mission for today was to photograph a sculpture from an interesting angle or lighting source. We had about five and a half hours to spend there, and it was not nearly enough time. Connie and I looked at paintings by Flemish artists, Etruscan statues and carvings, Italian Renaissance painters, and the time was nearly gone. After allowing a little time to locate and peruse the gift shop and find the sortie (exit), we met up with the class and headed back toward our hotel. Then a group of us went out to a little Thai restaurant nearby and enjoyed some Asian cuisine to top off the day. I will post pictures when we can get them through on the Internet.

Stone Lion Carving

Front View

Etruscan Carving

This is how you feel after spending all day at the Louvre. Seriously, it is actually part of "The Repose of the Holy Family" by Gentileschi, but that was the first thought that crossed my mind when I looked up and saw this gentleman sleeping.

Platform 9 3/4 and the Eurostar to Paris

A horizontal view of St. Pancras Station

Thursday was a railway station day. First we went to King's Cross Station to Platform 9 3/4, which is the point of departure for Harry to go to Hogwarts. He actually leaves from St. Pancras Station, which is right next door, but the platform is at King's cross. It even includes half a trolly going through the wall. We all posed for pictures. Then we walked down the street to the British Library, which holds such treasures as the Gutenberg Bible and a copy of the Magna Carta. There are also original manuscripts by Jane Austen, Lewis Carroll, song lyrics written by the Beatles, and religious volumes from the Orient and Middle East.

After the library, we collected our suitcases and boarded the Eurostar for Paris. The Chunnel really offers nothing to see except blackness, but we enjoyed the beautiful French countryside once we had passed through. The train arrived in a little over two hours and ran as smoothly as butter. After stopping at our hotel to drop off our bags, we headed via metro to the Eiffel Tower. We got there while it was still light out, but it was growing dark before we came down, so we got to see the city begin to light up. We also had a bit of excitement along the way home. When we were approaching the tower, we encountered all sorts of souvenir sellers hawking mini versions of the tower for various prices. And while we were walking back, we saw several of these vendors running through the crowd. At first I thought they were lightheartedly cavorting because they were finally off duty from a thankless job, but then it became apparent that the police were chasing at least one of them. He pushed me out of his way once, then doubled back and pushed me again, then stood panting to my left, while to my right a police officer was beckoning him to come out of the crowd. He was arrested while we watched. There was actually quite a police presence around the tower. It didn't seem like a good place to commit a crime and get away with it. The rest of the trip back to our hotel was uneventful.
When we can get through on the Internet to post pictures, I will.


A vertical expression of the horizontal photo of St. Pancras


There really is a Platform 9 3/4


I didn't make it all the way to Hogwarts, but I did get to Paris


The Eiffel Tower is beautiful at night

The Other Photo Story - Lunch at Hampton Court - or Nate de Jour

Hyde Park, Hard Rock, and Harrod's

Today was a walk in the park, Hyde Park. We were photographing moving water shots and trying to make them appear as though frozen in time and standing still. We explored the the Princess Diana Memorial Playground. It has a pirate ship, Indian teepees, swings, slides, statues, and is quite something. The lucky children who get to play there on a regular basis must be very happy. We also walked to the statue of Peter Pan further down the park. There are several cafes in the park, as well. Hyde Park covers quite a large area, and we covered a good bit of it today. Later we had lunch at the original Hard Rock Cafe. I had to order chicken wings, because it's been at least two weeks since I've eaten that American dish. To top off the day, we browsed through the food halls of Harrod's. They really are truly amazing, containing everything from chocolate to sushi. It was a good thing we had already eaten. Tonight we're doing laundry and packing for Paris tomorrow!

A fountain at Hyde Park


A row of birds on pilings, reflected in the water

French Frog

French Frog playing in the Princess Diana Memorial Park

Connie and Jen taking photos on the Jack the Ripper Tour

Hampton Court Palace/On the Trail of Jack the Ripper

Today was spent at Hampton Court Palace, one of Henry VIII's sixty places of residence. It was an on-again-off-again rainy day, and we took the train out to the palace. There were quite a few people coming and going, as a huge flower show was being held there. On our way back, we saw people ahead of us hurrying to the train with carts full of beautiful flowers they had bought there. My favorite part of the palace happens to be the royal kitchens. Today they have reenactments of how things were done in Henry's day, and we saw a gentleman stoking a fire getting ready to roast some tasty-looking beef. In another room were bins of vegetables, while in several other rooms were pastries and meat pies laid out in various stages of baking. There are quite a number of food preparation rooms, and in Henry's day this would have been a major undertaking. Hampton Court originally belonged to Cardinal Wolsey, but Henry took a liking to it and began dropping hints. Wolsey, being a shrewd man, likely thought things over and decided his head was more important than his house, because he eventually ended by presenting the house to Henry as a gift. Elizabeth I and William and Mary are among the other sovereigns to live there.

In the evening, a number of us met at the Tower Hill tube stop to take the Jack the Ripper walking tour. Although there are not many of Whitechapel's old buildings left to see, our guide gave us a very informative narrative of what occurred at the time of the murders, while walking us to the locations of several of them. He even produced a top hat and allowed two of our group to reenact a murder at one point. We traced the path of the Ripper from victim number three, to victim number four, to the place where he dropped off an evidentiary kidney. It was quite an entertaining evening.

A Picnic in the Rain at Hampton Court

Flower Power and the 60's Revisited

Today we went to Regent's Park to take photographs of flowers close-up. There were thousands of beautiful roses to choose from. We started out in the sun, but it rained intermittently throughout the day. Still, we all managed to get some great photographs, including some with raindrops on the flowers.
Next we went to Primrose Hill for a picnic lunch and some kite flying. I actually managed to keep my kite aloft for a while, although, as a fish, it seemed to prefer diving to flying at times. Some of the people who walked by must have wondered at so many adults out flying kites. Everyone had a good time trying and flying their kites.
Then we walked through some very nice residential neighborhoods to get to Abbey Road, where the Beatles album of the same title was produced. We saw the outside of the studio and the crosswalk in front of it where the album cover was photographed, as well as the wall where everyone writes their name when they come here. A few of our classmates left their autographs. Tonight we're going to see "Billy Elliot," the play which won so many awards in New York.

A kite soaring up to the highest heights of Primrose Hill

French Frog hanging out at Abbey Road

Flowers at Regent's Park

An Abbey Road reenactment

Abbey Road's Famous Crosswalk

More Flowers from Regent's Park

Rare Yellow Lichen on the Fence Rails

Famous British Murderers - Podcast

London has had a number of unsavory characters in its day. Some of its most famous, or infamous, murderers include:

*Sweeney Todd

*Hawley Harvey Crippen

*John George Haigh

*Dennis Nilsen

*Jack the Ripper

The podcast below tells their stories.

This is a wmv file, 4.41 minutes long, 2.61 MB.

A Man After My Own Heart

I started out this morning intending to go to Kew Gardens. However, once I got to the tube station I needed, I learned that all the trains had been diverted to Wimbledon for the day, so I went to Sir John Soane's House Museum. His lordship was a wealthy architect who evidently traveled the world collecting statues, artwork, architectural models, and other interesting items, most of which are on display in his house -- which rivals the Study Center for having lots of twisting corridors and stairs. Here, I thought, is a man after my own heart, who loved to collect things and show them off around his house. Indeed, there were so many interesting things that it was hard to take them all in. Just like my house! Only he had enough money to get away with it. I felt right at home.
There were even two sets of Hogarth paintings. The first was entitled "The Rake," and was about a young lad who wandered into certain troubles with drink and gambling and was forced to marry a one-eyed older woman to bail him out financially. Yet he soon returned to his wastrel ways and eventually ended up first in jail and then at Bedlam, the madhouse. The second set, entitled "An Election," was about the corruption of the politicians of the day and how they attempted to press the feeble and blind into service as voters or sway the women of the town by bribing them with trinkets, undoubtedly so they would then influence their husbands. It was quite interesting walking around in a house that had become a museum.


We took a leisurely stroll through a nearby park so French Frog could do some tree climbing. He's not really a tree frog, but his true love (on Laurie's bag) is a red-eyed tree frog, so maybe he's practicing.



Sir John Soane's Museum

Later in the day I visited the Highgate Cemetery, which is located at the top of Highgate Hill. And when they say a hill, they are serious. It's not quite as steep as the one in Greenwich, but it's a good deal steeper than anything we have in South Florida (except Mount Trashmore, of course). The only way to see the cemetery is with a guide, and ours was very knowledgeable. He explained that the cemetery is Victorian in style, and all of the symbols on the vaults and tombstones mean something.


For example, this cemetery plot belonged to a naval man, and the cannons used as fenceposts symbolize his occupation.

This beautiful lion monument rests atop the remains of a menagerie keeper. The lion's name was Nero, and he was tame enough to let children ride on his back.

We also learned that a number of horror films were shot on location here, including many of the Hammer films. When our guide took us off the main path, it was easy to see why this made such a good place to shoot, as many of the headstones were overgrown and leaning and appropriately spooky. Now it's back to work to try to figure out how to download my podcast.