Alright, on our last day in Paris, we decided to visit the Catacombs. To provide a little background, the Catacombs was initialized at the end of the 18th century because Paris had run out of space to bury its dead people! They bought three old mines that ran under the city, and over the course of the next half-century, began to transfer bodies from the surface down into these caves. Today, you can visit one of these mines. They are stacked on shelving, some of the skulls have been arranged in such a way that they make designs or pictures. They had a lot of building material to work with.. But anyhow, my cousin Danny, my travel partner Alex, and I walking through these narrow corridors joking about how awesome a souvenir one of these bones would make... Catch where I am going?
Of course, there were men and women inside who were being payed to oversee the Catacombs, to ensure nothing was stolen or vandalized. But as our small tour group walked around a certain corner, something to me just felt right. I quickly reached up on top of one of the shelves and without even turning my head, I grabbed a bone, and threw it up under my sweatshirt. Not a single person had seen and for the duration of the walk, I held that bone under my arm, trying to keep it as concealed as possible. We laughed hysterically. I couldn't believe we had actually gotten one. But as we went to exit, we were required to be searched. Now I'm thinking I'm done, they've gotten me, but I noticed they were only checking bags and backpacks and began to think that maybe now, I could get by without losing the bone. I finally walked up and smiled as I took off my backpack and opened it up for him to look inside. He didn't suspect I think. I walked out and burst into laughter the second I saw the sunlight. Keep in mind at this point, I have never actually seen the bone. I wasn't looking at it when I grabbed it, and it has been hidden under my sweatshirt the whole time. We decided the safest place to look at it would be the train since we would no longer be near the Catacombs. Once we had taken our seat, I finally withdrew the bone and got a good look at it. I was holding a 220 year old femur, partially decayed, but fully intact. A couple of Asian girls who were clearly tourists looked up at me with from the seats across from me, their eyes like those of a deer in headlights. We had one more laugh before I put it in my backpack and carried on. Best. Souvenir. Ever.
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