Dem Bones Dem Bones 8-25-15

Today we were planning a trip to the Catacombs of Paris, so we boarded the Metro and transferred to the RER at Gare du Nord for the ride down to the stop next to the entrance.   We got off the train and walked out to see a line of people across the street, I figured this has to be it so I told Jim to go to the end of the line and I would walk around to the entry point to get some idea of how long the line was and thus how long a wait we should expect.  So I walked around the corner, up the length of the street up to the next corner and around that, I saw the gate about half a block down so I walked there.  I looked at the entry door where people were walking in and on a whim decided to see if it would be shorter to continue around the block.  So I walked to the next corner and saw Jim about 20 feet away, so the line was literally around the block.   We talked a bit about whether we should wait or not and I said I'd try to get more information.  So I went back and talked to a woman working at the entry and she told me that it would be at least 4 hours wait to get in, unless we arrived at around 7:00 the next morning to wait for the 10:00am opening, so minimum 3 hour wait. REJECTED!
We went back to the train and made our way over towards Arenes de Lutece, the Roman arena that was uncovered in the mid 1800's.  On our way we stopped for lunch at the Place des Contrescarpe,
sitting at the top of the Rue Mouffetard, a Paris market street that seems to be on every tourist agenda.  After lunch we walked a few blocks to the arena that now serves as a park for residents in the neighborhood.  As we walked down into the arena there were about 50 grade schoolers being "rounded up" after what must have been some running game by teachers and helper who looked pretty harried.
Lots of noise and activity with little effect.   We walked around a bit and then went up to the area where there was originally a stage and backdrop to look over the arena before heading over to Notre Dame for another attempt to see the interior.
When we got to the cathedral there was a long line waiting to get in, discouraging but not insurmountable as it was moving pretty well.   However there was a large tourist group that kept stopping to hear what their guide was telling them about the facade, so on one of their pauses we just sort of slid into the gap that had formed.  So we got in within about 5 minutes without any undue strain on Jim's still tender hip.   We sat for a few minutes in the nave and talked quietly about the differences and idiosyncrasies caused by the many master builder/architects that guided construction over several centuries and then commenced a walk around the structure.  Jim got a good look at the stained glass and rose windows albeit from the ground without binoculars.
Then we looked at the scale model remarking on some tidbits that generally go unnoticed, and read the abridged version of the construction timeline before making our way back to the entrance and out.  We walked across to the right bank and caught a much calmer bus back to the apartment.
So no bones, but still a very enjoyable day out.