2024 10 Spain

Spain 21,

Nov. 3, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

There is a site called Paris Inconnu or Paris Insolite which gives you places to visit in Paris for those of us who have seen the major attractions such as the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. I started my adventure with the ‘Les Egouts de Paris’, the museum of the Paris sewer system. This is a fascinating tour of the sewers of Paris including the typical sewer smell which we occasionally smell when sewers back up. The museum takes us on a tour of how the sewers first developed and improved with time. 150 years ago, people in Paris were dying due to the pollution from the lack of a decent sewer system. There are now 2500km of sewer pipes in Paris. You actually walk on a grate, over a huge pipe, and see sewer water flowing beneath you.

I then visited Remi and Marie Christine for a coffee in the afternoon. Remi dropped me off at the Cimetiere de Picpus. This is a small cemetery where Lafayette is buried under an American flag. He is a hero for both the French and the Americans. In 1791 during the French Revolution, 1,306 aristocrats, aged 16 to 85, were guillotined in 13 days and buried in a common grave. Much later, what was left of their families, got together to have their names inscribed on a plaque. Very sad.

As usual, I had dinner is a small bistro next to my hotel and splurged a little on the wine to celebrate my last evening in Paris.

Love,

Brian