Here’s a little taste of our time in Paris.

The weather outside was frightful. And there wasn’t a fire in sight-ful. Since we’re stuck out-side, oh. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

We spent last week in and around Disneyland Paris and were treated with a rather magical experience on Thursday when a flurry of snow coated the park. Magic. It did bring many of the rides to a grinding halt, but the timing was exquisite for Christmas.

We spent Wednesday wandering around Paris itself, beginning at the outside of Moulin Rouge. We didn’t quite fancy dropping £100-200 (each) for tickets, so we swiftly moved on heading towards the catacombs.

Our journey down the road brought us past the flagship Galeries Lafayette department store. The architecture was tremendous, and we sat down inside at a juice bar overlooking their huge Christmas tree and ornate dome. As you’d expect from a French department store, prices were steep. This was a get in, marvel at the construction, then get out experience.

One easy bus ride later and we were outside the Catacombs of Paris. Mention catacombs to most people and they think of an ancient burial chamber deep within the earth. A sacred space filled with the remains of important individuals, perhaps? So the Catacombs of Paris must be a similar effort, right?

Not quite. Are they ancient? Not really. They date back to the late 1700s. Are they sacred and venerable? I mean, they were an underground quarry before becoming a burial ground. Paris was running out of space for development as the population expanded, and the pragmatic approach was to dig up existing graveyards and hide them in the old quarries. Only later were they properly organised into a functional ossuary that people could visit.

The bones have been divided by cemetery of origin, and built up with the long bones forming the front wall along with skulls, and smaller bones piled in the back. Identifying any one individual would be next to impossible. The arrangements are predominantly decorative, and reflect a time where death was ever present and probably not as scary as it is to most of us in the age of modern medicine and hygeine practices.

No visit to Paris would be complete without patisserie. We picked up a chocolate mousse cake to double as a birthday cake, and it was delicious. What appeared on the outside to be a dense chocolate cake was actually incredibly light and not too rich, with a crisp base.