Cemeteries, Crypts, and supposed cat colonies

Paris Catacombs

 Both of us enjoy a good cemetery and/or ossuary, so naturally we wanted to check out Paris' finest. We managed to walk through Père Lachaise Cemetery, although we couldn't seem to figure out the opening hours of the Montmartre Cemetery (which apparently also houses a feral cat colony). Père Lachaise is best known for being the last resting place of Jim Morrison, and while we felt contractually obligated to see that, mostly it was a beautiful walk amongst graceful familial tombs, myriad of which were spookily opened and just allowing the dead to wander around (?).

The Paris Catacombs are famous, and for very good reason-- miles and miles of piles of bones, nestled beneath the city. These catacombs are impressive for the sheer scale of the landmark; while the bones are not particularly artfully arranged, there are just so many of them that you can't help but "memento mori" (remember that you, too, will die). 

During the Catacombs' long history, it seems that enough folks needed reminding about keeping their hands inside the vehicle at all times, so there are charming signs that could be interpreted as "don't karate chop the skulls." There are an alarming number of clearly missing skulls, or pieces of skulls, that I'm guessing create a macabre living room arrangement somewhere in the world. Even as an atheist, I think that stealing bones from a catacomb is a terrible idea, even if it's only because it's wildly disrespectful. Also, bad vibes, dude.