Catacombs & Vietnamese New Year's party

I had a visitor after a longer time! Our couch was tested for several nights sleeping for the first time since we moved to our small apartment in Gentilly. And it was very cheerful for me and H also to have other company - not because we would be bored with each other but because we also go more actively everywhere when there are others, too. And we have a good excuse to go to some of our favorite restaurants! It has become almost a tradition already that we take our guests to the best Vietnamese restaurant, Phở số 1, where I order bò bún 80% of the times we go there. It is just so good! And for the dessert we had to let our guest taste bubble tea. I am so into it, too, as it is both yummy and funny!

Since H visited the catacombs of Paris already before I moved to France, I have tried to go there with my friends. The last two times when I went there, I failed to enter because of a long line and because it was closed for an unknown reason. The third time tells the truth, as we say in Finland. With the third try I finally was able to go and visit these tunnels that are famous for holding the remains of six million people. Both I and my guest had to admit that there were so many skulls and femurs that one kind of didn't see them anymore. Walking for hundreds of meters through a tunnel that holds piles of bones on each side was not that scary after all - and that is because you don't even realize how many people six million actually is! It is like burying the whole population of Finland there!

At first it was a bit creepy inside the ossuary.

The skeletons were brought to the catacombs from
different grave yards.

They had piled the skulls and other bones in decorative forms, too.

Narrow tunnels leading the visitors
towards the skeleton area.

A monument for the revolution
fights in 1788.

Jardin Notre Dame restaurant at the center of Paris. You can enjoy
a 3-dish meal here with 16€ and a view to the Notre Dame cathedral.

The central police station at Ile de la Cite island.

The new year of the lunar calendar was a couple of weeks ago but different groups have celebrated it here for the past month with different events. Last Sunday there was a Vietnamese celebration in Massy, about 10km South from Paris. The event was held in the Massy opera house and they offered some music, karaoke, shopping possibilities for Vietnamese stuff (mainly food, books and accessories) and a big show for which we had bought the tickets beforehand. The "Tet" show was built wisely having a story inside which they could always perform some dance numbers and smaller stories etc. In the main plot there was a Vietnamese boy who had lived his life in France and his dead grandmother appeared to him telling stories from her youth or the boy's childhood. We heard and saw two traditional Vietnamese storytales, one of which resembled the story of Cinderella and the other one told about a small boy who ate a lot in order to get big enough to join the army and defend his land against the intruders. Even though we liked the show (despite the fact that both I and our guest had difficulties understanding all the French and Vietnamese), we decided to leave during the break. The two-hour show we sat there was only the first half of the whole spectacle. In the evening we wanted to eat well so we headed to the Asian district, to have hot pot and grilling at Au village de Choisy. Having at least 3 people, you can choose both cooking options for free. And we boiled and grilled lots of beef, pork, chicken, fish, salad, mushrooms, lotus roots etc.

An áo dài fashion show.

Hot pot and grilling.
One of our favorite restaurants.

This week and next week are the winter vacation of the schools in Paris area. Therefore I also work a little bit differently compared to my usual working hours. I took care of the 3-year-old for Monday and Tuesday from the noon and picked the little sister from the day care, as we always do. From yesterday on the brother spends time with the grandparents and I am in charge only of the 1-year-old. But for this week the parents also come home a bit later so I have put the girl to bed and waited for the parents either with or without the boy. I have quite short days now that I will pick up the smaller one after 6 pm and stay for ~2,5 hours but coming home late makes me still very tired. I am happy they don't need me today at all so I can have one day of rest and go to bed early. Tomorrow morning I have to get up for my Vietnamese lesson.