Choir gives last concert in Paris at breath-taking church

As the choir performed Thursday on the altar of yet another famous Paris cathedral, yours truly was hidden away deep beneath the centuries-old church.

The staff at La Madeline cathedral had suggested that I type my articles for you by taking advantage of their computer room -tucked away inside the cathedral's crypt.

Those who know me could predict that I would jump at the chance for such an odd experience, whether I needed it or not. But I was truly desperate for some quiet time to write. And I loved the thought of getting such a quirky spin on my day.

So as the choir sang for yet another adoring audience and a soft sprinkling of rain fell from the Paris sky a church employee lead me outside. We went around to the side of the stairs and into a long and strange corridor leading straight into the bowels of the structure.

The crypt didn't fail to impress, either. It was a long room, made of stones and rounded at the top. The air was perfumed with a slightly jarring mixture of mustiness and creepiness, too, which rounded out the experience nicely..

With such a huge cathedral and so much room I just couldn't figure why they would choose such a strange place to keep their Yahoo. But the connection worked well and I couldn't believe I was there, at La Madeleine, in such a weirdly fun arrangement.

So I just typed away, telling of another Paris adventure and wondering where all the old bones were...

This cathedral is quite the place to be anyway. First off it's not one of those standard cathedrals with a big square building and huge towers cutting into the sky. No, La Madeleine, at the request of Napoleon, was designed to look like a Greek temple.

There, amid all the more typical French architecture, there stands a huge church capped with a temple-style roof covered with frescos and framed by 52 towering columns.

In addition to its look La Madeleine is also well known as being a popular choice of famous Parisians for their final farewell. The cathedral has hosted the funerals of such great composers as Chopin and Saint-Saens, plus the great American singer Josephine Baker.

But my own tale from the crypt quickly only got better. Since the only way out was a door that opened onto a busy street I was given a set of strange-looking keys and told that I had to lock myself in order to keep passersby from popping in for a look.

As I'm writing this we are on the bus, rolling through the super-lovely French countryside. We're a little disappointed that the view is mostly filled with gorgeous lines of trees, but the occassional village certainly sweetens the bargain. We all rave about the quaint stone farmhouses and old, old brick structures.

A "Mr. Bean" movie is playing on the bus and people who toured the Paris Opera house yesterday are taking turns blogging about their experience, passing around someone's lap top. Lots of people, though, are catching up on their sleep. For many folks the last evening in Paris meant their final chance to taste the nightlife.

Oh, we just crossed into Belgium and we're stopping for lunch.

It wasn't easy leaving Paris, but I know that my visit may have only been a brief sampling of the great city, but I know I'll return. I have a feeling that Paris has a way of calling its fans back for yet another taste.

But for today...onward to Brussels.