Finally got over the incident caused by the strikes and hubby is taking to Parisian life like a duck to water. P is off for a weekend in London, so we have the place to ourselves to do with what we please. Saturday begins with a leisurely breakfast with hubby heading off to the boulangerie for fresh bread and croissants, I can’t imagine that in less than 10 days, I will be able to make my own croissants – very dangerous.
It’s getting super hot in Paris right now so we didn’t want to be traipsing all over the city, taking sweaty Métro rides with unprepared tourists, so hubby’s suggestion for a day out close to home is a visit to Père Lachaise cemetery. This is the resting place of many a famous person, most notably (for the tourists), Jim Morrison. The grave also features the words “ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟΝ ΔΑΙΜΟΝΑ ΕΑΥΤΟΥ,” which means “True To His Own Spirit” and is rumored to have been selected by Morrison’s father. (You see, you also get a history lesson when you read this blog!)
Jim Morrison’s grave
I would highly recommend buying a map, this would save you hours wandering around trying to find particular graves. Again, I just have that face where people come and ask me for directions, we ended up acting as givers of directions for a number of people who were too tight to spend €2.50 buying a guide of their own.
Other notable graves are those of Oscar Wilde, which has been surrounded by perspex due to the number of people who were vandalising the grave by leaving their mark in red lipstick covering the bottom half of the tomb. Who does that?! Not really sure what I was expecting; apparently, this is chiseled out of a 20-tonne block of stone, the tomb features a winged figure resembling the Sphinx on a forward flight with vertically outstretched wings, and is supposed to be based on Wilde’s poem The Sphinx and inspired by the British Museum’s Assyrian figures.
Interestingly, the genitalia has been removed in another act of vandalism – trust me to notice that.
Oscar Wilde’s grave
So that I wouldn’t “regrette rien”, we also made our way to see Edith Piaf.
Edith Piaf’s grave
Sarah Bernhardt’s grave, where someone had laid fresh lilies – hubby reliably informed me that she was a French stage and early screen actress. He astounds me with the historical information that he is able to retain but I do struggle when he wants to find the grave of Bridget Bardot. I informed him that we might struggle with that as she was very much still alive and saving the animals in the South of France – oh dear.
Trying to get all ‘arty-farty’ with my pictures
This was actually a great choice if you have a couple of hours to kill, such a quiet and peaceful place in the middle of a bustling city. A number of Paisians obviously knew this little secret as they came equipped with lunch to eat and a book to read.
Be prepared to walk – a lot of which is uphill, you will of course be rewarded by wonderful views. If you are lazy, get off the Métro at Gambetta which is at the highest point, you can then stumble upon Oscar Wilde’s grave and then most of your walking will be downhill (why didn’t I discover that before?).
Can see as far as Montparnasse on a clear day – picture doesn’t do the view justice
