On Sunday I visited Père-Lachaise, after a delicious brunch at the nearby Mere-Lachaise, a very French verison of Rick and Ann’s. (I had Tartare de Boeuf for breakfast!)
Père-Lachaise is a very famous cemetery, which was originally just a hill upon which the confessor of Louis XIV lived. The need for better cemeteries in Paris in the 18th Century led to the removal of bodies from certain central Arrondisements to Père-Lachaise when it was opened in 1804, and to the creation of the underground Catacombs (based off Roman models). For a more extensive and very interesting history of Père-Lachaise, go to this link: http://northstargallery.com/pages/perehist.htm.
To make a long story short, Père-Lachaise has become a status-symbol of the dead in the past 200 years …to be buried there is to be among the great writers, poets, and bards such as Moliere, Oscar Wilde, and even Jim Morrison. The cemetery is filled with mystery and melancholy, but didn’t creep me out at all, the way some cemeteries tend to…
We visited this massive cite, and it was quite something. I believe it is about 17 acres, and there are thousands and thousands of beautiful and worn out, large and decrepit, mossy and gleaming tombstones. It is quite a mix. The photography opportunities were amazing…check out my links on the right to see a full facebook photo album from Père-Lachaise (The album titles are different when you actually get to the facebook page, but the titles to the right are the actual descriptions of what is in each album)!
It was a cold, windy day…perfect for a visit to the Cemetery! My friend Maddie
(back in California) went skiing this weekend; I amused myself with a graveyard visit! It’s amazing what one finds to do here for fun on the weekend…the possibilities are endless.
But really, in all seriousness, the next time you find yourself in Paris, definitely visit Père-Lachaise in the 20th Arrondisement…it is so beautiful, and so interesting to see. I’m definitely going to go back before I leave! I didn’t get to say hello to Jim Morrison, which I will definitely need to do before departing, to thank him for his contributions to American music, and maybe ask for his autograph on my Doors Anthology Album. Kidding.
Well, Madame must be cooking something delicious for dinner, because I can smell it wafting into my room and that smell is DIVINE. Oh, and by the way, I must have done well at dinner last night because Madame said that her sisters found me adorable. Yay Me!!
A bientot!
4 comments:
Thanks for the shout-out homegirl!! The pictures are unbelievable…eerie… yet… serene. HAHHA Please post some melodramatic poetry soon. Have you started classes yet??
These photos are incredible--it seemed like the perfect day weather-wise to visit Pere-Lachaise. Beautiful, but a bit melancholy.
Speaking of shout-outs, the pansies did not go unnoticed.
Je t'aime, and thinking of you,
Mommy
Well i was gonna say how beautiful your photos were, but I guess a bunch of people beat me too it. I have to say that being in third world countries where I fear my camera getting stolen has cramped my photography skills...That plus my lack of photoshop....Keep up the good work
I'm with everyone else on the photographs...and I did love the pansy purse: just like your Mom.
Monte and I watched a movie recently (in french with subtitles...something about love with a series of vignettes)that featured that particular cemetary. The characters paid a visit to Jim Morrison. It does look like such an interesting and "varigated" kind of place. Will definitely check it out on our next trip there...which I hope is soon. Your blog allows me to "go" there daily and I appreciate your efforts so much.
And to Madame, I say "Bien sur." You are adorable and she is very wise to notice...along with her very smart sisters!
Au Bientot Adorable Ashley!
Love to you,
Heidi
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