We walked into the 20th arrondissement or district to visit the famous Pere Lachaise Cemetery. You might ask why? And probably are, because it is a beautiful park and full of history.
The Pere Lachaise Cemetery is a fascinating place to visit, beautiful, tree lined cobbled lanes move you from one alley to the next.
 |
| Paul-Jacques-Aime Baudry |
There are many famous people buried here, like the fellow above who was a French painter in the 1800's. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul-Jacques-Aim%C3%A9_Baudry
Chopin, Oscar Wilde, musicians, composers, writers, famous French families, you name it and right up to this century, such as musician Jim Morrison.
 |
| I don't know the significance of the concrete ball but liked it. |
It is on a hilltop and spreads downward with many steps in the parts we saw, Bruce in his chair prevented him from seeing it all, but we saw enough.
 |
| Fairly typical of them |
 |
| Rows upon rows of these structures |
Read more about it in the above links. We packed a picnic and sitting on a stone bench to have our lunch, alternative bench was wooden and lichen covered, I thought if I sat on it would collapse, read instead of green butt, cold butt.
 |
| Ceramic pillow, pretty! |
There are no more "phone-booth" like houses anymore, it is all granite slab and we wonder (a bit ghoulishly) how they are opened to admit a new member. Did see one with handles on top, but only one, my friend Jay probably knows. Some of the sites are meticulously taken care of, some are almost falling down.
 |
| She looks like she has a bit of attitude I think. |
Around the cemetery are all businesses associated with the "business", undertakers, florists, ceramic artists, etc.
So that was our enjoyable visit. The day was perfect weather wise and walking along the tree lined paths, seeing the flowers, it was a true walk in a park.
Some things I've noticed that are different here from other European cities we’ve been in. Most, almost all, apartment complexes have a number/letter pad for a coded entry, then regular key to get into the flat. This flat has a tricky key and if you can’t get it done there are outside shutters that you can operate also with a key to seal the place up. Like in Sevilla many have courtyards but they aren’t as elaborate, no water features but many have gardens. Streets are tree lined and even in mid-August there are lots of brown leaves on the ground. They run water though the drains in the streets in the mornings, perhaps to clear the drains of the leaves, not bachles but just running water, helps to cool the city down too.
It seems like people here, at least in the neighbourhoods we’ve visited have taken a “happy pill” or “happiness lessons”. With what Paris has been through and it’s "reputation" I expected something a little less in that department, not so. People will even say Bon Appetit while walking by your table, they smile at strangers, waiters and store people are polite. This is our experience so far.
I went into another boulangerie for a baguette for our lunch and found a different system of handling cash payment. There are two slots to put coins and bills into and return change. It is used to sanitize the shop keeper from money, I assume, since they don’t wear gloves when handing you your fresh bit of bread, good system really. Carrying the baguette back, I felt "French", sometimes just it's just wrapped in a napkin. It seems every second person has one in hand or bag.
There is a large company here called Deliveroo, logo is a kangaroo, they do home or office delivery of food on motor or push bikes. https://deliveroo.fr/en/faq The writer of FAQ has a sense of humour, read "Why they don't accept cash". I had to look it up because riders go by the cafes we've been in very frequently.
While we haven't seen the big sights, we're booked on a river cruise next week so we'll see the most famous from the water. Looking forward to that.
Cheers, Bx2 and Lexi Cat, who is not wearing a beret.
No comments:
Post a Comment