Cemetiere du Pere Lachaise

Since the end of my trip is drawing near, I wondered what remained on my "to do" list.   Having cooked quite a bit over the past two weeks, I decided to give the pursuit of French cuisine a rest.  I've never visited the Cemetery du Pere Lachaise so that was today's focus.  As Paris's most prestigious cemetery, it is the final resting place for more than a few celebrities.  Perched on a wooded hill above the city, it's actually quite a relaxing spot.  The funerary sculptures are striking to say the least.

I had a map (not a great one) designating the locations of celebrity grave sites.  The first one was pointed out to me by a elderly French gentleman who could obviously tell that I was going nowhere fast.  Below is the grave of Theodore Gericault, a French romantic painter.  The Raft of the Medusa (1819) is depicted on the front of his tomb.  This painting is on display at the Louvre.

Next came my search for the resting place of Jim Morrison, lead singer of the Doors.  He died mysteriously in Paris in 1971.  I had a difficult time finding it.  Lot's of folks asked me for directions.  Little did they know that they were flirting with disaster.  I have little sense of direction.  There are no directional markers for specific grave sites, but if you see a crowd, be certain that it's the resting place of someone famous.

Third on the list was Oscar Wilde, famous Irish playwright, poet and author.  He lived a turbulent life and died in Paris at the age of forty-six.  Jacob Epstein sculpted his monument which is, sadly, covered with graffiti.  To add insult to injury, a significant part of his anatomy has been removed.  Sick!

Today's weather was gorgeous, so I took the time to wander along the cobblestone streets and read some of the epitaths.  There are more than a few memorials to those who were a part of the "French resistance".  So much history in this cemetery.

Edith Piaf is considered to be the most famous French singer of popular music.  She died of liver cancer in 1963.   Piaf lived what was to some an "unacceptable" lifestyle, and therefore was denied a funeral mass by the Roman Catholic Church.  Nevertheless, tens of thousands of mourners showed up at her procession.

Four o'clock was closing in, and I hadn't eaten lunch.  The little falafel place in the Marais was calling my name. (L'as du Falafel)  I made my way there, and at only five euros, it was so worth the trip.!