Necro- and Metropolis

The day began going back in time by visiting the most celebre cemetery in Paris: Cimetière de Père-Lachaise, – probably the most visited in world.

This necropolis covers a huge area and is fully booked with tombs and mausoleums of all imaginable kinds. Many famous people have found their final resting place here; we saw but only a few.

The tomb of Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin. His bones rest here but his heart is buried in the Holy Cross Church in Warsaw.


One has the right to be buried in Père-Lachaise if one dies in Paris,
or lived here – but space is limited and there is a long waiting list.

The family dog may not be buried here as well, but it sure is keeping watch over its long gone master.

A large section is dedicated to memorials for the thousands of French citizens killed during the many wars and revolutions that Paris has endured.

This wall witnessed the last 150 Communards being shot by the French Army in the evening of May 28, 1871, during the final hours of the revolution known as the Paris Commune.

This 21-year-old journalist, Victor Noir, was shot and killed in January 1870 by Prince Pierre-Napoléon Bonaparte. You may notice that certain areas (shoe tip, fly and mouth) of the bronze figure are rather well polished. If you are interested in reading about this strange necro-romantique case, click here: http://parisisinvisible.blogspot.fr/2012/03/strange-journey-of-victor-noir.html

Cremated Parisians can rent a tiny 1-room box for the urn, – apparently with no waiting list.

A somewhat saddening sight: Discarded wreaths and bouquets
next to the crematorium.
- – o O o – -

After a good homemade lunch in a nearby park with live birds, dogs and people, we Metro-ed to the museum for the artist Aristide Maillol, mostly known for his fine sculptures of nude women.

While heading home from Maillol we saw this Danish contribution
to the French minds.
So much more quality valeur than this Danish contribution
to the French palates:

Paris loves its image as the "City of love" but the city authority doesn't appreciate the rapidly increasing number of key-less padlocks on certain pedestrian bridges. Paris officials have, so far, removed 45 tons of love-locks from the rails of the bridges.

With this blue-haired blue-lipped Notre-Dame de Paris

today's sojourn ends.