Day Nine – Pere Lachaise
Saturday March 10
We patiently waited for late sleeper Nicole to enjoy some well earned zzzz's and arrive from her nearby apartment to shepherd us around town again. It was her day off and we looked forward to spending the weekend with her. While waiting, we explored the immediate neighborhood and discovered several bakeries with tantalizing window displays. The eclairs and other chocolaty pastries would be a staple of our Parisian mornings.
Our first stop took us to a city park that, from a perch on a hilltop, had a good view of Sacre Le Coeur in the distance. There were many people out enjoying this sunny spring day, and we even saw a wedding party strolling the grounds.
I'm not sure which one of these guys was the groom. He is probably the one lagging behind, yakking on the cell phone, "...No, Pierre, I can't play soccer. I have to go to my wedding reception..."
Later we rode the Metro to the 20th arrondissement, (district), to visit Pere Lachaise cemetery, a place celebrities throughout history were just dying to get into. It encompasses over one hundred hilly acres, the largest cemetery in Paris. In the hour and a half that we spent there, we walked through only a very small portion of it.
The estate was acquired by Jesuits in the 17th century but they were expelled after an attempt to harm Louis XV. Napoleon I reacquired the property in 1804 for use as the 'Eastern Cemetery'. Amongst the many, many dead and famous prominent authors, artists, composers, philosophers, and entertainers residing there are such luminaries as Oscar Wilde, Marcel Proust, Sarah Bernhardt, Fredric Chopin, and James Morrison.
Viewing the graves of all those dead people left us with a hearty appetite. We went to a tiny restaurant and ordered chicken & cheese Panini's with lettuce and tomato or crepe's with Nutella and banana, for lunch. We sat out and enjoyed the beautiful weather, apparently an abberration. Our wet weather gear was always close at hand in my backpack.
We decided to head back to Heliopolis and nap for a while. On the way we stopped at a market and stocked up on a few supplies for our hotel room, such as cereal pictured on 'day two', and a couple boxes of milk, some fruit, and disposable plates and cups, etc. We planned to meet with Nicole after 6 and go to dinner.
From our hotel we walked to the traffic circle around the Arc de Triomphe. We saved our visit to the inside of the monument for another day. Instead, we watched with amusement as cars and busses jousted for position, whipping across traffic lanes to enter and exit the circle. I think the rules are either that there are no rules, or 'keep your pace'.
When the excitement of watching the demolition derby wore off we hopped the train to get another late dinner at a French Restaurant. The place was staffed by one waiter and one chef, each doing the work of three. Maybe someone called off sick for the night. It was comical to watch the waiter deliver meals to a small upper section with an armload of entrée’s, taking the stairs two-by-two. When he came back down, it sounded like he was falling down the stairs, his feet a rumbling blur of motion, arms loaded with empty plates - and he never so much as lost a spoon! We all had a delicious meal – three of us had a quiche – though service was slow for obvious reasons.
Next we walked off our meal, strolling and talking through the neighborhood, even stumbling into the last few minutes of an indoor flea market. The vendors were eager to have us sample their tea.
For the second night in a row, we found ourselves on the last train home.
Day One Travel To Iberia
Day Two Marbella
Day Three Mijas
Day Four Granada
Day Five Gibraltar
Day Six Ronda
Day Seven Marbella
Day Eight Paris
Day Ten Louvre mall; in Notre Dame
Day Eleven Ste Chappelle; Le Tour Eiffle
Day Twelve Versailles; Musee D'Orsay
Day Thirteen Louvre Musee
Day Fourteen Musee's D'Orsay, Rodin, Paris Modern Art
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