Paris in Autumn was a very different place to the city we had left in late Summer.The Parisians had pulled out their Autumnal wardrobe gear, there was a lot more purposeful striding (or scootering) through the streets with a Gauloise ciggy and a briefcase. Summer was definitely over!
Our mood was gloomy, dark thoughts of the approaching 24-hour flight lay heavy on our minds. We needed to go to ..... a Cemetery! Pere La Chaise is the most famous (and biggest) resting place in Paris. Jim Morrison's grave is one of the must-see sights for American backpackers and women of a certain age who could still remember the late 60's. (Rhonda said, 'Jim Who?')
Coincidentally, the first movie I saw on the return flight was a documentary on Morrison (People Are Strange, I think it was). It was a very good doco, and quite timely. He really had a death wish, did Jim. Even Janis Joplin was disgusted by his behaviour, which is saying something!
And then we saw Archie!This young fella was with his parents just up from JM. A beautiful image.
Oscar Wilde was originally buried outside of the city in a nondescript grave.In the 70's a wealthy benefactor paid for this more fitting memorial to the great man. Notice the thousands of lipstick impressions. (Not all of them female, I might add!)
As he said, "The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about." I think Oscar would be pleased with this ostentatious tribute to his genius.
"He loved Stendahl, Pavarotti, Gamine and Pink Floyd, but at 29 years of age......"Don't know who he was, but by the look of him he packed a fair bit into his 29 years.
Sacre Coeur is set on a hill overlooking the city.It was completed in its present form by some wealthy businessmen who made a pact to build a magnificent tribute to God if they survived World War 1. A win-win situation, I think! It is a stupendous structure from the inside- even for a couple of jaded tourists who were all over cathedrals! Inside I made a wish by touching St Peter's right foot- AFL results on the weekend will determine whether my 50 cents was well spent!
Abbesses Metro station is one of the few remaining Art Nouveau originals, taking you back to Paris of the late 19th century. The beggars and hawkers soon bring you back to the 21st, though...
To keep the mood suitably dark, our final excursion was to the Catacombs of Montparnasse. Less famous than Rome's catacombs, they are nevertheless very striking. 6 million Parisians are interred here, after an order in the 1750s to empty the cemetries throughout Paris. Barrowloads of bones were carted into the tombs every night over the space of a few years, supervised by a chanting priest. Must have been a lot of fun!In the Revolution, the catacombs were used by the good citizens both to escape their pursuers and to dispose of unwanted (or despised) bodies. Apparently both Robespierre and Marat are here somewhere- there are no signs save for the date, and in some cases the original cemetry.
So our adventures have come to an end- the last act is the long flight home. Armed with our noise-cancelling headphones, though, this holds no fear for your intrepid travellers!
A few random thoughts and memories to finish:
* There are no insects in Europe! Save for a wasp in Interlaken and some bees in the Loire Valley- nothing!
*A secondary school excursion in Interlaken (about Year 10/11), everyone piles off the train and .... lights up a smoke!! It is wrong to smoke on the train but not to smoke on a school excursion.
*Machine-gun toting soldiers on the platform at Austerlitz- makes you think twice.
*'We have to talk!' Young American women can be very forthright when things are NOT GOOD ENOUGH! Apparently seeing a scorpion in your room in Florence falls into that category.
*The sights you see from a fast train: a farmer washing his goat in the Alps, a Mountain Goat poised to leap into the carriage (a carving I think) and cows with the biggest udders I have ever seen in the Lucerne area.
* Pipes and cigars smoked by the men (everywhere) ciggies by the young folk, even while scooting around on their Vespas....
*Traffic police watching the confusion on the roads in Italy with an ironic grin behind their helmets, but not daring to actually do anything.
*We only saw one traffic accident in 5 weeks- unbelievable!
So that is that- now to plan the next Big Trip!!
