Cemetary Père Lachaise, Paris

Cemetaries in Paris

Irrespectively of our religious thoughts, there are the practical matter of where we put our dead. Different cultures and places in the world deal with this necessity differently. Paris, being more than two millennium old, in no exception.

There is something intriguing to everyone about the old cemeteries in Paris. I recently bought a guide to summer walks in Paris and among the suggestions of parks and green spaces there were the cemeteries. There are 14 marked cemeteries within the city limits. I say marked because there are certainly more cemeteries that have been built upon or forgotten. Not forgotten are the Catecombs of Paris, those underground caves carved into the limestone over the centuries to keep the remains of millions of Parisians, but the Catecombs are for another story.

Le Cimetière du Père Lachaise in Late Summer

Last Sunday, after being inspired by my adventure in the Cimètaire de Montparnasse on Friday, I ventured to La Cimetière du Père Lachaise for the sunny afternoon, taking Métro line 6 from Montparnasse to Nation then line 2 to station Philippe Auguste in the 20th. The leaves are starting to turn yellow in many of the trees and families were strolling with babies in carriages along the cobblestone lanes. To me it seemed a dichotomy to enjoy such a pleasant afternoon among thousands of dead. And who were they, the tens of thousands resting here ? Certainly many are or were quite famous and known throughout the world in their time and indeed our own.

Death and Decay

It is disturbing that there are so many magnificent tombs that have fallen into a state of decay, obviously being forgotten and lost by those who once loved the deceased. Someone once built stately monuments, tombs, statues for their loved ones. Obviously those who did so follwed and are gone as well. The generations who followed were more and more removed.

Walking through a grand cemetery such as Père Lachaise makes me think of my own mortality and the certainty of my death, then years later of me being forgotten. Death and eventually being forgotten will happen to everyone after dozens, hundreds or thousands of years. These macabre photos are my interpretation of that eventuality.

Paris Left Bank Shops

La Boulangerie Poilâne

This evening I walked along the rue de Vaugirard towards the Seine, taking a turn to rue du Cherche-Midi and walked by the original location of the famous bakery Poilâne. Pierre Poilâne opened this bakery in 1932 at No. 8 rue du Cherche-Midi in the Saint Germain des Prés district of Paris. Pierre made a dense, stone-ground whole wheat bread with natural fermentation and baked in a wood-fired baking oven. Even after WWII, Pierre Poilâne continued his rustic craft despite the fact that white bread was much in fashion.

The production of Poilâne bread was much expanded after Pierre's son Lionel took over the business in the 1970s. Today, the sourdough bread can be found in many supermarkets and restaurants throughout Paris but we Parisians find the little original bakery a delightful place to buy the famous bread.

La Fromagerie Barthélemy

There are other small shops in the Saint Germain des Prés area, such as the fromagerie Barthélemy at 51, rue de Grenelle, 75007 Paris run by Roland Barthélemy. Although he does not have a website for the fromagerie, or 'cheese shop', many references of Fromagerie Barthélemy can be found by searching Google. One reference quoted an American...

"The clever cat eats cheese and breathes down rat holes with baited breath."

W. C. Fields (1880-1946),
American comic and actor

Le Repaire de Bacchus

There are other little boutiques that appear to be quite small and family run but are part of a large network. An example is Le Repaire de Bacchus on 74 rue de Grenelle. Although one can certainly buy wine on-line and have it delivered, I find it interesting to buy in the little store.

3 jours, 3 euros

3 jours, 3 euros

Today, Sunday, was the first day of 3 jours, 3 euros (3 days, 3 euros). All seats in all cinemas are three euros per person for August 20, 21 and 22, no matter what the film, no matter which cinema. Just during the most quiet period of mid-August when Parisiens are vacationing, this little Film Festival brings some excitement and indeed revenues to somewhat empty Parisian cinemas. There was no better film to see than Paris je t'aime, a film first shown at the Festival du Film à Cannes. This film was a mélange of 18 directors with just five minutes each to tell a story of Paris. There were many different styles and some I found much better than others but what I really enjoyed was viewing the Parisian neighborhoods I know from a film director's lens.

Special Paris Events

3 jours, 3 euros is one of the special things that the mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë has done to raise the spirit of the city. Another event, Paris Plage, ended today after one month. I must admit that I did not get down to the Seine enough this year. I was away for two long weekends and frankly, the month of August has been quite chilly. Parking in Paris is free in August to encourage people to visit. Sure there are plenty of tourists but the city lacks the French. I will miss them until they really come back in September.

Paris Cinema

The French love films and eventhough the entry price is more than 9 euros ($11), the lines are normally long and it is necessary to arrive early. The quartier Montparnasse where I live is famous for it's cinemas, theatres and restaurants. At the cinamas there are special subscription prices for a booklet of tickets or special reductions through the place of work. For those who are in Paris in August and the weather is not ideal, 3 jours, 3 euros is a special little event that makes living in Paris a pleasure.

When One Opens a Window in Paris

Windows without Screens

Windows are wonderful in Paris. I open the windows to the apartment quite often, especially in the summer during the evenings and night to let the cool breeze pass through. To the amazement of my curious American family and friends, no one has window screens in Paris or in France. At first I thought this was strange myself and then after thinking about it, I wondered why we really need screens after all.

Winged Creatures

There are very few house flies or mosquitoes in Paris. Paris is a city and one would expect fewer flies. But the streets are not exactly clean, ahem, and there are many opportunities to breed baby flies. Quite possibly the answer is the multitude of martinets or common swifts who patrol the skies of Paris. Arriving in May from Africa, announced by their little 'scree-scree' sounds and they must consume a huge number of flying insects.

I wonder about the larger flying creatures entering through an open window. There are the ground-loving grey pigeons or pigeon biset and the larger pigeons colombin much like what I think of as mourning doves, but they do not seem to mount to any sort of elevation unless they are going somewhere and then again they do not seem to be interested in entering an open window.

There are certainly other birds in Paris such as crows and seagulls but none seem to be tempted by an open window either.

With that to say, open, screenless windows are normal, even the floor to ceiling, walk-out type like I have. I do have a narrow balcony but being on the 7ème étage or the 8th floor as Americans count them, I am not worried by critters entering my apartment.

A Visitor

One warm evening while being a mouse potato at my computer, I saw a brief movement, a shadow over my left shoulder. I turned and looked. There in my the middle of my bedroom on the 8th floor of the building, looking straight at me, was a very large black cat with large yellow eyes.

I rose and called but the cat leapt out the floor-to-ceiling window... (don't worry)... onto the balcony and ran past the rather decorative but ineffective separation between my apartment's balcony and that of my neighbors. Obviously the neighbors had their walk-out window open and being curious creatures, the cat explored.

Two more times I saw the cat in the apartment. One morning I woke early to a small noise and went to investigate. Yes, it was the cat in my office playing with something. We looked at each other and the cat ran out the bedroom window.

The last time I saw the black cat was over one month ago. I had left my bedroom window closed because of a rather strong breeze during the night and when I rose for the day and entered the living room where the window was open, there was the black cat in the middle of the living room. We looked at each other for a second and the cat ran for the bedroom window. He stopped and looked at the closed window. Ooops. After two seconds of panic the black cat dashed back into the living room and desperatelyy sprang out of the open living room window on the 8th floor.... Hopefully he did not slip into the void.... But I have not seen him since.

.... and my windows are open right now.

Tour de France 2006 ends in Paris

The Tour de France 2006 ended today on the Champs Elysées after the racers traveled more than 2000 miles throughout all regions of France.

19 of the 20 teams completed the trip and each team, sponsored by a major company, wore colorful jerseys and rode bicycles that were obviously technically excellent. The race went from the Concorde to the Arc de Triomph (four round-trips) allowing the thousands of spectators chances to capture a photo or two.

Surprisingly after the reign and retirement of American Lance Armstrong, another American won. Floyd Landis from Pennsylvania won by a 'nail biter' and his joy showed as he took the 'victory lap' along the grand boulevard.

The photographers stormed Landis whenever he stopped and he greatfully allowed them to do their work.

Even Lance was there along the Champs Elysées......

When it's Hot in Paris and Other Thoughts

When It's Hot

The last couple weeks have been warm for Paris, up into the mid 90s. It is very rare to have air conditioning in Paris so we have suffered a little. Well, one dresses for the heat and shutters the windows during the day and opens them in the evening and night. Everyone is eating salads along the sidewalk cafés and drinking chilled rosé wine.

This evening the weather is quite comfortable with a small breeze flowing through the apartment and the temperature being in the lower 70s. When it was warmer this afternoon I took a siesta and now I can enjoy staying up later this evening.

The Paris Plage

The Paris Plage (Paris Beach) opened Wednesday and everyone is taking advantage. Several tons of sand were brought in, beach chairs, umbrellas, etc. along the Seine and there is a vacation spirit. I will go down tomorrow and take a few photos.

The Tour de France (bicycle race) arrives in Paris tomorrow finishing along the Champs Elysées after having spent several previous weeks with stages in most parts of France. Now that Lance Armstrong has stopped participating, the field is open and it is amazing that an American again will probably win tomorrow.

All said, tomorrow will be charged, starting with housekeeping in the morning, Tour de France mid-afternoon and then Paris Plage in the late afternoon. Hopefully, I can do everything on the schedule.

The Coupe du monde

There is usually something in the papers each day about Zidane and the Coupe du Monde. He was fined last week and suspended for three games, even if he is retired. There is not much one can do about that unfortunate lack of judgment in the last minutes of the last game of Zidane’s career. Certainly everyone was buzzing about the game and it still comes up in conversation. Most people here think that even if he was insulted, the head butt wasn’t very sportive and uncalled for. The speech after the game of Jacques Chirac was empty when he praised Zidane for his contribution, for giving France hope and for his excellent sportsmanship… dohhh. Guess he had that written before the game.

Bordeaux and Region

The trip to Bordeaux was quite good the weekend of 14-Juillet. I took the train to Bordeaux and then by car to the Medoc and saw the famous wine chataux, most of which were closed for the holiday and the weekend....hmm. I did not realize that the Grand Chateaux require a reservation one month in advance (Lafite Rothschild, Chateaux Margaux, etc.) and the lesser known require one week’s reservation. Well, I did visit two lesser châteaux but I was not impressed with the wine I tasted. In the end, I did not buy any wine to lug back to Paris. I notice there are some of the same wines in my local supermarket for a few euros more than in Bordeaux. On the internet one can buy wine, the selection is greater but on has to pay for shipping. There is no free lunch but if the lunch includes a good wine, well… who cares ? The rest of the trip was to the west coast and beaches, then to the Saint Emillon region (more wine).

Fête de la Musique, Paris

Paris, summer 2006; the Longest Days

The longest summer days are among my favorite in Paris, especially the Fête de la Musique which is celebrated on June 21st each year. All of France and many countries in Europe celebrate the summer solstice with free concerts and other festivities. In looking at the schedule for Paris area there were over 500 free concerts and musicians playing. There are classical music concerts of chamber music in gothic churches, orchestras in concert halls, jazz bands in bars, and musicians along the streets with an amplifier plugged into a free outlet singing rock or French 'chansons'. Of course there are many ad hoc performers who sit on the curb, sing and play with their hat in front hoping for a few euros but all performances are supposed to be free.

The restaurants and cafes are packed, the streets are filled with people walking, the metros run completely full all night (with a special of 2.50 euros for all night) and the streets are impassable by the cars. The sun sets at 10pm but there is twilight for another hour and one cannot see the starts until much later. Last year I bragged that I stayed out until after dark ! Well, it was a work night but I did not return until near 1am.

Tomorrow evening is the Fête de la Musique and I plan to go down to the Latin Quarter. Hopefully the Metro will not be crowded but certainly the streets will be more and more crowded as the night goes on.

Certainly I will walk back the 20 minutes to my apartment or so since the Metros become very crowded later in the evening.