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Published: August 9th 2015
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Cimeterie Pere Lachaise
Looking down one of the avenues. Saturday 8 August 2015
A slow start today. Last night was quite warm and made sleeping difficult. On the other side of the world sleeping might have been difficult because of the cold. Something to look forward in a week's time.
Over a light breakfast we planned today's activities and the different Metros we will need to take. For the novice it is quite an undertaking. First find the nearest station at destination. Find out what line to take and in which direction. Next find the connecting lines that will meet the RER B line that we take to the city. Our first visit involves two metro lines. Destination Cimetière du Père Lachaise. This cemetery has over 800,000 people buried here. There are many famous writers, artists, composers, dancers and singers. It would take some days, if not weeks, to find the graves of the famous names such as Chopin, Moliere, Seurat, Edith Piaf, and Sarah Bernhardt, to name a few. One grave that attracts most attention is that of Oscar Wilde. Having been restored recently it is surrounded by protective see-through panels. Even so people still manage to drop tributes over the top. In the very large columbarium
Cimeterie Pere Lachaise
A sample of some of the graves and mausoleum. are more well known people. The dancer Isadora Duncan has a quiet spot away from the public gaze. As we walk the cemetery we wonder about the stories each grave could tell.
We take the metro to our next destination, a short walk from the Bastille Metro Station. We are tempted by a small cafe selling crepes. We have been interested in buying an electric crepe hot plate and set up a stall in Alexandra, NZ, during the summer to feed the tourists. Fortunately for the tourists the hot plates we have seen are too heavy for the suitcase. We'll try out our new pan at home instead. So we watched our crepes being made and asked tricky questions like how hot does the plate have to be. We enjoyed our lunch on a park bench on the street and discussed the wide variety of motor scooters whizzing around.
Lunch over it was time to find Place des Vosges. This square is the oldest in Paris. There is a covered arcade that forms the ground floor of the houses around the perimeter of the square. This arcade makes for fine dining outdoors. There are many art galleries exhibiting
a wide range of paintings, drawings and sculptures. One shop we were looking for was Dammann Freres, a seller of fine teas. What a choice! Some freshly brewed samples were available for tasting. Meanwhile in the square many people were enjoying the pleasantly warm afternoon to relax.
Having satisfied ourselves in the square we headed for our next destination, 111 Boulevard Beaumarchais, the home of the store, Merci. This shop is spread over several floors and appears to be an alternative department store selling such a diverse range of merchandise from expensive clothes, high class furniture, stationery, books and second hand books. Fortunately the euro sign was rather large and the suitcase rather small so we came away empty handed.
A look at the time, a feeling of weariness was coming over us, we decided the next destination will wait until tomorrow. Three moderately crowded trains later we arrived at a connecting RER B station for our final train ride of the day. As you sit on the train you look around and wonder about your fellow passengers. With the migrant problem in Europe featuring on every news channel we wonder from which countries our fellow travellers came
Place des Vosges
Under the arcade minus the restaurants. from and what sort of experience did they have getting here. They certainly looked settled in the French way of life.
Once again the cold beer and nibbles were a great way to finish an interesting day. Tomorrow is our final day in Europe. It better be fine. We hope to have lunch on the Champs Elysees. But then again we have a very flexible plan.
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