Resist everything but temptation

---

I went to Pere-Lachaise cemetery today, Paris' equivalent of Highgate. It was really beautiful, lined with tombs that had little chapels above them, other tombs were overgrown in that fairytale way and some were just great works of art. The sun shone, there was no wind, it was quiet and relaxing and lovely to get away from the bustle of the centre.

Oscar Wilde's tomb was covered in grafitti and lipstick from where people had kissed it. One wag had even written 'You're one of the few reasons I'm proud to be Irish'! By the tomb was a warning saying it was protected by law and should not be grafittiied or marked in any way, but surely that's what Oscar would have wanted? He was a rebel and he did say 'Resist everything but temptation'. It's strange though how a man who made millions laugh gets a tomb this size and a man responsible for wars that killed millions gets a tomb Napoleon's size. What a very stupid world we live in.

As I'm in France I decided to do a bit of French cuisine. I had steak tartare with cotes du rhone and crepes citron for lunch. Tres bien!

In the afternoon I went to the Bastille. There's now only a monument, the Bastille has been missing since that terrible storm of '89. 😊

Had a gander at the Arc du Carousel, a sort of smaller Arc de Triomphe that used to gate a palace. It's interesting for its pink marble ionic columns. You don't see that very often. It stands by the Louve opposite a big glass pyramid. Supposedly modern art, it is completely incongruous with the rest of the classical palace and looks like a temporary greenhouse. Ugh!

Off to the catacombs today to look at thousands of skeletons and then to Sacre Coeur on the Butte and finally the Eurostar at 8pm.

---

Photos

Umbrella Shop!
How cool is that!?!

St Michel's Fountain
Yes, the water really is bright green. Tasty too.

Arts et Metiers metro station
It's like being in a brass submarine.

Pere-Lachaise Cemetery
Absolutely beautiful.

Pere-Lachaise Cemetery
The sun was shining, the birds were singing. It was so tranquil.

Oscar Wilde's tomb
Note the grafitti and lipstick.

The angel on Oscar's tomb
I'm sure he would have laughed.

Died aged 9 in 1912 but someone still puts flowers on his grave
Isn't that beautiful?

Kefen died last year aged 8
Gone but not forgotten.

The Bastille...
...missing since the storm of '89. That joke's so good I've said it twice. :)

Eight little Queens
Her hand waves back and forth. Almost bought one!

The White Tree of Gondor
Looks in fairly good nick since they gave it some water. Now why didn't Gandalf think of that?

Sailing his boats in the Jardin de Tuilleries
It was fun watching him racing round the pond every time one of the boats got stuck against the side and batting it with his stick.

Joan D'Arc, burnt as a witch.
Which must have been tricky as she's clearly made of gold.

Comments

[Oly]

Keep on going
Glad that you're back out there and travelling again. Keep the blog posts coming. So where will it be next?

[Carbon Heresy]

Planning Athens next for some Parthenon action.

[Oly]

Oooo a bit of Greek action then
Very good. Crete's quite nice if you're over that way, you've got the Minoan ruins which are pretty interesting, but I'm not sure if it's worth it for the history alone...

[Carbon Heresy]

I've no idea what you're talking about Hils. Alonsy? What's that? Listen, spend some money, buy the DVD of City of Death with Tom Baker, Lalla Ward, John Cleese, Julian Glover and other luminaries, scripted by Douglas Adams and filmed on location in Paris. It's hilariously witty and jolly good fun. You'll love it.