Monday, October 15, 2012

Paris - Light My Fire

It was a beautiful sunny day for our excursion via metro to Rue Cler. Rue Cler is a pedestrian street located on the left bank. Lots of restaurants, wine and cheese shops. Apparently one of the best cheese shops in France is located here - since we could only find one cheese shop we assumed that was the one. We stopped to enjoy a cafe creme in the sun and stroll by numerous bake shops ( which are open on Sundays). Considering all the baguettes, breads, croissants and pain Au chocolat the French eat they are remarkable fit- probably from all the walking, just getting from one subway line to another entails a good 10 -15 minute walk underground.

 
Next we made our way to the largest cemetery in Paris, Pere Lachaise in the 20th district ( I think I could be a Paris underground tour guide). Some famous people are buried here such as Chopin, Garnier (architect of the Opera House and Jim Morrison from the Doors (don't you love me baby as I am walking out that door) are you singing yet. Jim died in 1971 in Paris of a heroine overdose at the age of 27. There has been much controversy regarding his grave - original unmarked, then a stone and bust was placed on the sight. The bust was vandalized and stolen - there is a lot of graffiti type markings around the grave area mostly done by his fans. Apparently there is an artist who is trying to obtain permission to place another bust on the site. The cemetery is much like the ones I saw in New Orleans with many crypts - we even saw a funeral in progress with a procession following the casket and then they played Whitney Houston music. On the way out of the cemetery I stopped to use the washroom - OMG! The smell in this washroom could have raised the dead!

Garnier grave site (archetict of Opera House)
 
Chopin grave site
 
 

 

 

 

 

Jim Morrison

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

Our last couple of days in Paris it rained and rained and rained - so it was a good opportunity to hang around the apartment and sample several bottles of champagne while we talked until 4 in the morning.

We did venture out on our last evening to the area where the moulin Rouge is located in the 9th district about a 20 minute walk from our apartment. Thought about applying for a job but did not want to show up thos french can can girls.

Moulin Rouge built in 1889 is best known as the spiritual birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance. Originally introduced as a seductive dance by the courtesans who operated from the site, the can-can dance revue evolved into a form of entertainment of its own and led to the introduction of cabarets across Europe. Today, Moulin Rouge is a tourist attraction, offering musical dance entertainment for visitors from around the world. The club's decor still contains much of the romance of turn-of-the-20th-century France.

This area is so lively in the evening with restaurants, bars and brothels. This use to be the area where the artist lived (Montmartre) and they would hire prostitutes to pose nude for their paintings. We enjoyed dinner in one of the cafes while listening to live music and watching all the action on the street - a great way to spend our last night in Paris.

 

 
 
 
 

Night view from our accommodation.

Off to Scotland . . . . . .

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