Thursday, May 4, 2000
Visited Pere Lachaise and Grande Arche de la Defense. Pere Lachaise is a graveyard a short trip out from the center of town. I saw creepy things like tombs with the door partly open and grave covers next to earth which had given way and you could sort of see a hole in the ground below. A number of graves had obviously-too-bright flowers, and I wondered if the dead thought plastic flowers were okay. The grave of Victor Noir (27 July 1848 to 10 January 1870): who was he? how did he die? More creepy stuff: a grave next to a tree whose roots made it seem as though the deceased were trying to get out. There is some kind of grade school below and beyond the southeast wall. i never realized how much kids at play sounds exactly like kids being tortured. I also saw a cat in the cemetary trying to catch pigeons, ironic, I thought, that the balance between life and death exists even here in this resting place. I boarded a Metro train today and heard accordian music playing old French tunes. I thought it was piped in for the tourists, but was surprised when I turned around and it was a live musician. It was charming because the music was good, but annoying that Paris permits them to aggressively beg for money when you're just trying to get from point A to point B. The more I rode the Metro, the more musicians I saw. Another time it was 2 musicians, one playing guitar, the other on the flute. The Grande Arche de la Defense is a building that resembles a giant Borg cube that has been exquisitely hollowed out and painted with glass. The view from the top was terrible due to the fog. I had lunch at Le Ferney, which was the closest authentic French dining I could find in this touristy area. Luckily, the waiter I got knew both French and English. I got the menu prix fixe for 89 francs: a nicoise salad and a brouchette of beef. The salad was like garden vegetable spaghetti sauce on some mixed greens. The brouchette was a little too rare for me, in other words perfectly cooked. It came with grilled potatoes, a little too salty. A kir au sauvignon topped off the meal. Holga photos taken this afternoon were with Ilford X82 Super 400 C41. In the afternoon, I took a walking tour of the historic Marais with Paris Walking Tours (60 francs). The tour was given by Oriel Caine, and I highly recommend taking a tour with her. She took our tour group all through the Marais, explaining history that fascinated me as I listened but subsequently forgot. From my notes, she showed us a tower that was built in 1200 which was part of the old city wall, part of the city pawnbroker's building so there are many valuable objects (something - my notes are incomplete). Chez Ma Tante. Credi-municipale. Hotel Saubise: Soubise family, 14th century, home of the Geeze family (murderers), then the Soubise. Musee Picasso aka L'Hotel Sellé. L'Orangerie means "the greenhouse." Hotel Carnavale: 16th century. Our tour ended in Place des Vosges, the oldest square in Paris. The trees were all green and were trimmed in perfect box shapes. Very charming. Lots of people about enjoying the warm weather.