Art, the Universe and Everything

The City Of The Dead
Monday, May 16. Today is the day of the Pentecost which means we don't have class and we get to sleep in!!! It was awesome, especially since I was up later than usual talking to my sister, Amber. McKenna and I had planned on going running, but then we realized that we had no food and needed to go to the store. After we went shopping and made ourselves lunch, we left to go to the cemetery du Pere-Lachaise. It's the largest cemetery in Paris and is organized like a city, hence my title. It's pretty cool. The tombs are different and the old are mixed in with the new. There are quite a few famous people buried there, such as Oscar Wild, Chopin, and Jim Morrison. My phone decided to die at Wild's grave. It was the worst thing that could happen! We saw a lot of cool tombs after that. We passed more somber ones too: those of war and of the holocaust victims. They were quite disturbing. After we'd left the cemetery I found out McKenna had her transportable charger with her the whole time. Mainse! Oh well. We found a great little shop that had sandwiches and crepes. I bought my first crepe I've had since coming to France! It had chestnut spread on it, which was good, but not what I was expecting. After we finished the walk we still had time to kill before FHE, so we decided to go exploring. We ended up in a section of Paris called, Belleville, meaning beautiful city, which is ironic because the city isn't very pretty at all. It reminds us of down town LA. We didn't stay long. We dropped off Maddie at the church, she was tired, while the rest of us went exploring around Hotel de Ville in a direction we hadn't gone yet. We came across a cathedral called Saint Gevais. It's very pretty and originates from the middle ages. This church's architecture is interesting because the inside is Gothic, but the front entrance is neoclassic. We found a book in the church that has details about the cathedral and its history. It's pretty cool. I might use it as part of my paper. I've decided to write about Gothic architecture. We plan to go to the church to learn more because we ran out of time. FHE was good. We listened to a conference talk about Joseph Smith and the restoration. Dinner was served afterwards. We had soup, salad, bread, cheese and fruit salad. Super good. I'm going to miss the bread and cheese here when I go back to the states. The pastries too. McKenna will too. Every boulangerie and patisserie we see, she feels the need to stop and look the food. half of the time she's buys something. We try to try new things while we're here. So far I haven't had a dessert that I didn't like. After FHE we went home. We made it to Croissy at about ten-thirty pm this time. I've decided that my computer/internet hates me. It always takes forever to load my blog, if it works at all. It's so annoying. I'm being taught patience. When I get behind it's not my fault. I just want that on the record. A good day none the less.

Street sign in the cemetery and the tombs are like houses.

I really like the Gothic tombs. Though, this isn't even the best one that I saw. I didn't get a picture of it though because my phone died. Not bitter.

Walking the streets. This dude on the right is famous for something that I can't remember and I'm too lazy at the moment to figure out why. I'm pretty sure he's just a famous french dude, either an artist or an political person. Maybe he's an architect.

Some of these tombs are seriously ginormous! The one on the right is like three and half Carsons!

The one on the left is a general memorial to those lost in battle. It's a sculpture of them going through the gates leading to heaven. I just like the one on the right.

Carson being our tour guide. I actually have no idea what they're talking about, but that's what it looks like isn't it?

This is the grave of Jim Morrison. I had no idea who this was, but apparently h'es a famous rock and roll star. He's not french, but he died here in Paris. Apparently people come here to smoke maharajah, but that wasn't a problem when we were there. He's a bit popular, can you tell?

This is the grave site for the famous 12th century lovers, Heloise and Abelard. I think they were made famous because of the scandal their affair caused. She was a renowned scholar and so was he. He seduced her and they had a son out of wedlock. They then married in secret to appease her guardian. The guardian then told people to get revenge on Abelard and to save face and protect Heloise, they both joined the ranks of the church. She became a nun and he a munk. They wrote to each other over their separation, but it's a debate whether it was truly love or not. There is debate as to whether their remains are still there or not, but it's a place where people leave letters in hopes of finding or keeping true love.

The tomb on the left belongs to a man who was popular with the king and therefore got a large tomb stone and is secluded from the other tombs around it. The tomb on the right belongs to the famous musician, Chopin.

Just thought these were cool. :)

These tombs belong to the writers Moliere and Fountaine. Their remains aren't there anymore, but they left these markers, perhaps to draw in tourists, I mean, these guys were kind of a big deal.

This is the painter Théodore Géricault who painted "The Raft of Medusa," which is also engraved on this tomb. The painting is hanging in the Louvre. We got to see it when we went there.

French man, Allen Kodac, who was the founder if spiritism. People come and touch his bust to gain connection to his magic and knowledge. As Carson said, " It's basically idol worship."

The crematorium. Its kind of scary down there in case you were wondering. A bit claustrophobic feeling.

It's Oscar Wild!!!!They had to put glass around his grave because people would come and kiss it with lip stick on. Maddie and I blew him a kiss instead.
...... And then my phone died. Dramatic falling to my knees yelling no!!!!