We got an early start, had picnic leftovers for breakfast & I got about 85% packed up to avoid rushing around last minute. It was a really hot day & the sun was scorching hot. We ended up asking a nice guy we met on the street from the islands where the Cemetary was, as we made it to the area no problem, as it is near Shawn’s apt., but couldn’t find the entrance, so our new friend led us to it.
We purchased the 2 EUR map at the entrance & set out to find out first destination planned, Jim Morrison’s grave, with “Break on through to the other side” echoing loudly in my head. It was quite a walk & without the map, we would have gotten so lost! There is so much to see, and since we didn’t have all day, I figured if I could see Morrison’s & Edith Piaf’s grave sites, I’d be happy. We soon found Jim, surrounded of course by tourists, so one has to wait their turn to get near it for pics. It was not how I remembered seeing it in Cynthia & Sandra’s pics from their visit, it was surrounded by a shoulder-high metal fence. Some people had still managed to throw flowers, cigarettes & joints onto it though.
We had little trouble finding the Piaf gravesite as well, just look for the crowds & you’ll find the famous people. It’s beautiful, with many flowers & a photo of her in her younger years.
I figured we had time to see one more, that of Oscar Wilde, as I remembered Cynthia & Sandra’s pictures of the huge stone pharaoh tomb covered with lipstick kisses. We found it no problem & caught bits of info from a tour that stopped in front of it. I didn’t know much about this man & we overheard the guide saying that Wilde was arrested for his relationship with his 17 yr old male lover & that a fan paid to have him moved & buried here at Père Lachaise. I of course had to kiss the tomb & leave my mark (before I got asked to get down off of the tomb next door by the tour guide!).
Sadly, my visit was almost over. We headed back to the apartment for a quick lunch. I finished packing up & we headed out to the airport. We got confused as to which train to take there & we ended up on one that you had to get off of & change to another to get there. We made it in plenty of time & got to spend a few minutes together before saying goodbye. No tears shed this time, as we knew Shawn would be home in 3 wks (well, I held back, I must say!). I went through customs, but turns out that the wicket you pass through is only a first step. Took me a few minutes to realize that you had to get on a shuttle bus to get to the terminal! Then you go through customs, in such a disorganized fashion compared to here! Why? Because a whole bunch of airport staff were arriving for their shift, and they don’t wait in line, they just pass through in between passengers! I had to take off my shoes and passed through, but with all of the staff passing through & milling about, they didn’t even pay attention to me & forgot to give me back my passport & boarding pass & shoes right away. I didn’t feel safe at all the way security was being handled, I felt like anyone could sneak through or sneak something through unnoticed.
I stopped by a café to pick up a bottle of water for the flight (2 EUR 50!) and of course there was the regular huge crowd trying to board before preboarding. I sat beside an odd younger girl who told me she’d try to move if there were empty seats later – I told her I didn’t really care what she did (I was in the aisle seat of a 2 seat row). I had a giant woman in the seat behind me with long legs & huge feet, which kept digging into the back of my chair & jostling it! I considered talking to her about it several times, but figured it wasn’t her fault that she was so uncomfortable. I slept about 1 ½ hrs while she slept. Beforehand, I watched Shrek 3 (not so great & not nearly as good as the first) & SpiderMan 3 again. I was offered champagne as an aperitif & of course I said yes, it was delicious! I chose the sautéed chicken dish with mashed potatoes (very good!) over the crab macaroni (which looked dry & gross!). Customs was long upon landing as another international flight had come in at the same time as us, and the conveyer belt wasn’t working for a good ½ hr so waiting for luggage took forever! I was ecstatic to see my parents waiting for me inside the airport (vs. circling around in the car as they usually do) – turns out our flight landed late & with the customs & luggage delay, it was an hr & a half later than I thought it was!
Home sweet home & anxiously awaiting my hubby’s return on Aug. 30 & then we get to spend 5 days in Paris together at the beginning of September – trip log to come when Shawn gets back with the pix!!
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