Day 9 – lorsqu’on ne tuera plus ils seront bien venges le seul voyeur de justice a pour echo la vie & Day 10 – Sweet Caroline, Rowing plus Pizza

when they will no longer be killed, they will be well avenged, the only wish for justice has for its echo, Life

I happen to be posting this blog on “Day 10,” because I have had a heck of a time uploading photos. And there are some great photos from Day 9!

We had a *serious* heat lightening storm between days 8 and 9 – the first photo below shows where Leann caught a tiny bit of the lightening up on the right – which ended in a DELUGE of rain. Watching from our hotel room, we saw some people scurrying with their hands/a bag/etc. over their heads – but others were just laughing and walking and shaking their heads. As we heard from a gal we met on the Metro – if you want new weather, wait 10 minutes in the Summer in Paris.

Afterwards, we headed for the Metro to go to Pere Lachaise Cemetery. The photo below of the lock on the old-style Metro door is to show you that, unlike The Tube in London where we were told by our guide not to hit the button and “look like tourists” (the door opens anyway), and unlike the new Metro cars, where you *do* need to hit the button, if you want out, you need to crank the handle on the door clockwise after the car stops, and the door will pop open.

We spent a bit more time than we meant to in the morning trying to decide how to plan our day. We had imagined heading to the Arch de Triomphe area, but the streets are closed, and it would have been a pain to try to get around some of the issues. We opted for Pere Lachaise, which is nowhere near anything else – perfect for a day when we wanted to do a long excursion.

The photos that I will insert (with descriptions – natch) will not be in the “order” we found them in the cemetery. Unfortunately due to the blogging software, they’re going to be in the order that they’re uploading. We were very lucky that, at the side entrance we walked through, there were two volunteers handing out paper maps with some of the “better known residents” already marked. We had a few more that we personally wanted to find. But – hello – this is a HUGE cemetery. Lots of cobblestoned paths, stairs, streets, etc.

Pere Lachaise has over 70,000 burial plots on over 106 acres; it apparently is the most visited necropolis in the world.

Although Pere Lachaise has lots of ‘celebrity’ graves, some of the most memorable ones commemorate people who have faded from the public eye. But their funerary art is quite spectacular.

On top of a grave marked “Remina Maggiori” is a beautiful bronze statue created in Florence by well-known Italian sculptor and painter Marcelo Tommasi. She has a lovely, contagious smile that exudes joy. She is in Division 60.

This is French actor Fernand Arbelot (1880-1942). Belgian sculptor Adolph Wansart immortalized him lying in his tomb holding a mask representing his grieving wife (note tears dripping from her eyes). Supposedly he designed this so he could gaze at her through eternity, though (perhaps inevitably in a country with a strong death-by-guillotine history) it could be considered macabre; his fixed stare might also remind one of Sting’s 1983 hit “Every Breath You Take (I’ll Be Watching You)” which does make it a bit more creepy. Division 11.

To the left is the tomb of Louis-Sebastian Gourlot (1778-1816). Nothing is known about M. Gourlot, but this striking stone and gold-tinted plaster statue representing his grieving widow stands out among the greys of the other memorials. Division 11.

Below is the Lebrun and Lhenoret Family Tomb.

Several members of the family are buried here, but what is notable is that the architect-sculptor Marcel Rouillere was told to avoid traditional forms of funerary art – which he did.

He created the sculpture around 1905-09; it embodies the flowing organic forms of Art Nouveau. Division 1.

The Moreau-Vauthier Monument at right is topped by a bronze of a grieving woman.

It is signed “A. Moreau Vauthier,” who was most likely French sculptor Augustin Jean Moreau Vauthier (1831-1893), father of Paul Moreau-Vauthier (1871-1936), creator of the Paris Commune victim war memorial.

There are over a dozen family members in this tomb, including Augustin Jean and Paul. Division 14.

(Please excuse the spacing of the text and photos – something is wonky with the blog today)

Next is a bronze sculpture of another sorrowful woman (there are a lot of them in this cemetery) on the tomb of Leon Philippe Beclard (1821-1864).

She holds a picture of the deceased.

M. Beclard died in Tangier, Morocco while serving as Minister of Finance for Napoleon III. Division 4.

Above is the tomb of Belgian novelist and poet Georges Rodenbach (1855-1898). He emphasized the interplay of romance and tragedy in his novels, and was well known for his “fin de siecle symbolism.” Perhaps therefore it’s not much of a surprise to see his bronze likeness bursting out of his tomb, holding a rose. His epitaph: “Lord, give me this hope to live again in the melancholy eternity of the book.” Division 15.

Here is the tomb of Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). Just as he was gaining success and popularity, Mr. Wilde was convicted by a British court of “gross indecency with men” and sentenced to two years of hard labor. Upon his release he fled to France, where he remained in exile until he died of meningitis three years later. His Egyptian-themed tomb was created by sculptor Jacob Epstein. It has sustained damage through the years after so many visitors had kissed the monument that, in cleaning it, the stone began to degrade (yes, really). A glass barrier was erected in 2011 but, as you can see, it’s only been partially effective. There is a sign that asks you not to kiss, as the cleaning “is not paid for by the cemetery, it must be charged to the family.” Division 89.

Next, Jim (James Douglas) Morrison (1943-1971): American singer/songwriter and lead singer for The Doors. He died in Paris at age 27 when an international rock star, likely of a heroin overdose. His girlfriend Pamela Courson found his body in the bathtub in their Marais apartment. His grave is one of the most visited. When we dropped by we had to wait 5 minutes for Leann’s phone to unlock itself; a young guy standing at the grave looked unbelievably bereft and just didn’t move the entire time, with other visitors snapping quick selfies and onto the next. This guy was in his 20s – born far after Morrison died. A bronze plaque on the tombstone has Morrison’s full name, birth/death dates, and a phrase chosen by his father: “Kata Ton Daimona Eautou” which means “true to his own spirit” (or “demons”). Division 6.

They have wrapped the tree where people leave chewing gum as a memento (e-yew). The gum was killing the tree. Again – e-yew.

Marcel Marceau (1923-2007): We went here because Leann is afraid of mimes. (I texted her a photo back – she waited on a bench.) You can have her tell you the story (which involves being chased by a mime at age 5). M. Marceau’s persona was “Bip the Clown.” However, something I certainly did not know was (1) he was Jewish, and (2) he was a renowned member of the French Resistance during the Nazi occupation of France during World War II. He helped rescue/save uncounted children from being deported to concentration camps. How did he keep them quiet? He did all his clowning…in silence. Yep – mimed.

Victor Noir (1848-1870)’s tomb (below) is one of the most visited. He was a journalist killed by Prince Pierre Bonaparte, nephew of Napoleon and cousin of Emperor Napoleon III.

A dispute between two newspapers, including the one where Noir worked, escalated and led to a fight that ended with the Prince calling Noir and his colleagues “menials,” slapping Noir in the face, and then shooting him dead (!) (Anger management issues, much?)

When a court acquitted the Prince of murder, violent demonstrations took place. Nine months later, the Emperor’s unpopular regime was overthrown during the Franco-Prussian War.

Sculptor Jules Dalou created the realistic life-sized bronze sculpture of Noir, to appear as though he had just fallen in the street, shot dead by Bonaparte.

The bulge in his trousers has made his grave very popular, due to the legend that rubbing it can provide fertility, cure to male “issues,” etc. His bullet hole also is also highly polished (we liked that someone added a boutonnière), as is his nose/mouth/chin and his boots.

And now, some graves we know nothing about, but that were quite striking. You’ll see the (huge) memorial of a young boy who “was loved by his dog,” more sorrowing women, a woman where rubbing her nipples is obviously a thing (the look on her face is a bit priceless given this), a mom mourned by her two young girls, M. Peretti star dancer of the Paris Opera (1905-1997), an unknown soldier where a little girl is writing his epitaph (“France remembers you” is (almost) finished), lovers “reunited” in death (their hands clasped above their headstones), etc.

More? Another woman beloved by her dog…A cemetery cat…some path photos…renowned artist Gericault…a woman who designed and put up her memorial but isn’t dead yet (yes, really – see her photo to the side of the white marble figure, in the dress sculpted?)…a man holding a guy emoting in what looks a bit like Cirque de Soleil kit (perhaps he was an actor?)…a ?writer? that we just thought looked like he’d be a blast to chat with….a pelican…a tomb opened up (and police taped) where you could see down about 15 feet, to the “shelves” where the caskets would have been stacked on top of one another into the grave (not sure where the caskets were)…an abandoned crypt of a Princess….a newly cleaned memorial of a mother and baby, which looked creepy encased in its plastic….a stern grave guardian…stained glass in an opened mausoleum with debris in it, but still containing the image in glass of the “inhabitant” buried in the 1800s…another princess/countess abandoned…a general brandishing a sword long ago stolen…a newly interred grave with bouquets of scented roses and tuberose…

I did find a place to leave a Herbert marble. La Memoire Necropolitaine. (I tried to pitch it in so that it would rest in the “V” under the plinth – Herbert had other ideas and it rolled all the way to the end then fell on the ground under the plinth.) You can scan the QR Code to find out more about it. It represents the work of two photographers, Anne Fuard and Andre Chabot, who have taken over 250,000 photos in cemeteries, to memorialize them, their “times,” etc. and give “a future to our past.” It was built into an abandoned chapel from 1850, topped by a pelican (my bird totem). The chapel once held the remains of a Ms. Kutsch, a member of the Austrian family who invented, in the late 18th century, the “Kutsh,” a type of ruler in the shape of a Toblerone bar that allows reading distances directly on a map. With film hanging off the barrier and film canisters clustered around a huge camera, the Austrian “heritage,” etc. it seemed like a perfect spot.

Now, for some really moving monuments. They represent the camps that Jews, children, resistance fighters, etc. were sent to. Auschwitz, Dachau, Mauthausen, etc. (The metal one is particularly children.) Note all the stones that have been left. If you didn’t know, you leave a stone at a Jewish grave, to demonstrate that the person buried has not been forgotten. When others notice the stones, they might take an interest in the person buried there too, making that person live on in them, too.

Whew, that just took about 5 hours to upload/write. As I have been asked a few times, YES, we are here to go to the Olympics. We went to our first venue, Men’s Finals in Trampoline, at the end of this day. It was amazing! We cheered. We gasped. (In the final medal round, a couple of the guys jumped off the apparatus – one at his 10th/final routine. Gah!) Okay, and we had a lovely meal at “our” Cafe, splitting the amazing burger with onion chutney (ya’ll have seen a photo of that), Cobb salad, and French onion soup that was *ah-may-zing.* (Not salty. Just enough cognac.) I had a Suze which I was quite sure Leann would gag at, and yes, she did. A mother’s intuition ha ha. She had a pina colada.

Day 10 – Rowing! (New Edit)

I know that this is an enormous blog post – and of course, seeing the Rowing finals for the men’s and women’s A, B and C singles (called “skiffs” in French) and the women’s and men’s 8s was to be a highlight.

It was.

After we got there.

Leann piloted us via Metro and Train to the correct station (helped by the pink carpet and the “pink finger folks” urging us on)…then we had at least a 2 mile walk (definitely 25 minutes) to the venue….! (Photos below – blog being recalcitrant and not letting me insert interstitially)

Men’s C singles U.S.A came in #1. Yay team!

The women’s scull from the Netherlands named after Laura, a gal on the MRA B’s, came in first by a *long* way. Yay, Laura!

We sang “Sweet Caroline” (dum-dum-DUM) with 1,000s of our besties (we sang a French song about the Champs Elysees last night at the Trampoline). HERE is a link if you have Facebook (I also posted some of the race videos on my page there).

USA women’s 8 came in 5th, USA Men’s 8 took Bronze. (The rower cheering behind us had taken Gold the day before for the U.S. and was there to cheer the other guys on.)

I took a lot of video that I posted to my rowing gang, so not 100% sure I can share it here. (The most fun part, frankly, is the “Sweet Caroline”.)

The Ament family came back to our hotel and we were able to squeak under the “deadline” of the highly-rated pizza place next door – and it was definitely great! (They’re closed 2-7 pm which is basically when Leann and I kept trying to go.)

Leann braved the market alone (I was working on this) and got us breakfast for tomorrow, and *the cutest* little baby outfit for a friend’s baby daughter.

Two photos, then I’m done. The first is of very well dressed “Minions” handing out the medals at the awards ceremony. The second is the guy making potato brochettes at the Rowing venue. NOM NOM. Time for bed! Might have some photos and maybe a video to add tomorrow. But then again – I might not :-)

Step Count for yesterday: 18,592. Today’s: 14,359. Did have a foot issue this morning, but only because I was too embarrassed to ask for the Aments to slow down when walking back to the train. I have no pain if I take slow, about half-strides, which Leann finds comical as she “practiced” long strides at home to keep up with me :-)

ADDED PHOTOS (yes, it’s now “the next morning”):

And finally, some of Leann’s photos from yesterday – Laura’s boat for the win; launching the women’s 8; women’s medal ceremony (and Canadians rowing their boat back in their sweats with their medals on); Phryges; British audience member decked out in his boater, rowing jacket, and rowing tie; more potato brochette photos; pizza! (Once again having blog problems so it won’t let me re-order them . . . Suffice it to say . . . Audience or Road shots -> Launching -> Rowing -> Medals -> Potato spiral brochette -> Pizza ;-)

Final edit on this is today (August 4th) – we are to Versailles, then beach volleyball at the base of the Eiffel Tower :-) Probably another ton of photos!