"Cannibalism, Catacombs, and Chopin"
When I think of "Paris," I don't conjure up images of cafes on the Champs-Elysees, barges on the Seine, and the priceless artwork of the Louvre. My thoughts are of Pere-Lachaise Cemetery, Jim Morrison's grave, and a visit to the Catacombs. I had been to Paris three times prior to this visit, but it had been ten long years since my last trip. Fellow gravedigger, Anne-Marie Méthy, a French native, invited me to an "underground" tour of the "City of Lights" that I couldn't resist: 1) a visit to Montparnasse Cemetery (my first!); 2) a walk through Les Catacombes (another first!); and easy access to Pere Lachaise Cemetery (one of my all-time favorite boneyards!!). My heart raced with anticipation!
My tale begins back in October (2000), when I e-mailed Anne-Marie and complained of my need for adventure. My workload had been quite suffocating and I needed a break. We had had a year-long e-mail relationship in which we shared our mutual interest in cemeteries, our history as Goth enthusiasts, and a healthy appreciation for the music of David Bowie, Ute Lemper, and Nick Cave. In frustration, I had written, "Je déteste la réalité" ("I hate reality!"). Anne-Marie replied: "Alors pourquoi ne pas changer de planète ?" ("So, why not change planets?"). Since I lacked the necessary frequent flier miles, I opted to take her up on an offer to visit Paris and the countryside.
That day, I secured a round-trip ticket to Paris and began brushing up on my French. I asked Anne-Marie for assistance with this effort to improve my verbal skills, by asking her to give me a "phrase for the day" to practice. With little time before my trip, certainly, this would be a fun, efficient and pleasurable way to increase my French vocabulary. Her first phrase was: "Parce que tel est mon bon plaisir, les microbes ne passeront pas" ("Germs will be kept at bay because such is my desire"). It was the cold and flu season, so I appreciated this healthy chant.
| First stop: Montparnasse Cemetery. After a crowded, eight hour flight, I was eager for some fresh air and a vigorous walk through a graveyard. So, after a quick Metro ride to the Montparnasse-Bienvenue stop, we dropped off my bags at Anne-Marie's sisters' apartment and walked over to nearby Montparnasse Cemetery. This was my first visit to this traditional French-Victorian cemetery (it reminded me of a hill-free, less charming version of Pere- Lachaise). To my excitement, we found the graves of existentialist philosophers/authors Simone DeBeauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre , as well as that of photographer extraordinaire, Man Ray. Phrase for the day: "Les salamandres n'aiment pas les éclairs au chocolat" ("The salamanders do not like chocolate eclairs"). | |
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Man Ray's grave (above) reads: "Unconcerned, but not indifferent." "Souvenirs" (picture on left) are small marble mementos, which can be purchased at nearby cemetery monument shops by family members and well-wishers. I believe this tradition is unique to the French.
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| Stop Two: Pere- Lachaise Cemetery. Phrase for the Day: "Je suis tout excité!" ("I am VERY excited!"). Ahhhh! Pere-Lachaise! Easily one of my most favorite cemeteries in the WHOLE world! |  I call this image (above) "Into the Abyss." This dramatic monument for the dead (Monument Aux Morts) is easily found when entering the cemetery from Boulevard de Ménilmontant (Metro stop: Pere-Lachaise).
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This is the sexiest "woman in
mourning" |
Above, Anne-Marie examines one of the |
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It had been ten years since the last time I had visited Jim Morrison's grave. Back then, the graveside was a non-stop party with loud Doors music, people smoking pot, drinking beer and wine, and apparently having wild sex (used condoms were strewn about the ground). There were also layers upon layers of fascinating graffiti on nearby tombs. Now, the gravesite still draws huge crowds (this tourist attraction is second only to the Eiffel Tower), but a full-time guard keeps the scene very orderly and quiet (SIGH!). |
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Very cleverly, Anne-Marie kept the guard occupied, so I could get the the shots I desired. |
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Edith Piaf, the "Little Sparrow," is France's most famous cabaret singer (her grave is pictured to the left). Raised in a bordello, she hit the streets as a singer at the age of fifteen, lost her two-year-old daughter to meningitis, lost one lover and one husband in plane crashes, was badly hurt herself in three car accidents, developed painful rheumatism that crippled her, became addicted to morphine and alcohol, and garnered a fanatical devotion from her fans. When she died, forty thousand people rioted at the cemetery. Her devotees still cover her grave with fresh flowers each day, even though she died in 1963. (Source: "Dead Ends" by David Cross & Robert Bent.) Before leaving Pere-Lachaise, we also tracked down the final resting places of Gertrude Stein, Frederic Chopin, Héloïse and Abélard (the tragic lovers featured in the "Being John Malkovich" puppet show), and Marcel Proust. I also revisited the graves of Oscar Wilde and spiritualist Alan Kardec.
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Stop Three: Les
Catacombes. On New Year's Eve
day, we needed to choose between a museum exhibit - "Le Diable Sucre
(The Sweet Devil): Cakes, Cannibalism, Death and Fertility" - or a
visit to the Catacombs. In an inspired moment, Anne-Marie suggested, "Let's go to the Catacombs today, and tomorrow, New Year's Day, we will go to the top of the Eiffel Tower!" What a wonderful idea! Within 24 hours, we will experience the depths and heights of Paris! The Catacombs were incredible! (Metro stop: Denfert-Rochereau). Well below the streets of Paris, the Catacombs house literally millions of skeletons. Unlike the artistic displays of skeletons in the Cemetery of the Capuchin Fathers in Rome, these bones are stacked, as if by a mason, in methodical layers: bones, bones, skulls; bones, bones, skulls; and so on. For as far as the eye can see, in long narrow walkways. Back in 1785, Parisians needed to dispose of the skeletons from mass graves to make room for the recently departed. These underground tunnels, former quarries, served the purpose quite well and they provide a unique - and macabre! - experience. For a more intimate viewing of Grinny in the Catacombs, click here! My phrase of the day was: "Le lapin arrogant et branché a mangé ma soeur." (The arrogant and hip rabbit ate my sister).
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The image above, is of a very cold and wet Grinny on New Years Day atop the Eiffel Tower. Images of the Catacombs should be forthcoming. Belle et heureuse annee 2001! (Happy New Year 2001!).
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A closing note: While driving from Angouleme to Bordeaux on national road 10 (RN 10), we saw several eerie silhouettes of humans (sometimes in groups of two, three, and four); special markers for those who had lost their lives at those very spots due to auto accidents. This is an effort by the French the reduce traffic fatalities. My final Phrase of the Day: "Les petits ours gloutons ont dévoré la tête de Marie-Antoinette" (The gluttonous little bears have eaten the head of Marie-Antoinette). This phrase was inspired by an unintentionally demented (we hope!) Christmas display at a local super market in Poitiers. A headless Marie-Antoinette-type mannequin was standing near a half dozen cute and cuddly teddy bears. We don't know who absconded with the head, but the display certainly drew the attention of nearby shoppers......many of whom were busy covering the eyes of their horrified, younger children!
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