An Afternoon Visit to Père Lachaise

 Maybe I am weird for not thinking of cemeteries as places to take friends to hang or have a picnic. I could also be weird for wanting to take walks through a city and not a cemetery. By the end of my stay here though, my mind might be changed on this. During orientation at Trinity, we had language classes and our professor took us into the city to learn more about different aspect of Paris. We took a trip out to the Père Lachaise Cemetery where famous people like Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde and Édith Piaf are buried. Apparently, the cemetery at first didn't attract visitors since it was considered far from the city but after some famous individuals were buried there (sometimes being moved from where they were originally buried), that mindset changed. Getting back to my visit, it was raining and wet but I had a good experience. I was amazed by the mausoleums and the other tombs in this place. Each represented a little chapel or church or a house and I felt like those who had died wanted their tombs in design to reflect what was important to them. These mausoleums were built in different architectural styles that could be interesting for someone interested in art history to spend more time learning about. I could also see why you could take your friends here and have a picnic without being weirded out. You could also sit on a bench by the author or musician who inspired you and read a book or play a song. If you enjoy running, you could easily run through this cemetery without being interrupted or bothered by many people. For me, I enjoyed a nice stroll through Père Lachaise and will probably be going back to find Jim Morrison's grave since I didn't get to it the first time.

Here are some photos from my afternoon: