Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Paris day 2

We started the second day with a visit to Pere Lachaise cemetery.
Before you think this is odd, take a look at the photos.

Below is a general view of the cemetery and the above ground graves and family tombs.
Many families had individual mausoleums for the ashes of loved ones.The first "famous" grave we visited was the grave of Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). It had a wonderful art deco angel on it and was covered with lipstick kisses.A closeup view of the angel.The next stop was the grave of Edith Piaf (1915-1963).Here I am by the Piaf grave with Cindy and Julieta in the background.The Pere Lachaise cemetery contains several powerful monuments to the Jewish population that was shipped out of Paris during the Germany occupation. The one pictured below is for those victims sent to Auschwitz.This memorial was for more Nazi victims including French resistance members.The next stop was the grave of Jim Morrison (1943-1971). He just about did not make it into this cemetery until the caretaker was told that he was an "American writer".On our way out we spotted this cat that really liked to play for the camera. Julieta noted that in Bulgaria a cat in a graveyard takes the soul of a person. Interesting that this one loved the stage and was surrounded by people like Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf and Jim Morrison.Below, a very moving memorial to a loved one.Some of the other famous graves at Pere Lachaise cemetery: Frederic Chopin, Heloise and Abelard, Proust, Gertrude Stein and Sarah Bernhardt.

After the visit to the cemetery we hopped on the metro and met Matt at the Louvre.
Below is a shot of the arch with the Louvre and the famous glass pyramid in the background.


Another view of the grounds of the Louvre with the Eiffel Tower in the background. The Louvre is a gigantic building that would take days to go through at a quick pace.



Below is a shot of Christy and Cindy in front of the Louvre. Note the glass pyramid in the background.


Christy took a shot from inside the glass pyramid.And below is a great shot she took of the staircase inside the Louvre. The first major stop and our meeting place in the Louvre was "winged victory". An artist working in the Louvre.A bust of emperor Maxentius. I like this bust as it is an odd one to see, he was the loser of the battle of the Milvian Bridge.The Venus de Milo.

The Mona Lisa. You just can't capture the colors or her beauty in a photo. The background colors are stunning in person and they just look grey here.A view of how the Mona Lisa is displayed. You could get about 15 feet away from her and she is typically illuminated by natural sunlight.Two Jayhawks in front of the Mona Lisa.Below, Bob Steves our tour guide doing......well....what every other 8th grade boy with a digital camera was doing......nice.Our crew watching the sun set on the Eiffel Tower in the park at the Louvre.The view of the Eiffel Tower from the park at the Louvre.
Sunset in Paris.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Amazing, amazing.....I especially loved the pics of the cemetary.....so interesting. Thanks for sharing!!

Michelle