Thursday, June 2, 2011

Paris cemetery

One of the spontaneous things Cynthia and I did on our last day in Paris was walked to a Paris cemetery. It might sound odd to go to a cemetery but ones in Paris are different that the ones we are used to back home. It turned out to be one of the nicest experiences in Paris. We walked to the cemetery of Montparnasse, which was just south east of where we were staying.


It was nice walking through the cemetery, which felt like a park, under the shade of its trees. I enjoyed walking through the tiny alley ways between rows of graves and exploring the names written on them.

I sat for while on a bench and enjoyed a few minutes of solitude. It was something I hadn't gotten to do in a long time, sit outside in the quiet nature, enjoying the sun and fresh air.




The headstones are quite large in Paris cemeteries because they are built to hold the entire family below. Each family had a beautiful headstone that runs the length of the crypt. There are just tiny lanes between the rows of graves with little grassy area. The cemeteries in Paris are so packed due to so many citizens. Then you run into the issue of having to create an ossuary, like you read about in my earlier post about the Catacombes.