It was a cold, grey day with rain in the afternoon, in other words suitable weather for walking around cemeteries, which I did, though not for as long as I would have if it had been a nice sunny day. I wanted to find Oscar Wilde’s grave at Pere Lachaise, but despite having a map I couldn’t locate it. While the cemetery is full of beautiful old tombs, it’s a bit too orderly for my liking. Everything’s rather upright, the sections divided by paved roads, and there’s a distinct dearth of the rambling ivy that’s a must-have accessory for a cemetery if it’d going to be really romantic. And no, I didn’t visit Jim Morrison’s grave. I did, though, shelter inside someone’s family vault to get out of the cold and the rain and have the sandwiches I’d brought.
Random pictures of tombs:

I like the middle one that looks like a little greenhouse:

Family vault / janitor’s closet:

Next I went to the cemetery near Montmartre where Isidore Ducasse, one of my literary heroes, is buried. Again I had no luck. His name wasn’t on the list of celebrities interred there, and I suspect it may be one of the fairly many with no discernible name. I did bump into Nijinsky’s grave (looks a bit like a garden gnome, doesn’t he?):

And here’s ballerina Marie Taglioni, first star of the Romantic ballet era. There’s a story that a pair of her shoes were sold in Russia for 200 roubles, cooked, served with sauce, and eaten by a group of her fans.

Some of the tombs are under a bridge:

Graveyard moggies:

More tombs (not much else to take photos of here):

By mid-afternoon it was unpleasantly cold and wet. The weather drove me back to the hotel, where the dark matter was lying on the mat:

At supper time, Adri and one of the women (I’m afraid I don’t know names) gave me tea and a slice of delicious pie with beautiful juicy raspberries in a light bed of custard on top. This may be a very simple hotel, but find me a fancy hotel where they give you free pie.