Day 4 and 5: The Pere Lachaise Cemetary and Montmartre

I randomly ran into Michele who was walking a few steps behind me on our way into the Luxembourg Gardens. She was headed there to read, but she didn’t like the weather so she joined me on the Bus 69 (a very scenic route) over to the Pere Lachaise Cemetary. There, we visited Oscar Wilde, Gertrude Stein, Chopin, Jim Morrison, Moliere, Edith Piaf, Colette and what seemed like a million other permanent residents. I will have to post pictures of this place; the tombstones were like small houses for a midget civilization long gone. The place may is dilapidated, and graffitied, but this only adds to its beauty. I wrote a few pieces about this place, it was very easy to. Michele and I then worked our way back to the Bastille, then to Luxembourg Gardens where we read for a while, then parted for our respective corners of the city.
I should note that the days and nights in Paris are two separate chapters. The city changes when the sun sets. I am trying to write about this, but finding it very hard.
The fifth day, I started late and decided to go to Montmartre, the armpit of the city. Perhaps it was just the pouring rain, and my lack of umbrella or gore-tex, but describing this area as seedy is generous. I explored the area for a while, climbing Sacre-Coeur Basilica for the view of the hazy autumn Paris cityscape. The building itself is so unnaturally white that it looks like it is built from bone.
This area is most definitely a tourist trap, this was confirmed when I was immediately accosted by North Africans (great accents) who were busy scamming tourists. They went through 3 languages before they got to mine, but I escaped even though I was rusty at dealing with these guys.
Montmartre is dotted by buildings that had housed Edith Piaf, Maurice Utrillo, Dali, Renior, van Gogh, Picasso, Gertrude Stein, Toulouse-Lautrec etc… I even passed the Moulin Rouge, still hosting shows that include champagne in the ticket prices. This put me back on Pigalle, so I escaped via metro.
I finished up A Moveable Feast at Le Volcon, a charming little restaurant in Place de la Contrascarpe. The food is very simple and good, and I ate the largest meal I have had here yet. Starting tomorrow, then I am stuck in the dorms (evidently in the same dorms my Mom was at when she was here, I am just moving from one parent’s place to the others) so I enjoy my last night of freedom, despite all the rain.