May Day in Paris

May Day!

A big holiday in Paris, especially for union members, workers of all sorts and young people, May Day also sees a fair amount of protests. More of that later. 

For us it was a day of relaxing over a leisurely breakfast and meeting up with our old friend Marie for lunch and a stroll through Père-Lachaise Cemetery.

A little before 1:00 pm we set out from the apartment making our way to the Metro line 2 at place Nation. Although the train was packed it was a short three stops before we got off at Philippe Auguste, a stones throw from Père-Lachaise. 

getting on line 2

We spied Marie sitting on one of the bollards flanking the drive into the cemetery. After a round of kisses and hugs we walked a block or so to the cafe Apéronome where we had a delicious lunch of chicken brochettes and a local beer.

After spending the better part of an hour or so catching up and enjoying a wonderful meal amidst the growing crowds out celebrating the 1st of May we made our way back to the cemetery and headed inside.

While I was especially keen on paying respects to Sophie Blanchard and Jane Avril and photographing the monuments ringing the first line around division 12 (don't ask), it was a wonderful time to just walk, talk and enjoy being in this gorgeous green space. 

Jane Avril in D19

And we weren't the only ones with such ideas on this day.

Guët in D19

Intrigued by the intricate carving here

Marie had a surprise for us: she walked us to the grave of Elizabeth Monroe Hay, eldest child of US President James Monroe. 

From the Hay grave we strolled passed the final resting place of French singer Edith Piaf in D97, always a popular stop for locals and tourists alike.

Group gathering at Edith Piaf's grave

From Edith Piaf we moved downhill and toward D76 and the Mur des Fédérés, known as the Communard Wall. It was on this spot on 28 May, 1871 that 141 Communards were stood against the wall and summarily shot, their bodies flung into a mass grave at the base of the wall. Ever since various left-wing groups, socialists and other progressive-minded people meet at the wall on various special occasions, such as May Day. In fact, according to Marie several large groups met at the Wall this  morning and later marched down to place Nation -- more of that later.

Marie and Susie

in D76

The three of us made our way back toward the main entrance, taking our time, enjoying the flowers, the green and the history along the way, with Marie providing fascinating stories of individuals we passed.

view uphill toward D19

near the grave of Auguste Comte in D17

The Triumph of the Republic by Dalou

We passed out of the cemetery by the side entrance on rue du Repos and made our way to a cafe at the corner of the street facing the wall of Père-Lachaise. We sat, ordered a drink and continued our conversation, which as always, proved enlightening and entertaining, the hallmark of a wonderful time together.

Eventually the three of us made our way to line 2 Metro stop but we were going one direction and Marie the other. We hugged, kissed and said goodbye, or rather au revoir, hoping to meet up again next year.

Our Metro ride was a short one but when we exited the train we smelled smoke everywhere inside the station and upon leaving the station found ourselves smack in the middle of a peaceful albeit vocal demonstration. The source of the smoke was extremely loud cannon fire heard every now and then.

The place was ringed by police creating barriers across all the roads coming onto the place but we persuaded an officer to let several of us pass so we could get to our homes. It didn't seem odd at all but still unsettling somehow. The French tell us this is de rigueur on May day and they're very used to it.

demonstrators climbed onto the statue in the center of the place

the police had cordoned off every street ringing the place

just part of a long, long line of police vans waiting for detainees

Once through the police barricades and passed the seemingly endless line of police vans and trucks we made our way to the apartment and home for the day.

Next: Our last day in Paris with friends old and new and those French painters who have touched us.

Letter from Paris 1 May

May Day in Paris!

I left the apartment and made my way to Père-Lachaise arriving there a little after 10am. I hoped to spend the entire day and had arranged to meet with Marie Beleyme and Carolyn Campbell at the cemetery. Carolyn is working on researching her new guide map as well as putting together information for a possible mobile phone app for the cemetery and I was looking for clarification on my guide to the artwork in the cemetery.

So,  the three of us spent the better part of the afternoon in search of specific gravesites -- such things always go faster when there's a team involved.

And of course, with Marie's help Carolyn and I were able to track down quite a few of those elusive graves.

l-r: local guide Thierry Le Roi, Carolyn, Marie and some doofus with a camera

The cemetery was packed with visitors and at one point we crossed paths we local cemetery guide Thierry Le Roi who was leading a group of about 30 people. (He and Marie and Carolyn are good friends.)

About 4pm Susie texted saying she planned to join us for an aperitif but was caught in a protest demonstration at Gare d'Austerlitz so she was unable to get on line 5. She walked over to our old neighborhood to try line 7 but Place d'Italie was also closed because of the demonstrations. She turned back to our present neighborhood and got on line 6 at Nationale to Nation and line 2 to Père-Lachaise. We learned later that the Austerlitz demonstration turned ugly with lots of stone throwing at the police and they responding in turn with tear gas.

The four of us met at Rond-Point Casimir Perier in the cemetery and headed for the exit. We soon said adieu to Carolyn. Marie, Susie and I then walked to the nearby brassiere l'Amis Justin for an aperitif. After a couple of hours of lively conversation the three of us headed toward line 2 at Philippe Auguste but Marie was going in the direction of Porte Dauphine while we were heading toward Nation.

A good day celebrating life in the city of death.

That evening we made our way back to the 13th and the Asian quartier for dinner. This time we stopped at a Laotian restaurant, Lao Thai, 128 rue de Avenue Tolbiac, where we had another in a long line of delicious meals -- the beef in the first dish was so tender it seemed to melt in our mouths and the pork brochettes with curry sauce were equally tasty. And for dessert Susie had a coconut ice cream which she polished off with no help from me while I had a concoction of green vermicelli, pieces of something red and bubble bits in a luscious coconut cream sauce.

It was short pair of Metro rides back home and a little Avèze before bed.