Day 8 in Paris and back to Père-Lachaise

 Monday September 29, 2025. Our 8th day in Paris. The day began chilly (49F) but sunny and a cloudless light blue sky. This being a Monday the indoor market is closed and there is no outdoor market. And many small businesses, like the corner boulangerie, are also closed.

Today our focus was meeting with our friend Marie B. and visiting Père-Lachaise Cemetery. Back in 2006 I met Marie through our shared passion -- some might say obsession -- with this cemetery. For me it began with photo-documenting the sculpture, every single bit of it that I could find. And Marie helped direct me to so many pieces I might not have found otherwise. I spent many a day here systematically going from division to division until I had completed all 97 of them ultimately resulting in a guide to the artwork in Père-Lachaise.

We discovered this morning that we had no hot water and reached out to our host. We were informed when we checked in that the heat was controlled by the building administrator and would not be turned on until October. We just learned this morning that the hot water is also centrally controlled as well. Our host replied that there is a problem with the building's water heating system and several technicians will be out this morning. "This should be solved hopefully before the end of the day." And sure enough it was.

As they would say here, pas de problem. 

We had a leisurely morning of coffee, fruit and cheese. 

I took the opportunity to recharge Susie's Navigo pass for today. (Technical stuff you can skip but I want to remember.) We have had our passes for some years now and I recharged them with a weekly pass when we first got here. You can put the Navigo on your iPhone but one has to create an account which was another whole layer of hassle that seemed unnecessary since we had the passes already. I did a 10-pack of tickets to my iPhone (rather than recharge my Navigo - don't ask) and will use that for the next couple of days. I'll have to recharge Susan's pass again tomorrow for our final day in the city before heading out to the airport Wednesday.

It was soon time to make our way to Père-Lachaise and our meetup with Marie B. We walked over to the nearest no. 86 bus stop which would take us to Nation. When we boarded Susan had no problem with her daily Navigo of course, but the tickets I had on my phone didn't work on the bus! The driver didn't care and just waved me on board. When we mentioned this to Marie later over lunch she was quite dumbfounded. And reading the small print so to speak it turns out that if you buy the tickets online via the app it's for EITHER the Metro and Train OR Bus and Tram. Crazy. 

Anyway, my iPhone tickets worked fine on the Metro, which we took from Nation to the Philippe Auguste stop and the cemetery.

exiting the Metro at Philippe Auguste

stopped to pick up some flowers for Sophie, Jane, Emilie and Marie

Marie's train was a bit delayed so we waited for a few minutes near the cemetery office. Marie soon joined us and off we went strolling somewhat aimlessly through the largest green space in historic Paris. I did have a few graves I wanted to see, we needed to pay our respects to Sophie Blanchard, Jane Avril, and Emilie Lavalette, and I had a list of several I wanted to find. The latter proved a bit more challenging than the former -- we know where those women are buried of course -- but we did manage to find a couple more that I had on my list.

A quick aside - if you've ever eaten potatoes in France you really should stop in D39 and say hello to Antoine Parmentier. He has a street and Metro stop named after him and for good reason. It was he who persuaded the French to take up the potato. . . And you might consider leaving a potato for him.

the side entrance leading into the cemetery

a very sad recent burial

Directly across the path from Chopin is Vivant Denon. You should probably know more about him. If you've been in the Louvre you're halfway there.

Vivant Denon in D10

Fernand Arbelot in D11

Sophie Blanchard in D13

Jane Avril in D19

Antoine Parmentier in D39

Emilie Lavalette in D36

The three us were starting to feel hunger pangs so we made our way back out of the cemetery and headed in the direction of the Metro. Just across from the Metro stop were a couple of cafès so we grabbed a table and chairs outside Aperonome enjoying the warm sun. The service was friendly, the food was somewhat lackluster but the wines were chilled and it was the company that made the afternoon so enjoyable.

The next couple of hours were full; of stories, catching up, idle chit chat perhaps to some, but we always enjoy Marie's company. She is full of fascinating tales, certainly about so many people buried in Père-Lachaise, but she is also incredibly well-travelled and still continues to teach school!

After saying adieu to Marie in the Metro -- she was heading one direction and Susie and I the other -- we took the no. 2 to Nation changed to the no. 6 and got off at Daumesnil. Our objective was simply to find an access to the Promenade Plantée. Also called the Coulée Verte René-Dumont this wonderful urban park replaced the old local train line that once went under the Gare de Bastille (long gone) to Vincennes. We had a long block walk to the gated stairs and then down into the old railway cut that led us through a wonderful tunnel and along luscious paths of green until we made our way up onto the old viaduc. 

entrances are usually nondescript and access is rarely signed

tunnel walled with several small waterfalls and collecting pools

leaving the railway bed rising to the upper level of the railway

there was actually a toilette along the way

a class of students painting, some more so than others it seemed

an old trestle bridge and an exit down 

the old viaduct (viaduc) consisting of mostly shops although we saw quite a few empty storefronts

We left the promenade near our apartment at avenues Dausmenil and Diderot and strolled up Daumesnil past the viaduc for a few blocks. Our apartment was quite close actually, just a few blocks with a stop at Franprix for a couple of things. We were pleased to discover the hot water was available again, although more accurately it was warm water.  Otherwise we relaxed until time for supper.

That evening we walked up rue de Cotte to another Vietnamese restaurant, Do & Riz for our evening meal. Our host had told us this was one of the more popular spots in the neighborhood and every time we walked by we couldn't help but notice the queue waiting to get in. But it was a slow night -- at least when we got there - although by the time we left the joint was, as they say, jumpin'!

The food was wonderful, so tasty, refreshing and nutritious.

the kitchen was stretched along the hall leading to the sitting area

we shared spring rolls

Susie had chicken, veggies and noodles and I had Bo Bun chicken

We'll see what tomorrow brings. Stay tuned!

Out and about in Paris

9 June 2022.

While we continued to talk about the short-term future -- mostly through discussion of how little we could do until we tested next Monday and then how much would need to be done if I tested positive -- we decided to go for a walk in Père-Lachaise Cemetery.

Always masking on the metro, from the Campo Formio stop we rode the no. 5 to Republique and changed to the no. 3 getting off at the Père-Lachaise stop. It was such a gorgeous day it was easy to just wander around this wonderful green space, taking in the history of Paris and France in tiny increments. For me it was also an opportunity to document  a handful of the many graves I still needed to locate. 

Susie admiring Chopin while Dominique Denon admires her 

the cemetery chapel, standing on the spot where the Jesuit retreat stood some three centuries ago

On leaving the cemetery I suggested we expand our Navigos' range and take a bus to our next objective, the Les Halles area. Failing to find the right bus stop we walked a few blocks to a stop that included the number 69, our bus for the day. After waiting nearly 20 minutes the bus arrived and we stopped and started our way across Paris. Reaching the Bastille nexus of roads, the traffic was a snarled mess and we soon came to regret (my) suggestion of bus over Metro.

But even traffic eventually moves in Paris and we finally left the bus at the Châtelet stop. From there we walked to Les Halles passing the Holy Innocents' fountain. 

Once the location of the largest cemetery in Paris, the fountain is all that remains of the church and burial ground that eventually became the famous city market of Les Halles. In the lat 1960s the market was moved to Rungis, in the Paris suburbs and the space became rather desolate with developers pushing for an underground indoor mall. The area has recently undergone another makeover and is a magnet for tourists and locals alike (to what end is open to question). 

There was a street market going on next to the Saint Eustache church and we strolled through that to Boulevard Etienne Marcel where we sat outside at a familiar cafe to have lunch.

Cafes are wonderful places to just sit and watch people while sipping a glass of chilled white wine, which is what I did while Susie checked out her favorite baking supply shop, Mora, located just across the street. If you'd like to pull up a up a chair and join me for a couple of minutes, here's your chance:

v

After lunch we strolled back through the market and down a side street to Saint Eustache.

the side entrance

Back outside the church we crossed the grounds once occupied by a dozen or more steel and glass buildings that housed the culinary heart of the city of Paris. Now a park full of fun and whimsy. . .

the old Bourse

We made our way back to the metro and back home.