"IS EVERYBODY IN, THE CEREMONY IS ABOUT TO BEGIN"
PERE LACHAISE
Pere Lachaise was high on my list of "must see" destinations, having been a Jim Morrison fan forever and wanting to pay homage at his final place of rest. Morrison was the charasmatic and Dyonisian front man with The Doors
Pere Lachaise is the worlds most visited necropolis, attracting over three million tourists each year with many famous people buried here, a sizeable columbarium and three WW1 memorials. Named after the confessor (priest) to Loius XIV, Pere Francois De La Chaise who lived in a house on the site of the original chapel within the walls. It first opened in 1804 but wasn't initially very popular with the french people but with with some marketing techniques such as fanfares at burials, exhuming and transporting famous bodies here, popularity grew and by 1830 it held over 33,000 permanent residents.Today there are over one million bodies buried here, separated into ninety eight divisions it is still a working graveyard but has a very long waiting list.
Paris
My day started early as I had booked the 08:31 Eurostar out of London St Pancras, the journey flew past arriving at Gare Du Nord around midday. I found the Paris Metro easy to navigate, Phillipe Auguste is the most convenient station for the main entrance for Pere Lachaise it is on Line two. Many tourists use Gambetta as it is situated at the top near where Oscar Wilde is buried which then allows you to walk down hill to see the rest of the remainder of the cemetery.
Rapheal
On entering the main gates, private tour guides were waiting, they are optional but I would recommend one as some of the graves are difficult to find. I chose Rapheal, mainly because he was singing "Come on baby light my fire"! He was wonderfully eccentric, great company and incredibly knowledgeable, making my time at Pere Lachaise both fascinating and entertaining.
Jim Morrison
Of course my first destination was always going to be Jim Morrison! Rapheal led the way, Morrison's grave is located in division six, which is situated close to the main entrance. I imagined a large shrine on its own, but apparently not, it is small, quite ordinary and tucked behind another large tomb, but even so I had finally achieved my ambition after many years!
He died in 1971 but it was not until the tenth anniversary of his death in 1981 that a proper headstone and bust were added, previously it had been a simple stone with a strange french writing of "Douglas Morrison James 1943-1971" The bust was very popular until some over zealous fans cut of the nose and sprayed it with graffiti before finally being stolen one night in 1988.
In december 1990 the grave was renovated and Morrisons parents chose the inscription "KATA TON DAIMONA EAYTOY", translating as "The one who fights his own demons" or "Be true to your own spirit".
The grave is now cordoned of with barriers and has security present, Rapheal persauded the gaurd to let me take some pictures, I would have liked to stay here longer but folks were gathering and we had to move on. Great experience and will definitely be making a return visit.
Original Headstone and Bust
One Of My Favourites
After Jim Morrison we went to the dramatic tomb of Georges Rodenbach who was a nineteenth century writer with a happy and fulfilling life.This was one of my favourite graves, it had a figure of a man opening the lid of his coffin, symbolising that even the grave could not retain his spirit.
Marcel Marceau
We came to Marcel Marceau and Rapheal was keen to show me his "superb" mime interpretation!
Maria Callas
The ashes of Maria Callas are in the columbarium, she was the famous opera singer and lover of Aristotle Onassis
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Thank you for reading I hope you enjoyed my venture to Jim Morrison's final place of rest as much as I did.